SBZ from A to Z
The book SBZ from A to Z (on the book cover “SBZ from AZ”) with the subtitle A pocket and reference book about the Soviet occupation zone of Germany is a reference work that was published between 1953 and 1969 by the Federal Ministry for All-German Issues . It was under the sign of the Cold War and was intended to educate the population of the Federal Republic of Germany about what was going on in the GDR , which was still known in the West as the " Soviet Occupation Zone " (SBZ) .
Contemporary history
The book and its meaning can only be understood in a historical context today. It was published at the height of the Cold War and discontinued before the Eastern Treaty was signed in the early 1970s . The last edition in 1969 had a different title. It was a reference work intended to convey facts about the Soviet Zone / GDR.
The book is committed to the values and goals of the client:
- The FRG's claim to sole representation is emphasized and legitimation denied to the GDR
- The area of the GDR is referred to as the “Soviet occupation zone”, “Soviet zone”, “Zone” or “Central Germany”, East Berlin as the “Soviet sector”. The term “so-called GDR” was introduced for the political system.
- The goal of reunification in freedom is emphasized
- The reversal of land reform, nationalization and the restoration of freedom of association are assumed as goals
The language of the book and the choice of topics support this objective.
Clearly this example, the blurb issue of 1960 ( Ref : MoH, 1960):
"The Soviet occupation zone is the center of our tripartite fatherland, between the Federal Republic and the Eastern Territories under Polish administration • should therefore never be referred to as the" eastern zone "• was divided into the states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia until 1952 • was then - for the purpose of more effective sovietization - divided into fourteen districts • will be transformed by the ruling SED by all means into a "people's democracy" in tow of the Soviet Union. "
content
The book in the 1960 edition is essentially divided into the following four sections:
| content | pages | Edition 1966 |
| Preface | 5-8 | 5-8 |
| Keywords ABF to Zwickau | 9-472 | to intermediate layers 9-557 |
| Timetable | 473-487 | 558-581 |
| References to literature | 488-503 | 582–605 with 769 titles |
The three attached maps showed "Germany (in the borders of 1937)" ( Free City of Danzig and Memelland were specially marked), "Land use, mining, industries in the Soviet zone" and "Berlin" with the division of Berlin (West) and the Soviet sector.
As a reference work, it contains many terms and abbreviations that were not familiar to the general public in West Germany at the time. These are mainly terms from the party jargon of the SED as well as words Germanized from Russian. In addition, important public figures are described.
Keywords
Some key words are quoted below.
Keyword "flag"
Flag : The F. of the "GDR" consists of the colors black-red-gold [...]. Since October 1, 1959, it has been wearing the → coat of arms , hammer and compass on both sides in the middle , surrounded by a wreath of ears. The constant efforts to gain recognition for the "GDR" and the thesis of the two German states are also served by the attempts to show the F. in the FRG and in western countries, especially at international congresses or sporting events. This political purpose has given the new F. the apt name "Spalterflagge". In Germany it is forbidden to show this F. ( → Sport ).
Keyword "war"
In this entry, the word meaning of "war" in communist teaching is presented on the basis of quotations from communist literature and evaluated with additional comments:
War : After the come. There are two types of K teaching: “a) a righteous K who is not a conquest K. But a liberation K. is […] b) an unjust, a conquest K., who has the goal of conquering foreign countries, enslaving foreign peoples […]. ”The doctrine of the two Cs, especially the one based on the philosophy of history, in practice but an arbitrary decision as to which K. is to be regarded as just and which as unjust enables the justification of the citizen and even the attacking K. ( → peace ).
Keyword "crowd control"
"Crowd control" is a term from party jargon:
Crowd Control : Pj. Part of the so-called → mass initiative , u. a. Used in the → control over the fulfillment of the → company collective agreements and as a control over the supply of the population (the → workers control and so-called control posts of the → FDJ ).
Keyword "kidnapping"
Crimes committed by the GDR leadership in West Germany and West Berlin are denounced under the heading of “kidnapping” .
Kidnapping : The Soviet zone → State Security Service , with the help of hired criminal elements repeated the crime of M. can commit to SBZ refugees or persons who actively worked in the Federal Republic or in West Berlin against the unjust regime in the zone into the hands to get. The methods used in this process extend to the introduction of poison and brutal raids on the street. [...]
Evaluation from the perspective of the GDR
From the perspective of the GDR government, this book was propaganda. The book was banned in the GDR.
pads
The first edition appeared in 1953. From then on, a revised and expanded edition was published almost every year. The second edition in 1954 had 208 pages and cost in bookstores 2.70 DM , which is more like a cover charge was because the book was mainly about the federal center for homeland service distributed for free and comparable institutions of the federal states. The tenth edition June 1966, 755. – 914. Tausend, was looked after by Günter Fischbach, had 608 pages and carried the foreword by Minister Erich Mende . In total, the print run was almost a million books.
expenditure
- Federal Ministry for All-German Affairs (ed.): SBZ from A to Z . 6th edition Deutscher Bundes-Verlag, Bonn 1960. 509 pp.
- Federal Ministry for All-German Affairs (ed.): SBZ from A to Z . 7th edition. Deutscher Bundes-Verlag, Bonn 1962. 540 pp. (The first edition after the wall was built). 326-442. Thousand
- Federal Ministry for All-German Issues (Ed.): SBZ from AZ . 10th ed., 755–914. Thousand Deutscher Bundes-Verlag, Bonn 1966. 605 pp.
- Federal Ministry for All-German Affairs (ed.): A to Z . 11., revised. u. exp. Ed., 915. – 965. Thousand Deutscher Bundes-Verlag, Bonn 1969. 832 p., DNB 454534213
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Soviet Zone . duden.de
- ↑ 2nd edition 1954, DNB 450420787