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As with many Soviet-allied countries prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall, the government of the former German Democratic Republic (German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik) applied wide censorship during its existence from 1949 to 1990. Disambiguation Page Global Depositary Receipt East Germany ... Censorship is the removal or withholding of information from the public by a controlling group or body. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ...

Provisions of the East German constitution

The original 1949 version of the East German constitution did not provide for censorship of the press, but did guarantee in article 9, section 2 that "censorship of the media is not to occur"[1]. This provision was removed in the 1968 revision of the document, and expanded to become article 27, reflecting the modernization of technology:

• "Every citizen has the right to freely and publicly advance his or her opinion in accordance to the principles of the constitution."
• "The freedom of press, broadcasting and television is warranted."

Despite this, both official and unofficial censorship occurred throughout the history of the GDR, although to a lessened extent during its later years. Because the GDR was effectively a one-party state under the command and guidance of the SED, the freedom of the press and other printing industries was at the will of the ruling party, the regime, and the ideological desires of the people in command. A single-party state or one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system and form of government where only a single political party dominates the government and no opposition parties are allowed. ... The logo of the SED The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) (German: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands) was the governing party of East Germany from its formation in 1949 until the elections of 1990. ...

Although this apparently contradicts the above provisions, the fact that expression had to be "in accordance with the principles of the constitution" allowed the government to call on issues such as national security, public decency, and other issues covered in national law in order to enforce censorship. Security measures taken to protect the Houses of Parliament in London, England. ...

Implementations

All publications in the media, the arts, or culture were governmental controlled. To ensure that the system of censorship was complete, potential publications had to pass through different instances of censorship. Two stages were the outer and the inner (governmental and SED party censorship) censorship. The Arts is a broad subdivision of culture, comprised of many expressive disciplines. ... Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning to cultivate), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ...

Outer censorship

The outer censorship consisted of the pre-censorship of the publishing companies. The censor analyzed the manuscript in the aspect of the socialist ideology and recommended changes to the author if necessary. Afterwards the whole work was again analyzed for ideology hostile to the current governmental ideology by a committee of the publishing company.

Governmental censorship

This kind of censorship was done and supervised by two governmental organizations which supervised the censorship of literature. The first one has been the head office for publishing companies and bookselling trade (Hauptverwaltung Verlage und Buchhandel, HV), and the second one was the Bureau for Copyright (Büro für Urheberrechte).

The HV decided about the degree of censorship and the way of publishing and marketing the work. The Bureau for Copyright appraised the work, then decided if the book or another publication was allowed to be published in foreign countries as well as te GDR, or only in the GDR.

Censorship of the party SED

This censorship existed within all layers of the GDR. Every business and organisation was affected by it. Party members were in all institutions and held key positions (e.g. in the authors collective). Sometimes censorship was done directly by the Politbüro, especially if it did not fit to the ideology of the day. Politburo is short for Political Bureau. ...

Censorship in art and culture

All publishers, as well as all public venues and exhibitions of art and culture, were subject to censorship. Before a novel could be published or a play could be performed, it had to be submitted to censors for review. A novel (from French nouvelle Italian novella, new) is an extended, generally fictional narrative, typically in prose. ... Romeo and Juliet by Ford Madox Brown A play, written by a playwright, or dramatist, is a form of literature, almost always consisting of dialog between characters, and intended for performance rather than reading. ...

Censored topics

Content which was considered harmful to the regime, or to communist ideologies in general, was strictly forbidden. The definition of what could be harmful included a number of different categories. This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ...

Most directly, criticism of communism was not tolerated. This included any criticisms of communism in general, as well as discussion of the current regimes of the GDR and the Soviet Union, and usually of other Soviet-allied states. It also included discussion of the Stasi's activities and methods. Similarly, ideas which were sympathetic of capitalism or fascism, which were seen as the two enemies of communism, were not allowed. Any idea which encouraged resistance to the government, such as conscientious objection, was not to be discussed. A critic (derived from the ancient Greek word krites meaning a judge) is a person who offers a value judgement or an interpretation. ... Logo of East Germanys Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS or Stasi) / Ministry for State Security This article is about Stasi, the secret police of East Germany. ... It has been suggested that Definitions of capitalism be merged into this article or section. ... Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology (generally tied to a mass movement) that considers individual and other societal interests inferior to the needs of the state, and seeks to forge a type of national unity, usually based on ethnic, religious, cultural, or racial attributes. ... A conscientious objector is an individual whose personal beliefs are incompatible with military service, or sometimes with any role in the armed forces. ...

Negative portrayals of the GDR were censored as well. This included criticisms and complaints about the standard of living and education in the country as well as calling attention to pollution and other problems of the industrial system. Republikflucht, or fleeing the GDR for West Germany or other countries, was not to be portrayed at all, nor was discussion of the Berlin Wall. The Standard of living refers to the quality and quantity of goods and services available to people and the way these services and goods are distributed within a population. ... It has been suggested that Pollutant be merged into this article or section. ... Republikflucht is the German term given to the process by which people left the German Democratic Republic (GDR) for a life in West Germany or indeed any other Western country. ... East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 20 November 1961. ...

Lastly, the government enforced strict standards of decency. "Crude" topics, such as homosexuality and pornography were to be avoided. Similarly, portrayals of any East Germans as "uncivilized", through extreme violence or delinquency, or the suggestion that East Germans might suffer from problems such as alcoholism or suicidal depression were also to be excluded. Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ... Pornographic movies Pornography (Porn) (from Greek πόρνη (porne) prostitute and γραφή (grafe) writing), more informally referred to as porn or porno, is the explicit representation of the human body or sexual activity with the goal of sexual arousal. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Delinquency means failure to do that which is required by law or by duty. ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ... It has been suggested that The Pros of suicide be merged into this article or section. ... Clinical depression (also called major depressive disorder, or sometimes unipolar when compared with bipolar disorder or sometimes called manic depression]) is a state of intense sadness, melancholia or despair that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ...

