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Picture 34:
This picture was taken during the Leipzig trade fair in March 1960. It shows the entrance to
the „central registration office for West German and West Berlin visitors to the fair“
(indicated on the small board above the entrance). A propagandist slogan has been put above it:
"The German Democratic Republic - rescuer of peace". In early 1960, the GDR government had
renewed calls for a peace treaty and for disarmament. At the same time, the GDR National Defence
Council was founded. Such peace initiatives must be seen in the context of East Germany's
struggle for international diplomatic recognition: shortly before the Paris summit in which the
East German leaders wished to participate as representatives of a sovereign state, the words
"rescuer of peace" attribute outstanding diplomatic importance to the GDR. On the other hand,
describing East Germany as a "peace-loving" state, or simply as a "peace state", was a lasting
feature of its propaganda and - like the description „anti-fascist German state“ - served as a
major strategy in claiming legitimacy. In sharp contrast, state education furthered an increasing
militarization of society from the mid-1950s onward, and during the 1980s, the state used its
secret police and judicial bodies to repress the independent peace movement. |
