East Germany: Social Welfare System

Figure 1.--The best remembered component of the SED (East German) social welfare system was free child care. Here we see child care workers with their young charges in Görlitz during 1964. Notice the dreaey shops and absence of cars on the street. The Belgian Zentralbild/Renel caption read, "La vie jeune dans une vieille ville: Ce qu'on voit tous les jours dans les rues de la ville de Görlitz (RDA), située á lafrontière de l'Oder-Neisse vers la Pologne Populaire: les infirmioros se promènent avec 'leurs' bambins, d'un jardin d'enfants. Görlitz, fondèe en 1303, compte actuellement environ 100.000 habitants et de mombreuses grandes entrepricos industrielles, dont les usines d'optiques et de mécanique de précision 'Meyer' et des usines de construction de waggons qui jouissent d'une renommóe internationale." That translates as something like, "Young life in an old city: What we see every day in the streets of the city of Görlitz (DDR), located at the border of the Oder-Neisse towards the Popular Poland: the nurses are walking with 'their' toddlers, a kindergarten. Görlitz, founded in 1303, currently has about 100,000 inhabitants and many large industrial enterprises, including optical and precision mechanical mills 'Meyer' and waggon construction [we think meaning motor vehicle construction] plants which enjoy international renown." This caption is inteesting and reflects a left wing view of the Communist world, not uncommon in Europe at the time. Notice the reference to Pologne Populaire, a state like East Germany where the people had no say in their hovering and the the regime was anything but popular. And notice the referenc to Görlitz as an industrial city, but there is not one car or truck anywhere in sight. And just what Görlitz (or for that matter what East German companies) had 'international renown'. The nbly prestious German companies were located in the West (BRD). In fact DDR companies as well as Soviet companies collapsed as soon as they were exposed to international competition.

The SED developed a comprehensive social welfare program, Salaried workers were covered under a compulsory social insurance program administered by the Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund (Free German Trade Union Federation -- FDGB). There was a separate program for self-employed persons and members of farm and craft cooperatives. The program included medical treatment, accident and disability benefiies, and social security retirement benefits. The program was financed by worker contributions (10 percent of monthly salaries up to a maximum of 60 marks, a matching amount from the employer), and state subsidies. It provided a basic, but not particularly prosperous life style. The Communist planned economy just did not create the walth needed for prosperity. Health care was free, but not of the same quality as in the West. And notably, the health are susystem in East Germany and the Communist countries in gnral did not generate nw drugs and life saving medical technlogies. This all occured in the capitalist West. The most popular program, commonly sited aftervunification, was free child care. Children were a priority for the SED in ways we would today seen as positive and other ways negative. The elderly were, however, not a priority and elder care was not well funded, This was particularly serious because the cramped apartments and low incomes in the SED meant that few families were able to care for elderly parents.

Social Security Insurance

The DDR retained separate social insurance (old age retirement) plans inherited from before the War. DDR authorities moved to combine these plans. This had laargely been aschieved (1956). The DDR had two compulsory, centrally controlled, and hierarchically organized systems that provided universal flat-rate benefits. Special programs were designed for technical and scientific specialists, civil servants, police, the Nationale Volksarmee (National People's Army--NVA), and other security organizations. All these programs were heavily state subsidized, unlike West Germany program.

Employment

The the right to work was guaranteed in East Germany. Thee was, however, ro select one's job preparation and one's employment. This was determined by the state. It is why authors describe Communism and Socialism as the new serfdom. [Hayek] The state assigned jobs to East Germans based on the needes of the state. There was as a result, no unemployment insurance.

Housing

The DDR also provided housing to workers, this, however, took some time to achieve. The situation in both Eadt and West Gewrmany was disaterous after the War. The housing situatiin was desperate. As a result of the strategic bombing campaign and street fighting, German cities were left emense piles of rubble. Over half the housing units in East Germany's inner cities were destroyed. The inner cities were where the factories were located and thus the major target of the bombing. The same was true in the Western zones. One authors estimates thst 0.6 million housing units were totally destroyed and 0.2 million damaged. [Lemkep, p. 121.] And because of the priority given to rebuilding the economy, except for bricks recovered frim the rubble, there was a serious shorage of raw material needed to build housing. It took several years for the SED to begin to significantly address the housing situation (mid-1950s). The SED's answer was emense blocks of apartment buildings--the same answer adopted in the Soviet Union. The first priority was in the new industrial areas of the DDR to provide worker housing. The DDR reported building 0.6 million housing units or Wohnungen (early-1960s) qand another 0.3 million (by 1965). Unlike the housing being built in West Germany, most of the East German units in 1961 did not have baths or toilerts. About one-third did not even have running water. [Lemke, p. 125.]

