THREE GREAT TRAGEDIES/MISTAKES OF 1989-1991
(Click the GDR flag to hear the DDR anthem/Click the Soviet Flag to hear the Anthem of the USSR)
(Comments: tony.papard@btinternet.com )
1. Tearing down the Berlin Wall
The Wall was erected for a very good purpose: to protect the economy, the social services and the standard of living of the citizens of the German Democratic Republic, the first Socialist state on German soil. Pulling it down and reuniting the two Germanies was a great mistake, and has resulted in economic hardship for all the German people, both East and West.
Instead of pulling the Wall down, it should have been opened up as a regular border between two states. People should have been able to pass thru from East to West and West to East, but go thru the formalities of crossing any border - passports, visas, currency exchange, Customs, etc.. You could not have an open border between two states with two totally different economic systems. When there was an open border between Berlin, Capital of the GDR (East Berlin) and West Berlin, after the Second World War right up until August 1961, people could live in subdized low-rent housing in the East, shop in subsidized shops in the GDR capital, use the excellent social services of the GDR, the cheap GDR transport system and get high-paid jobs in the Western sectors of the city. West Berlin became the 'thorn in the flesh of the GDR' bleeding it dry of all its best workers, and starving the GDR of taxes which rightfully belonged to it. These parasites were enjoying the benefits of Socialism without paying anything towards it. They were getting the best of both worlds - the high wages of the West, and the social security and excellent social services of the East. Wages were lower in the GDR because it was a Socialist high-tax, heavily subsidized economy. Not only were wages higher in the West, so were prices.
What should have happened in 1989 and the years that followed, apart from the opening up of border crossings between the GDR capital and West Berlin, and between the GDR and West Germany, was the democratization of the political system in the GDR. The basis of a multi-party democratic Socialist state was already there - in the Volkskammer, the People's Parliament, of the GDR sat deputies representing all the political parties - including the Socialist Unity Party (the merged Communist and Social Democratic Parties), the Christian Democrats, the Liberal Democrats, the National Democrats plus other organizations such as the Free German Youth. All that was needed was disbandment of the ruling coalition government and free elections with rival candidates put up by these various political parties and democratic organizations.
Germany should only have been reunited when conditions were right - the two economies and social systems needed to gradually move closer together. They could only really be successfully reunited under some form of Socialism. By trying to restore capitalism in the GDR it was made into a pool of cheap labor whilst its industries were taken over by West German corporations. Unemployment, which was unknown in the GDR, became widespread in eastern Germany, and as a result of the hardships caused by reunification neo-nazism raised its ugly head. Many people in both eastern and western Germany now regret reuniting the two German states so quickly. The people in the West feel they are having to subsidize those in the East - of course they are because the social security system of the Socialist state has been destroyed. Whilst those in the East have lost all their job security and the state which looked after them from the cradle to the grave, and are now left to fend for themselves in the harsh rat-race of capitalism, with just a few crumbs thrown begrudgingly to them by the capitalist Federal Republic.
The German Democratic Republic, the first Socialist state on German soil, deserved a better legacy than to be absorbed into the Federal Republic of Germany, have its industry taken over, its working-class monuments pulled down, and its streets dedicated to working-class heroes like Rosa Luxemburg and Clara Zetkin renamed. Most insulting of all, Karl-Marx-Stadt reverted to its former name of Chemnitz, yet Karl Marx was the greatest Socialist who ever lived, who inspired the British Labour Party and Socialists around the world, and yet his own country, Germany, can't even name one town after him. It's a disgrace!
2. Slovenia declaring independence from Yugoslavia
When Slovenia broke away from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia it led to the tragic break-up of the most successful Socialist state in the world. Tito had created a unique Market Socialist economy in the Yugoslav federation. It combined the best aspects of capitalism and Socialism. The competitive element of capitalism was maintained by the system of worker and consumer cooperatives, rather than the bureaucratic, usually inefficient State enterprises existing in the other Socialist countries.
What followed was worse than tragic - the terrible ethnic wars between the former Yugoslav states brought once again to Europe the terrible genocide of the Nazi era. How could citizens, once united under Tito in a Socialist state, commit these atrocities against each other? How could former Communists become fascist nationalists overnight? The whole episode of the break-up of Yugoslavia and the terrible wars and genocide which followed sicken me. This was a beautiful country I loved, but it became once again a hotbed of ethnic hatred and nationalism. In the process, of course, all vestiges of Socialism were destroyed, as was the very successful system of worker cooperatives.
