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Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Germany)
Two years after German reunification, the Commission of Inquiry for the Assessment of History and Consequences of the SED Dictatorship in Germany, which was a truth commission that lasted from 1992 to 1994, was established by the German government with the objective of looking at the history and the consequences of the former East German communist government. It released its report in 1994, but some felt that more could be investigated. This resulted in the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry on Overcoming the Consequences of the SED Dictatorship in the Process of German Unity lasting from 1994 to 1998, which had the same objective, but investigated more thoroughly.
Both commissions had to look at the dictatorship itself and the human rights violation under the rule of the East German Socialist Unity Party (SED). The second commission, however, was more focused on the effects on everyday life than on the human rights violations.
The idea of a commission was brought up by the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch. There were many issues over racism and human rights violation after the unification in 1989, and Human Rights Watch therefore recommended the creation of a commission that would look at human rights violations in the former East Germany. In the same year the first commission was created for "the purpose of truly unifying Germany".
After World War II, Germany was divided in two parts, East Germany which was called the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and was led by the Socialist Unity Party (SED), and West Germany which was called the Federal Republic of Germany and was governed by the Western Allied powers (United States, United Kingdom, France).
East Germany was a communist state under Soviet influence. The GDR claimed full employment. As Sue Lawson writes, "even the lowest earners could manage a reasonable, if modest, standard of living. Poverty, homelessness and dependence on benefits hardly existed." East Germans did not worry about finding a job: "In the old GDR you were never unemployed."
There was demographic issue because of the low birth rate which caused employment issues, and for that reason the GDR decided to create laws that would help parents to have children and to work at the same time. There were advantages for people who married before age thirty. They had access to interest-free loans, and the repayment of the loan would diminish every time they had a child. This led to an increase in childbirth and overall population. The status of women was valued in East Germany. Almost all women able to work could have a job at the same time as having children, though this did mean more work for many women in both employment and child care.
In time, demands in the GDR for freedom of expression, travel and assembly rose. As East Germans started to see other Eastern European communist countries throwing off Soviet control, citizens started to protest and in 1989, the peaceful revolution started. In August 1989, many East Germans tried to leave the GDR for West Germany. In September 1989, many went to Hungary because it had opened its doors to Austria, and from Austria, they could reach West Germany. Weekly demonstrations began to take place: every Monday, people would protest in the street and ask for freedom under the slogan Wir sind das Volk, "we are the people". In October, Erich Honecker, the leader of East Germany, had no choice but to resign. On 9 November, cabinet member Günter Schabowski announced the "immediate freedom of travel for East German citizens". All these protests and demonstrations led to the unification of both Germanies on 3 October 1990.
West Germany had a similar demographic problem to the one in the East, but implemented a different solution. Rather than attempting to increase birth rates, West Germany imported foreign "guest workers". There was no attempt to further integrate women into the economic system. If a woman was a mother, she would work part-time or not at all. West Germany's priority was economic growth, rather than maternity and childcare, and for that reason people that were unemployed had to resort to welfare benefits.
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Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Germany)
Two years after German reunification, the Commission of Inquiry for the Assessment of History and Consequences of the SED Dictatorship in Germany, which was a truth commission that lasted from 1992 to 1994, was established by the German government with the objective of looking at the history and the consequences of the former East German communist government. It released its report in 1994, but some felt that more could be investigated. This resulted in the establishment of the Commission of Inquiry on Overcoming the Consequences of the SED Dictatorship in the Process of German Unity lasting from 1994 to 1998, which had the same objective, but investigated more thoroughly.
Both commissions had to look at the dictatorship itself and the human rights violation under the rule of the East German Socialist Unity Party (SED). The second commission, however, was more focused on the effects on everyday life than on the human rights violations.
The idea of a commission was brought up by the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch. There were many issues over racism and human rights violation after the unification in 1989, and Human Rights Watch therefore recommended the creation of a commission that would look at human rights violations in the former East Germany. In the same year the first commission was created for "the purpose of truly unifying Germany".
After World War II, Germany was divided in two parts, East Germany which was called the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and was led by the Socialist Unity Party (SED), and West Germany which was called the Federal Republic of Germany and was governed by the Western Allied powers (United States, United Kingdom, France).
East Germany was a communist state under Soviet influence. The GDR claimed full employment. As Sue Lawson writes, "even the lowest earners could manage a reasonable, if modest, standard of living. Poverty, homelessness and dependence on benefits hardly existed." East Germans did not worry about finding a job: "In the old GDR you were never unemployed."
There was demographic issue because of the low birth rate which caused employment issues, and for that reason the GDR decided to create laws that would help parents to have children and to work at the same time. There were advantages for people who married before age thirty. They had access to interest-free loans, and the repayment of the loan would diminish every time they had a child. This led to an increase in childbirth and overall population. The status of women was valued in East Germany. Almost all women able to work could have a job at the same time as having children, though this did mean more work for many women in both employment and child care.
In time, demands in the GDR for freedom of expression, travel and assembly rose. As East Germans started to see other Eastern European communist countries throwing off Soviet control, citizens started to protest and in 1989, the peaceful revolution started. In August 1989, many East Germans tried to leave the GDR for West Germany. In September 1989, many went to Hungary because it had opened its doors to Austria, and from Austria, they could reach West Germany. Weekly demonstrations began to take place: every Monday, people would protest in the street and ask for freedom under the slogan Wir sind das Volk, "we are the people". In October, Erich Honecker, the leader of East Germany, had no choice but to resign. On 9 November, cabinet member Günter Schabowski announced the "immediate freedom of travel for East German citizens". All these protests and demonstrations led to the unification of both Germanies on 3 October 1990.
West Germany had a similar demographic problem to the one in the East, but implemented a different solution. Rather than attempting to increase birth rates, West Germany imported foreign "guest workers". There was no attempt to further integrate women into the economic system. If a woman was a mother, she would work part-time or not at all. West Germany's priority was economic growth, rather than maternity and childcare, and for that reason people that were unemployed had to resort to welfare benefits.