Child Care

Child care was billed as one of the strebgths of the East German social welfare system. And after unification many in the former SED nostaligally looked back on the free child care system. Nurseries and preschools were mostly state run facilities. A few were ptovided by churches. They are the number one item listed by those who defend the SED and what it offered. Unlike the West, most mothers in the SED were expected to get jobs and work outside the home. And the make this possible, the SED provided free nursery anf pre-school care for all of the children, beginning just weeks after birth. One report indicated that the SED paid mothers giving birth a 1,000 mark bonus. This was an effort to addres a low-birth rate and a declining population. Along with the free care wre free breakfastes and lunches. The nurseries had much longer operating hours. They opened at 6:00 AM in the morning and operated more days than modern German facilities. And there were even Christmas presents for the children come holiday time. The SED promoted atheism, but Christmas was so important in German culture that it was celbrated, at least a seclarized version. The children were told the gigts came not from Santa, but from Erich Honecker, the leader of the East German Socialist Unity Party (1971-89). Young families in Germany today as well as the West in general might see th SED model as appealing given the cost and difficulty in finding quality child care. In the SED, the child care profession was respected and reasonably compensated. Less well remenbered were the not so appealing aspects of the SED child care system. As is usually the case, there are down sides to free stuff. As with the schools for older children, the parents had no voice in how the children were cared for and what they were taught.

Health Care

The SED developed a comprehensive heath care system. A serious problem at first was a serious shortage of doctors and oither medical mpersonnel. This was because many East German doctors escaped to West Germany before the Berlin Wall was built shutting of this escaspe route (1961). About a fourth of East German dioctors and nurses escaped West. After the Wall went up, the SED set about training a new generation of doctors and health personnel. The GDR reported 37,000 doctors (23 doctors per 10,000 population), substantially more than double the 14,500 doctors practicing in 1960. Most of these doctors were employed by the state in various facilities (health centers called polyclinics, outpatient clinics, and individual medical practices). The polyclinics were large facilities which because many different activies wre offered allowed the system to more efficently utilize labortories, specialisdrs, and other staff. Health care was free, but not of the same quality as in the West. And notably, the health are susystem in East Germany and the Communist countries in gnral did not generate nw drugs and life saving medical technlogies. This all occured in the capitalist West. A few doctors (1,000 to 2,000) were permitted to practice privately Some state doctors did private consulations, usually on their own time. The system as it evolved included free health care for most East German citizens. East German health policy focused on preventive medicine and health education. The system had notable achievenents. Infant mortality was reduced from 38.8 per 1,000 live births (1960 ) to only 10 per 1,000 (1984). The incidence of major diseases was also reduced, including diptheria and typhus. The incidence of cancer, however, increased markedly. This probably reflects the reluctance of SED authorities to address the serious problem of industrial pollution.

Elder Care

One of the weakenesses of the East Bloc social welfare system was elder care. Poor housing generally meant that grown children could not easily care for their parents. And because workers could not invest their earnings, they had to rely on state pensions which generally proved inadequate. Thee was no way to save and invest for one's retirement. The state health care system generally provided needed health care until the elderly had to be instituionalized. In these institutioins helth care declined. The situation in East Germany was better than in the rest of the East Bloc, but it was not good. Old age pensions were set very low. Retirees were at the bottom of the East German income scale. The elderly were not a priority. After all there was no advantage to the state in devoting resources to a non-working population. As a result, elder care was not well funded, This was particularly serious because the cramped apartments and low incomes in the SED meant that few families were able to care for elderly parents.

Sources

Childs, David. East Germany (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1969).

Hayek, A. The Road to Serfdom

Lemke, Christiane and Marilyn Rueschemeyer. The Quality of Life in the German Democratic Republic (New York: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1989).

Turner, Henry Ashby Jr. Germany from Partition to Reunification (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992).

Created: 4:06 PM 3/3/2018
Last updated: 4:06 PM 3/3/2018