Glossary -- Germany (East)
- Abgrenzung
- Demarcation or separation. Policy adopted by the East German
regime in the early 1970s to emphasize differences in culture,
language, history, and world view between East Germany and West
Germany.
- Abitur
- End-of-school examination. Taken by individuals who complete a
three-year program following the compulsory ten-year course of
study. Passing this examination permits the student to apply to a
technical institute or university.
- army
- In Soviet military usage, an army has at least two divisions. A
Soviet or NSWP motorized rifle division has between 10,000 and
14,000 men.
- Cominform
- The Communist Information Bureau, made up of the communist
parties of the Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary,
Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia, France, and Italy. (Yugoslavia was
expelled in 1948.) It was formed on Soviet initiative in 1947 and
dissolved on Soviet initiative in 1956. The Cominform's primary
function was to publish propaganda touting international communist
solidarity. It was regarded primarily as a tool of Soviet foreign
policy.
- D-mark or Deutsche mark (DM)
- Basic unit of currency in West Germany. Hard currency, highly
sought after in East Germany. In December 1986 its value was
approximately DM1.99 to US$1.
- extensive economic development
- Expanding production by adding resources rather than by
improving the efficiency by which these resources are exploited.
- front
- In Soviet military usage, a front consists of at least two
armies and usually more than that number. Two or more fronts
comprise a theater of military operations.
- GDP
- Gross domestic product. The total value of goods and services
produced within a country's borders during a fixed period of time,
usually one year. Obtained by adding the value contributed by each
sector of the economy in the form of profits, compensation to
employees, and depreciation (consumption of capital).
- GDR mark
- Mark der DDR. Basic unit of currency. The East German regime has
set an artificial rate that equates the GDR mark to the West German
D-mark, making its value in December 1986 about 1.99 GDR marks per
US$1. GDR marks are not exchanged on world markets for hard
currencies.
- GNP
- Gross national product. Obtained by adding GDP (q.v.) and the
income received from abroad by residents less payments remitted
abroad to nonresidents.
- liquidity shortage
- The lack of assets that can be readily converted to cash.
- Main Political Administration
- The organ of communist party control over the armed forces of
the Soviet Union and the other Warsaw Pact countries. An agency of
both the communist party and ministry of defense, it is responsible
for conducting ideological indoctrination and propaganda activities
to prepare the armed forces of war.
- Marshall Plan
- A plan announced in June 1947 by the United States Secretary of
State G.C. Marshall for the reconstruction of Europe after World War
II. The plan involved a considerable amount of United States aid.
- 1955 Warsaw Treaty
- Established the Warsaw Pact (see Appendix C).
- 1957 Treaty of Rome
- Established the European Economic Community or "Common Market."
- Nomenklatur
- From the Latin nomenclatura. Concept derives from the
Russian word nomenklatura, which denotes an enumeration of
important positions and the candidates who are examined,
recommended, and assigned to fill them by communist party committees
at various levels.
- opportunity cost
- The value of a good or service in terms of what had to be
sacrificed in order to obtain that item.
- Ostpolitik
- Eastern Policy. The West German foreign policy introduced by
Chancellor Willy Brandt that resulted in treaties with the Soviet
Union, Poland, and East Germany recognizing de facto post-World War
II borders. Ostpolitik brought closer relations between the
two Germanies.
- Spetsnaz
- Soviet special forces. From Russian voiska spetsial'nogo
naznacheniia, "special-purpose forces."
- valuta mark
- Statistical accounting unit used by East Germans in foreign
trade transactions. Rate of exchange depends on value of transfer
ruble used by Soviet Union. Statistical deviations cause
difficulties in determining value of valuta mark vis-á-vis United
States dollar and West German D-mark.