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The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945–1949
In 1945, when the Red Army marched in, eastern Germany was not "occupied" but "liberated." This, until the recent collapse of the Soviet Bloc, is what passed for history in the German Democratic Republic. Now, making use of newly opened archives in Russia and Germany, Norman Naimark reveals what happened during the Soviet occupation of eastern Germany from 1945 through 1949. His book offers a comprehensive look at Soviet policies in the occupied zone and their practical consequences for Germans and Russians alike--and, ultimately, for postwar Europe.
In rich and lucid detail, Naimark captures the mood and the daily reality of the occupation, the chaos and contradictions of a period marked by rape and repression, the plundering of factories, the exploitation of German science, and the rise of the East German police state. Never have these practices and their place in the overall Soviet strategy, particularly the political development of the zone, received such thorough treatment. Here we have our first clear view of how the Russians regarded the postwar settlement and the German question, how they made policy on issues from reparations to technology transfer to the acquisition of uranium, how they justified their goals, how they met them or failed, and how they changed eastern Germany in the process. The Russians in Germany also takes us deep into the politics of culture as Naimark explores the ways in which Soviet officers used film, theater, and education to foster the Bolshevization of the zone.
Unique in its broad, comparative approach to the Soviet military government in Germany, this book fills in a missing--and ultimately fascinating--chapter in the history of modern Europe.
In rich and lucid detail, Naimark captures the mood and the daily reality of the occupation, the chaos and contradictions of a period marked by rape and repression, the plundering of factories, the exploitation of German science, and the rise of the East German police state. Never have these practices and their place in the overall Soviet strategy, particularly the political development of the zone, received such thorough treatment. Here we have our first clear view of how the Russians regarded the postwar settlement and the German question, how they made policy on issues from reparations to technology transfer to the acquisition of uranium, how they justified their goals, how they met them or failed, and how they changed eastern Germany in the process. The Russians in Germany also takes us deep into the politics of culture as Naimark explores the ways in which Soviet officers used film, theater, and education to foster the Bolshevization of the zone.
Unique in its broad, comparative approach to the Soviet military government in Germany, this book fills in a missing--and ultimately fascinating--chapter in the history of modern Europe.
620 pages, Paperback
First published August 11, 1995
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About the author
Norman M. Naimark
25 books27 followersNorman M. Naimark is Robert and Florence McDonnel Professor of Eastern European Studies at Stanford University, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 3, 2019
For the information, I'd give it a 5/5, but for organization and accessibility, 1/5. This is one of the most frustrating books I've ever tried to use for research. The index is laughably useless.
October 14, 2016
Dense, but informative. Not an easy read, but an important one because of the close look Naimark takes at a very particular period in history.
December 15, 2022
This quirky, niched book of the time Germany highlights the complex and bedlam that followed when the Russians took control over a large slice of Germany that later became East Germany. Richly detailed from various government documents, Niamark tries to provide a comprehensive view of life for those caught in this complicated German-Russian government at the start of the Cold War. As a German (half German) who tries to learn more about my heritage, this book provided a portion of history that is often overlooked.
It was a tough time for Germany – and Russia. Unlike at the end of WWI, the allies forced Germany to end the war with a total defeat – an “unconditional surrender.” They had no rights, no bargaining and no united country. They couldn’t plead for land, just obey and hope for a better future while most Germans were hungry, cold, hiding their pasts or trying to have some say in their futures. The book claimed that the Germans blamed everyone except themselves when the fighting ended on May 3, 1944. The authored shared the first hours of peace, when some Germans wandered the streets where even public transportation was not functioning and buildings were still on fire.
It was a confusing, tough time and Russia was looking for opportunity and repayment of reparations from WWII. Russians were angry at Germany for turning on them and causing so many deaths of their citizens, taking it out on the Germans in so many atrocious ways, as documented in this book. The author pointed out that during the Nazi years, there was little German resistance to Nazism and no uprising like in other countries by the Germans. The Russians enjoyed showing they had the power over the “Aryan superiority,” the country bragged about the last decade. Instead of rebuilding the devastated country, as the United States did with Western Germany with the Marshal Plan, Russia used the opportunity to extend their control while building an empire that included Eastern Europe – and half of Germany.