In addition to censoring content, the government also reserved the right to disallow publication or exhibition on the basis of form. Anything not considered a "proper" form was barred. Disallowed forms and techniques included free verse poetry; internal monologue and stream of consciousness; nonsense or avant-garde; and abstract art. Free verse (also at times referred to as vers libre) is a term describing various styles of poetry that are not written using strict meter or rhyme, but that still are recognizable as poetry by virtue of complex patterns of one sort or another that readers will perceive to be... The Chinese poem Quatrain on Heavenly Mountain by Emperor Gaozong (Song Dynasty) Poetry (from the Greek , poiesis, making or creating) is a form of art in which language is used for its aesthetic qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its ostensible meaning. ... Also known as interior monologue, inner voice, internal speech, or stream of consciousness. ... In literary criticism, stream of consciousness is a literary technique which seeks to portray an individuals point of view by giving the written equivalent of the characters thought processes. ... A work similar to Marcel Duchamps Fountain Avant garde (written avant-garde) is a French phrase, one of many French phrases used by English speakers. ...

Execution and consequences

Disobeying the rules for acceptable releases carried varying penalties. At the very least, the offending party would be warned and the material in question would not be published or exhibited. Bans from publishing or performing were also levied in order to keep the material from being released.

Punitive measures were also taken, including arrest or house arrest. Party members could be expelled from the SED, and visa requests were frequently denied to offenders. In the most extreme of circumstances, an offender could be deported, most often to West Germany. The Chicago Police Department arrests a man An arrest is the action of the police, or person acting under the law, to take a person into custody so that they may be forthcoming to answer for the commission of a crime. ... In justice and law, house arrest is the situation where a person is confined (by the authorities) to his or her residence. ... Entry visa valid in Schengen treaty countries. ...

Censhorship and punishment, however, were not carried out uniformly. For example, if the creator was a party member of the SED, the work was offered more leniency. Furthermore, if the creator had been successful, their work was also more easily passed. If he or she had political relationships (either the "wrong" or "right" ones), the censorship process was affected as well. Finally, because many regulations were subjective or unclear, a censor who enjoyed a piece might afford it leniency where another would not. Very often, pieces banned in one area were allowed in others for this reason.

Many artists and authors tried to avoid conflicts from the outset, working hard to create works that fit into the guidelines. This phenomenon was called the "shear in the head". Others took the omnipresence of censorship as a challenge. For them, it was stimulus to their creativity. These dissenters, known as "wrap artists", tried to avoid censorship with clever usage of artistic instruments like satire, irony, metaphor, or alienation to say the desired in a different and, for the censor, unrecognizable way, with mixed results.

Censorship in journalism

Several times a week, press information was released from the public relations office. In this press information were guidelines for the press, and how to deal with up-to-date issues. Prescribed terminologies for press, Broadcasting, and television were included. The public relation office was authorized to give instructions to the General German Press Agency (German: Allgemeine Deutsche Nachrichtenagentur). Public relations (PR) is the business, organizational, philanthropic, or social function of managing communication between an organization and its audiences. ... Press is a general term having a number of related meanings stemming from the original definition of pressing as the physical action of applying force: Things relating to Metalworking: Machine press, a machine that shapes material by the application of pressure; Flypress, a machine that cuts material by pressing with... Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience. ...

Apprenticeships of journalists

Journalists were seen by the regime as functionaries of the party, not as independent reporters. The journalistic apprenticeship took place at the Karl Marx University in Leipzig, which had a special program for journalism. If a journalist finished the studies successfully, the journalist became a certified "socialistic journalist". This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The University of Leipzig (Universität Leipzig), located in Leipzig in the Free State and former Kingdom of Saxony, is one of the oldest universities in Europe. ...   [] (Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk) is the largest city in the federal state of Saxony in Germany with a population of over 504,000. ...

The selection of potential students was the business of the state. A national governmental pre-selection of candidates was done before the apprenticeship. Within the studies, journalists learned the socialistic ideology of Marxism-Leninism. Only candidates who were considered likely to work to uphold those ideals were certified. Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ...

Organization of journalists

In addition, attempts were made to collectivize journalists within the government. To be member of the Journalistic Collective (Verband der Journalisten der DDR, VDJ) provided advantages to the members, and made it possible to achieve better positions. pproximately 90 percent of certified journalists were organized within the VDJ. The VDJ journalist understood himself as a professional educator of other journalists.

The VDJ advised the students in the journalism program of the university in Leipzig. Ideologically, was it used to consolidate the idea of socialist journalism. The VDJ also operated its own school for journalism in Leipzig. This school provided advanced training courses. The school became very popular with aspiring journalists as a result of the possibility to make contacts through socializing with VDJ members.

Free journalists and participation of citizens

Amateurs participated in public press work beside the professional journalists. These untrained co-workers were called Volkskorrespondenten, "the people's correspondents". These reporters were honorary workers in press and broadcast, and special journalists of companies. Having worked as a Volkskorrespondent was looked upon favorably in applications for journalism apprenticeship. Those citizens who participated in the Volkskorrespondent program were more likely to receive admission to the journalism program in Leipzig.

Some independent journalists attempted to publish material critical of the government. This was normally unsuccessful, as all publications were censored. Continual or substantial transgressions made a journalist vulnerable to the same punishments as those levied against artists and publishers.

External links

• GDR Censporship regarding Literature
• GDR WIKI
• GDR Censorship of Literature
• The time in the GDR Online
• Literature in the GDR
• Newspapers in the GDR