Working in DDR

[RedFred]

Did they get different income or did they get the same for all kind of work? and didn't it matter how much they worked?

[bugsy]

An interesting question, RedFred. The average monthly salary in the DDR at the time of reunification was around 1,300 Marks. A shop assistant would probably earn something like 1,100 Marks, while the mayor of a city or town would be on something like 1,500 Marks, as would a VEB (or company) director. So there weren't these yawning income gaps, as in Capitalist societies.

However, it's a bit more complicated than just a straight comparison, since basic groceries and other essential items were heavily subsidised in the DDR. A few examples would be: a Kw/h of electricity - 10 Pfennigs; a loaf of bread (1.5 Kg) - 80 Pfennigs; a litre of petrol - 1.50 Marks; a packet of fags (always 20s) - 3.50 Marks; the monthly rent for a two-bedroom flat (including ALL ancillary costs) - 80 Marks. So you see that it was very easy to exist on even a slightly lower than average monthly wage.

Then there were the prices for what were considered "luxury items". An LP of a western group (when available) - 40 - 60 Marks; a Sony Walkman - around 1,000 Marks.

Cars were also quite expensive. In addition to having to wait around 12 years for one, a Trabant (standard model) cost something like 12,000 Marks. But that was before the "extras" were added in. And now comes the weird part of this: the "extras consisted of, for instance, a spare wheel, a jack and wheel-brace, carpets, seat covers and many other things that are standard equipment in western countries.

I'm sure others on the board can add further interesting tit-bits of information to this very interesting subject.

MsG

[RedFred]

Thanks for the answer bugsy.

Should the people do anything to get a trabi? other than just have the money.

Does anybody know a website describing everyday life in DDR? I'm writing a report about it..

[bugsy]

I think you may have a bit of difficulty there, RedFred. There are loads of sites you can visit, but they're all in German. That's not a problem for me, since I earn by living by translating the language (among others). Perhaps others know of English sites about the DDR.

One thing you might like to mention in your report is the celebration of Fathers' Day in the DDR. Since religion was officially frowned upon, the Ossis used Ascension as "Herrentag". What happened was that all the geezers would grab their bikes and ride all day around from pub to pub, getting steadily more pissed in the process. The DDR Old Bill turned a blind eye to it and some of the crashes were truly spectacular. Imagine the peloton of the Tour de France times 20 (at least) and all falling off their bikes at the same time. I remember when I lived there, I watched two groups of totally pissed cyclists trying to pass each other. There must have been easily a thousand bikes in each group. All it took was for the first riders to start wobbling and it set off a chain-reaction that dumped them all on their arses.

Now you're probably asking yourself where all the cars were in this chaos. Simple! First off, there weren't that many cars in the DDR anyway, and, secondly, 90 percent of the drivers were in these biking piss-up groups.

But all in all, it was marvellous fun, and the tradition continued even after reunification.

MsG

[RedFred]

Sounds fun. I don't speak German fluently, but almost. I really wish I was born 20 years before and could have been living there. Can you give me the names of the websites you where talking about?

[Q]

Originally posted by [email protected] 09, 2007 05:42 pm
Sounds fun. I don't speak German fluently, but almost. I really wish I was born 20 years before and could have been living there.
The Stasi would have liked that.

Anyway, the real income is just a small indicator that covers up a huge difference in material access between the working layers and the bureaucratic stratum. The latter had all kinds of material benefits and privileges and they actually lived (quite litterally in the case of the DDR) isolated from the rest of society.

[bugsy]

Originally posted by Q-collective+December 09, 2007 07:34 pm--> (Q-collective @ December 09, 2007 07:34 pm)
[email protected] 09, 2007 05:42 pm
Sounds fun. I don't speak German fluently, but almost. I really wish I was born 20 years before and could have been living there.
The Stasi would have liked that.

Anyway, the real income is just a small indicator that covers up a huge difference in material access between the working layers and the bureaucratic stratum. The latter had all kinds of material benefits and privileges and they actually lived (quite litterally in the case of the DDR) isolated from the rest of society. [/b]
I'm not sure who you mean with "bureaucratic stratum", since it was only the "Parteibonzen" who profited "a la Wandlitz", but the normal Josephines and Joes doing the pen pushing didn't.

RedFred,

Here are a few links to be going on with:

http://www.ddr-alltagskultur.com/start/start.html

http://www.mdr.de/damals-in-der-ddr/ihre-g...te/1546397.html (http://www.mdr.de/damals-in-der-ddr/ihre-geschichte/1546397.html)

http://www.chronik-der-wende.de/

The third link is actually more about the fall of the Berlin wall and the subsequent period after that. But maybe you'll find it interesting too. I do, since I'm in the process of writing a book about "die Wende" from the point of view of an Irishman.

MsG