Under Stalin, the Russians quickly started to take their reparations of $10 billion by carting off everything they could to help rebuild their own economy instead of helping the German’s rebuild their nation, including the Ruhr’s coalfields, equipment, and land. There was a detailed description of the process used by the Soviet control East to reform land and the controversies the policy created. The Soviet leadership created a system of stock to bring back profits from a suffering Germany, causing workers to resist and work less. The Soviets created “production activists” to help with rewarding people for working harder. Their slogan was “Produce more—live better!” Soviet films were shown to increase production and some trade union delegations were brought to the Soviet Union to see how the “new kind of worker” would create a revolutionary industrial world. Throughout much of the discussion of rekindling the economy, the importance of mines and power of miners were raised.
Chaos. That’s what life was like in the Russian zone. Corrupt mayors were behaving like “small kings,” controlling food for their friends and family. Some Nazis were awarded positions while others who were marginally involved had their property stripped away. Farms were being stripped away from owners. Businesses were taken, often with equipment going to Russia. Some had given up on being involved in government but still paying the price for their past involvement while others were fighting to get their way into the new, confusing system. The Russians set up a Propaganda Department complete with informants, censorship, and systems to punish those who were resisting. While Russian troops were returned to Russia, halved from the end of the war, somewhere between 350,000 and a half million Russia troops remained in the Germany until the peaceful revolution freeing Germany.
Referendums and elections were held impacting many programs but the Soviet control was evident in many ways. The book detailed the fights and struggles. The Soviets wanted control and used many measures to accomplish it including allocating food and other necessary resources based on power arrangements. Unfortunately, many of the Soviet troops did not speak German and had no interest in learning the language. Jewish Soviets overwhelmingly knew German, causing a backlash against the Jews, again. There were many struggles, including an interesting one where the woman, Elli Schmidt, who was the head of the Women’s Department, pushed for a car since other department heads had cars. The author followed the leadership of Tiul’panov, also known as the Colonel. Much of his power and then downfall was not fully known by the author and probably by those who had to deal with him. It was an interesting but complicated story.
The Soviet troops did not behave in a way that helped the country and, many, in violent, illegal ways. The chapter on rape was hard to read. The fact that it was systematic and so pervasive with many women left pregnant. The book points out that there was a mixed response from the Soviet army; some commandants stopped the abusive behavior or limited it with severe whipping or even death while other soldiers were even kind to the Germans. But the system of abuse, including rape, continued until the winter of 1947-1948 when the Soviet army was under control. The Soviets resisted being honest about the damage they allowed to be done to the Germans.
The divorce rate doubled after the war, often because of the long periods of separation between mates. The book claimed that about 40% of the POW’s were unable to work due to injuries, trauma or malnutrition. Many were sexually dysfunctional after the war. While German women in the West were sent back home and restricted from the jobs they could do during the war, the Eastern leadership called for “equal pay for equal work” and strived for equality in the workplace. Refugees were a major issue, with people being shipped by boxcars to places that could absorb people with limited or no processions left.
The charge was huge – taking away German’s ability to start another war, going after Nazi’s, rebuilding the German’s education and culture from the Nazi influence, reconstruction of the German agricultural foundations that were destroyed by the war, and civic life. Much of the book was focused on the internal political fights between the Germans and Russian controlled party, the merging of the parties, and the resistance that took many forms. This was all complicated by the increased conflicts between the Western Allies and Russia at the start of the cold war in 1947.
Soviet censorship was not just of political activities. The book detailed how the Soviets were very involved in every aspect of the arts, something they felt they did a a much “higher level” than other, “bourgeois cultures.” Every aspect was under the Soviet eye – poster art, music, film, theatre, literature, choral, chamber music, opera, ballet, and the fine arts. The author stated that at the start of the occupation, movie theatres showed 60-70% Soviet films and 30-40% German films with the rest being English, American or French. But by 1947, German films were the majority. Censorship still existed.
Plays that made it past the censors in 1946 were no longer allowed to be performed in 1947 due to the censors, although they said it was “out of date.” One play, “The Russian Question” that spoke about an American journalists who exposed the evils of American capitalism was protested by the Americans for being anti-American, thus violating the allied Control Council regulations. The Soviets continued to show it. The Soviets also showed a play called Deep Roots which highlighted black exploitation in America. It was interesting that the author mentioned that costume balls were very popular with young people in Germany during the occupation.
