By Judi McLeod —— Bio and Archives May 22, 2013
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“Building workers in East Berlin's Stalinallee confronted by a 10% production quota increase saw no reason to strain themselves for a meagre paypacket, and on June 16, 1953 they stopped work. Next day their action was repeated in over 350 towns and cities across the DDR. “Strikes became demonstrations, not just for new economic policies, but for free, Germany-wide elections and an end to the all-pervading Socialist Party rule. The East German government was at a loss. Soviet tanks rolled in, the uprising was put down and several hundred lost their lives. In that year, another 332,000 would leave for the West. Committed communist poet Bertolt Brecht suggested it might be easier for the government to dismiss the population and vote in a new one. “That was it. The gloves were off. Ulbricht tightened his control, branded any and all vocal opposition as the criminal actions of those favouring a return to fascism, militarism and atomic war. Citizens' private lives were opened to public scrutiny and direction. Religion was 'out', weddings were to be conducted in Registry Offices only, and young people taking Confirmation could lose their right to education. Under the direction of First Secretary Erich Honecker, all western-facing television aerials were to be destroyed. The single Trade Union was to focus on the new slogan: "World Competition" – in other words, more work! “Art too was to be State-directed. Walter Ulbricht wanted no more abstracts of "rotten fish and lunar landscapes", rather heroic portraits of working men, with muscular arms, powerful chests and proud smiles on their faces. Historic buildings were left to fall while new faceless identical blocks were put up in endless rows. Germany's legacy of historic palaces became kindergartens or old people's homes. “... It was decided to soften the population and win hearts. In 1958 rationing of fats, meat and sugar was ended – though with no guarantees of sufficient supplies! Economically there was to be a great leap forward; industrial production was to be expanded, with the illusory aim of overtaking the West by 1961. At the same time however, many previously independent firms were nationalized, and peasants were forced into unpopular Agricultural Cooperatives. So unpopular were they in fact, that peasants unwilling to cooperate were imprisoned. But discontent remained. In 1959 another 143,000 left, and one year later, 199,000. “During the 1960s both in East Germany and in the Soviet Union, economic policy fluctuated uncertainly between central control and a limited free market economy. Ulbricht brought new people into his administration with new ideas on market competition and productivity. For a time East Germany became world competitive but only in a very few sectors – and the living standards of East German citizens, having risen slightly and briefly, remained stagnant then began to fall as consumer shortages again became apparent. State deficits grew rapidly, world competitiveness became a far-off dream, and discontent continued to mount. “Economic and budgetary distortions remained, making it difficult either to direct resources or to control a budget. Social subsidies remained on a variety of goods and services including public transport, rents, food and the arts. And the economy was weighed down by an enormous bureaucracy, as well as the Stasi (Staats Sicherheit = State Security), a massive spying operation itself employing thousands, "assisted" by equal numbers of Inoffiziellen Mitarbeitern or unofficial collaborators, unfortunate citizens who had been blackmailed using some minor indiscretion into informing on neighbours and their movements. “Everyone came to suspect everyone else; after the Fall of the Wall, West Germans (Wessies) would come over to the East and exclaim how dirty everything was and why couldn't people paint their houses. One simple reason: no paint. But if you did manage to lay your hands on a pot of paint or a length of timber, your neighbours would cross the street to avoid you, assuming that you had to be spying or a Party member. “Only after Unification, did the full extent of Stasi activities become known, as some 180 kilometers of files and 35 million other documents came to public view. In addition there were numerous photos, sound documents, and tapes of telephone conversations. The psychological impact on the population was almost worse than their physical shortages.”“Does this have a familiar ring to it as a possibility?”, Beckler asks in this morning’s email to CFP. By the time socialist governments throw the net over their citizens, it is almost always already too late to escape. Under Obama, the net is getting tighter. The IRS spied on average citizens who make up the nation’s Tea Party groups, among others identified as ‘Enemies of the State’. The same IRS hired by Obama to administer ObamaCare. Yesterday when Tea Party groups protested in cross-country demonstrations, armed Dept. of Homeland Security agents were out in full force. Barack Obama’s ‘Iron Curtain’ is descending on America.
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Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience in the print media. A former Toronto Sun columnist, she also worked for the Kingston Whig Standard. Her work has appeared on Rush Limbaugh, Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com.