Now the former states of Yugoslavia are clamoring to join the EU. How stupid is that, when they were already part of a federation forged by Marshal Tito? All that was needed, as in the GDR, was a democratization of the political system to allow free elections with rival candidates and a multi-party system. By demanding 'independence' only to later apply to join the EU, Slovenia set in motion the break-up of the most successful Socialist federation in the world. Comrade Tito must have wept in his grave at the terrible wars which followed Slovenia's utterly selfish short-lived quest for so-called 'independence' before it decided to try to become absorbed in the European Union.
3. The Baltic states demanding independence from the USSR
When, one by one, the three Baltic Soviet Socialist Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania demanded to leave the Soviet Union, this quickly led to the break-up of this mighty Socialist federation forged by Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin and others. A great Soviet family of peoples living in peace and harmony, and striving to build Socialism.
The way the Baltic states became incorporated into the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War (the Second World War) may not have been ideal, and the same applies to how Socialism came to the rest of Eastern Europe after this War. Neverthless, the people of these three states should have thought very carefully indeed about how they could survive as tiny independent states. Of course they couldn't, so soon applied to join the European Union.
By breaking away from the USSR, however, they caused the break-up of this Socialist federation, and destroyed all hope of a democratic, multi-party Soviet Union with free elections. Comrade Gorbachov introduced glasnost and perestroika and was trying to release the iron grip of the Communist Party, and this is how he was repaid. All the gains of over 70 years of Socialism were thrown away when the Soviet Union broke up, and again terrible ethnic wars broke out between the former Soviet states, as in former Yugoslavia. These ethnic conflicts are still continuing. It is absolutely disgraceful and disgusting that former Soviet citizens should act in this manner. Whatever the faults and mistakes of the past, in particular during the Stalin era, the Soviet people should have built upon the Socialist base which existed in the USSR and created something better and more democratic - a Socialist state where power really did belong to the people. The destruction of the Soviet Union was without doubt the greatest tragedy of the latter half of the 20th century. With it went all hope of a better world, and Yankee imperialism was given carte blanche to trample on developing nations completely unchecked.
Conclusion:
I know that these three Socialist states, all of which I visited and loved, were far from perfect, but they did not deserve to be wiped off the face of the map, along with all that they had achieved in building the basis of Socialism. The people should have held on to the fraternity between the different ethnic groups and nationalities which Socialism brought to Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. The people of all three countries, the USSR, SFRY (Yugoslavia) and GDR, should have defended the Socialist system and improved it, introducing democratic elections and free choice of candidates from various political parties within their Socialist Constitutions. Instead they threw out the Socialist baby with the corrupt, authoritarian bathwater, and the entire world has suffered as a result.
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Socialist bloc, has the world situation improved? Hardly. The USA is the world's sole super-power, and believes it can dictate the economic and political system of every country in the world. Thru the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization the developing countries are forced to privatize their industries, which in practice means handing them over to Western multi-nationals to exploit their human and natural resources. This is merely colonialism under a new name - globalization.
The USA has now drawn up a list of countries it is threatening to invade because they won't toe its line, and there is no Socialist bloc to restrain this new Yankee imperialism. Even China and Vietnam have now adopted a capitalist economy. The invasion of Iraq was nothing to do with introducing democracy to that country, and everything to do with grabbing the oil. The torture and atrocities which happened under Saddam Hussein continue, perpertrated by Iraqis on other Iraqis, and also by British and American soldiers on Iraqis. In the process of invading Iraq and turning it into an American satellite state, the whole world has been thrown into a state of turmoil. Terrorism has spread worldwide in what many see as a war between Islamic fundamentalism and Western imperialism.
Of course dictators need to be restrained, people need to be protected from torture and genocide, action has to be taken when one country invades another, as Iraq invaded Kuwait claiming it as a 'lost' Iraqi province. But this action should always be taken thru the United Nations after a democratic vote in the General Assembly of that body. The UN and International Criminal Court should now take action against the USA, UK and others which illegally invaded Iraq in 2003. The veto of the permanent members of the Security Council must be removed to make the UN effective, and the whole issue of the Security Council and its permanent members needs to be reviewed. What is wrong with a majority vote in the General Assembly?
So we emerged from the Cold War and the threat of nuclear annihilation in the latter part of the 20th century, only to be plunged into the horror of endless wars, US hegemony, Islamic fundamentalism, and the ever-present very real danger of nuclear war or nuclear terrorism as this technology spreads around the world. The U.S. and its main ally, U.K., have no intention of getting rid of their own nuclear weapons even though they pledged to do so under international agreements, and are planning a new generation of war-fighting nukes.
The world is a more dangerous place than ever since the demise of the Soviet bloc. All stability has broken down, and the entire world is in turmoil. And this all started when those first bricks were torn from the Berlin Wall. By the way, try cutting a hole in the 'Berlin Wall' which separates the USA from Mexico, or Palestine from Israel, and see if you are treated as a 'hero' striking a great 'blow for democracy' by George Bush and the U.S. government!