As mentioned in the book, Niamark stated that much of the actions of the police state would not be known until other files were opened to the public. Even with good pay and working conditions, it was hard to hire people into the police and many who did join, later defected to the West. People were being arrested and, it was later learned, killed. Many Germans went years without being charged and there was little information given to parents and family about those missing, even young people who challenged authority. Internees were barely fed enough to live, and many died every day. One said they were given just enough to live and truly feel hunger. Illness went unchecked, especially in the winter, ratcheting up those who ended up dying, including teens who had resisted authority. The Soviets used the round ups to punish Germans who fought against the “unity campaign,” pulling together their political parties if cajoling or bulling them didn’t help. Other were arrested simply because of their past membership, even if they were not active any more. People were interrogated and tortured. Under Soviet control, the judicial procedures were lacking; many prisoners were held without any records.
It is true that the police records were released in the 1990’s, after the book was published. It will be worth looking at websites to get the rest of the story about the secret police. It was an element that the West used against the Soviets without even the entire story being known.
The author states in his introduction that he was hoping to tell the story of “Soviet policy-making in the zone, but it also tries to reveal how the lives of German men and women were changed by the new circumstances of Russian occupation.” Niamark missed the mark on the second portion of his goal. While he shared how people were cold and hungry at the start of the occupation, the author missed sharing daily life and, especially contrasting how it compared to the lives of their breathed of those in the western occupation.
It was a tough time for Germany – and Russia. Unlike at the end of WWI, the allies forced Germany to end the war with a total defeat – an “unconditional surrender.” They had no rights, no bargaining and no united country. They couldn’t plead for land, just obey and hope for a better future while most Germans were hungry, cold, hiding their pasts or trying to have some say in their futures. The book claimed that the Germans blamed everyone except themselves when the fighting ended on May 3, 1944. The authored shared the first hours of peace, when some Germans wandered the streets where even public transportation was not functioning and buildings were still on fire.
It was a confusing, tough time and Russia was looking for opportunity and repayment of reparations from WWII. Russians were angry at Germany for turning on them and causing so many deaths of their citizens, taking it out on the Germans in so many atrocious ways, as documented in this book. The author pointed out that during the Nazi years, there was little German resistance to Nazism and no uprising like in other countries by the Germans. The Russians enjoyed showing they had the power over the “Aryan superiority,” the country bragged about the last decade. Instead of rebuilding the devastated country, as the United States did with Western Germany with the Marshal Plan, Russia used the opportunity to extend their control while building an empire that included Eastern Europe – and half of Germany.
Under Stalin, the Russians quickly started to take their reparations of $10 billion by carting off everything they could to help rebuild their own economy instead of helping the German’s rebuild their nation, including the Ruhr’s coalfields, equipment, and land. There was a detailed description of the process used by the Soviet control East to reform land and the controversies the policy created. The Soviet leadership created a system of stock to bring back profits from a suffering Germany, causing workers to resist and work less. The Soviets created “production activists” to help with rewarding people for working harder. Their slogan was “Produce more—live better!” Soviet films were shown to increase production and some trade union delegations were brought to the Soviet Union to see how the “new kind of worker” would create a revolutionary industrial world. Throughout much of the discussion of rekindling the economy, the importance of mines and power of miners were raised.
Chaos. That’s what life was like in the Russian zone. Corrupt mayors were behaving like “small kings,” controlling food for their friends and family. Some Nazis were awarded positions while others who were marginally involved had their property stripped away. Farms were being stripped away from owners. Businesses were taken, often with equipment going to Russia. Some had given up on being involved in government but still paying the price for their past involvement while others were fighting to get their way into the new, confusing system. The Russians set up a Propaganda Department complete with informants, censorship, and systems to punish those who were resisting. While Russian troops were returned to Russia, halved from the end of the war, somewhere between 350,000 and a half million Russia troops remained in the Germany until the peaceful revolution freeing Germany.
Referendums and elections were held impacting many programs but the Soviet control was evident in many ways. The book detailed the fights and struggles. The Soviets wanted control and used many measures to accomplish it including allocating food and other necessary resources based on power arrangements. Unfortunately, many of the Soviet troops did not speak German and had no interest in learning the language. Jewish Soviets overwhelmingly knew German, causing a backlash against the Jews, again. There were many struggles, including an interesting one where the woman, Elli Schmidt, who was the head of the Women’s Department, pushed for a car since other department heads had cars. The author followed the leadership of Tiul’panov, also known as the Colonel. Much of his power and then downfall was not fully known by the author and probably by those who had to deal with him. It was an interesting but complicated story.
The Soviet troops did not behave in a way that helped the country and, many, in violent, illegal ways. The chapter on rape was hard to read. The fact that it was systematic and so pervasive with many women left pregnant. The book points out that there was a mixed response from the Soviet army; some commandants stopped the abusive behavior or limited it with severe whipping or even death while other soldiers were even kind to the Germans. But the system of abuse, including rape, continued until the winter of 1947-1948 when the Soviet army was under control. The Soviets resisted being honest about the damage they allowed to be done to the Germans.
The divorce rate doubled after the war, often because of the long periods of separation between mates. The book claimed that about 40% of the POW’s were unable to work due to injuries, trauma or malnutrition. Many were sexually dysfunctional after the war. While German women in the West were sent back home and restricted from the jobs they could do during the war, the Eastern leadership called for “equal pay for equal work” and strived for equality in the workplace. Refugees were a major issue, with people being shipped by boxcars to places that could absorb people with limited or no processions left.
The charge was huge – taking away German’s ability to start another war, going after Nazi’s, rebuilding the German’s education and culture from the Nazi influence, reconstruction of the German agricultural foundations that were destroyed by the war, and civic life. Much of the book was focused on the internal political fights between the Germans and Russian controlled party, the merging of the parties, and the resistance that took many forms. This was all complicated by the increased conflicts between the Western Allies and Russia at the start of the cold war in 1947.
Soviet censorship was not just of political activities. The book detailed how the Soviets were very involved in every aspect of the arts, something they felt they did a a much “higher level” than other, “bourgeois cultures.” Every aspect was under the Soviet eye – poster art, music, film, theatre, literature, choral, chamber music, opera, ballet, and the fine arts. The author stated that at the start of the occupation, movie theatres showed 60-70% Soviet films and 30-40% German films with the rest being English, American or French. But by 1947, German films were the majority. Censorship still existed.
Plays that made it past the censors in 1946 were no longer allowed to be performed in 1947 due to the censors, although they said it was “out of date.” One play, “The Russian Question” that spoke about an American journalists who exposed the evils of American capitalism was protested by the Americans for being anti-American, thus violating the allied Control Council regulations. The Soviets continued to show it. The Soviets also showed a play called Deep Roots which highlighted black exploitation in America. It was interesting that the author mentioned that costume balls were very popular with young people in Germany during the occupation.
As mentioned in the book, Niamark stated that much of the actions of the police state would not be known until other files were opened to the public. Even with good pay and working conditions, it was hard to hire people into the police and many who did join, later defected to the West. People were being arrested and, it was later learned, killed. Many Germans went years without being charged and there was little information given to parents and family about those missing, even young people who challenged authority. Internees were barely fed enough to live, and many died every day. One said they were given just enough to live and truly feel hunger. Illness went unchecked, especially in the winter, ratcheting up those who ended up dying, including teens who had resisted authority. The Soviets used the round ups to punish Germans who fought against the “unity campaign,” pulling together their political parties if cajoling or bulling them didn’t help. Other were arrested simply because of their past membership, even if they were not active any more. People were interrogated and tortured. Under Soviet control, the judicial procedures were lacking; many prisoners were held without any records.
It is true that the police records were released in the 1990’s, after the book was published. It will be worth looking at websites to get the rest of the story about the secret police. It was an element that the West used against the Soviets without even the entire story being known.
The author states in his introduction that he was hoping to tell the story of “Soviet policy-making in the zone, but it also tries to reveal how the lives of German men and women were changed by the new circumstances of Russian occupation.” Niamark missed the mark on the second portion of his goal. While he shared how people were cold and hungry at the start of the occupation, the author missed sharing daily life and, especially contrasting how it compared to the lives of their breathed of those in the western occupation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2021
The Stalinization of Eastern Germany from 1945 to 1949 brings to focus the enveloping mechanisms of persecution, reparation and exploitation of a population once again burdened with the humiliation of defeat, and tasked with the disillusionment of subjugation to the decree of their victorious nemesis. Norman Naimark presents a top down study of the period which is tremendously detailed but somewhat lacking in "street level" perspective.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews