249 - Languages of Liberation in East Germany

Languages of Liberation in East Germany
By John P. Burgess

MAY 8, 1985, marked the 40th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. In East Germany, the German Democratic Republic (GDR), May 8 is the "Day of Liberation." On the occasion of the 40th anniversary, both church and state sponsored special observances. Together they declared that the liberation from fascism had given Germans a new opportunity and responsibility to work for peace and justice.

Though sharing this common commitment, church and state developed different "languages" by which to interpret the significance of the occasion. On the one hand, the state, under direction of the Marxist-Leninist party, spoke of liberation to socialism and communism, and employed a standardized vocabulary of words and phrases especially coined for the occasion. On the other, the church (here I refer primarily to the Lutheran and Reformed Evangelical Church, the major church body in the GDR) spoke of liberation to witness and service before God. The church rarely employs the special terminology characteristic of the state language. Moreover, the church addresses key questions and issues which the state seems to avoid. If the state focussed on reason for celebration, the church saw May 8 as an occasion to confess guilt, request forgiveness, and proclaim reconciliation.

In the GDR, the mass media are organs of party and state. Because all organizations, with the exception of the church, stand under direction of party and state, publications and public speeches largely reflect the "official" language.

The church is not directly subject to the state's regulation of language. It publishes its own books, journals, and weekly newspapers. The state, nonetheless, reserves the right to confiscate any publications which grossly violate the official standards. Because the church has a limited amount of paper, it is forced to exercise self-censorship. But the church has other ways to raise a public voice. Worship services and church meetings take place openly and freely. Moreover, the church is allowed to print occasional papers "for use only within the church." Though limited in what it can say outside its bounds, the church invites people to hear sermons, participate in discussions, and read papers in

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which many topics, otherwise taboo, are addressed. The state can, of course, bring pressure to bear upon the church, but it is also anxious to prove that it does indeed respect "freedom of religious exercise."¹ Because of the freedom which the church enjoys, it is able to extend the range of public discussion in the GDR.

I

The official language of party and state is given in the major newspaper, Neues Deutschland. As organ of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party (Marxist-Leninist), Neues Deutschland sets the accents in the mass media. On January 11, 1985, party and state issued a "proclamation over the 40th anniversary of the victory over Hitler fascism and the liberation of the German people." The proclamation, printed on the front page of Neues Deutschland, presents the official interpretation of May 8. Whereas prior to this date, the topic "Day of Liberation" received scant attention, afterwards articles appeared everyday until May 8. Neues Deutschland regularly printed public speeches of leading party and state officials who recited the official language. Other reports covered key battles between Germany and the Soviet Union, the activities of freedom fighters in the resistance, the destruction of German cities in Allied air attacks, and the gradual liberation of different cities and concentration camps. Attention was given to the preparation for observance of May 8 both within the GDR and internationally. Even articles dealing with topics such as the arts or the economy incorporated words, phrases, and themes of the official language to May 8.

May 8 was also a central topic of discussion in the church. Statements were prepared, speeches and sermons were delivered. Some were reported upon by Neues Deutschland; many were printed by the church "for use only within the church." Leading church officials spoke at church ceremonies commemorating the victims of the concentration camps, the sacrifice of the Soviet Union and the Allies, and the death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. On the evening of May 8, a worship service held in the central cathedral of East Berlin was broadcast simultaneously on East German television. In spite of the domination of the state language in the public sphere, it is reasonable to suppose that the church's language to May 8 also touched most East Germans.²

In the first sentence of their proclamation, party and state declare that the GDR celebrates the 40th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union over Hitler fascism and the liberation of the German people from Nazi rule.³ This statement identifies three issues which the church also

¹ The Constitution of the GDR guarantees every citizen "the right to profess a religious faith and to exercise religious activities" (Article 39).
² Since most East Germans can receive West German television and radio, they would also have heard Western reports over the activities of the East German church.
³ Aufruf zum 40. Jahretages des Sieges uber den Hitlerfaschismus und der Befreiung des deutschen Volkes," Neues Deutschland, January 11, 1985. All quotations are my translations.

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addressed: (1) the relationship of the GDR to the victors of war, (2) the role of the Soviet Union, and (3) the designation of May 8 as the "Day of Liberation."

II

According to the official interpretation, the GDR stands on the side of the victors of World War II. She has inherited the traditions of the anti-fascist freedom fighters. The resistance unified people of different world-views and nationalities, but the German freedom fighters, especially the communists, played the leading role. The anti-fascist struggle was "above all the enduring achievement of the German communists … who as the first victims of fascism … animated and inflamed the anti-fascist resistance."⁴ The anti-fascists saved the honor of the people.⁵ They represent "the good Germany."⁶ They were "the best forces of our people."⁷

The GDR has taken advantage of the chance she received after her liberation. She unified the working class, eradicated militarism and the imperialistic roots of war, founded a socialist society, entered into an indestructible alliance with the Soviet Union, and opened the way for all citizens to work together to build socialism.⁸ "Through our republic, her flourishing and thriving in the heart of Europe, the world has become richer in hope… . Here we broke with the fateful, reactionary past of imperalism and militarism."⁹ "The roots of war, exploitation, and oppression are forever eradicated in the German Democratic Republic."¹⁰

According to the state language, fascism had its roots in imperialism. The concentration camps are an "illustration of the truth that the structures of the exploitation of man by man are also structures of the extermination of man by man."¹¹ Fascism was "the most reactionary and aggressive monstrosity of German imperialism and militarism."¹² It lusted after world domination.¹³ The state language has a special vocabulary by which to describe fascism. It was a "pestilence," "the worst enemy of mankind," and "the darkest reactionary force since the

⁴ H. Axen, "Schwur von Buchenwald in der DDR in Ehren erfullt," Neues Deutschland, April 15, 1985.
⁵ E. Honecker, "In unserern Land lebt die Einheit der Antifaschisten fort," Neues Deutschland, May 6, 1985.
⁶ H. Sindermann, "Im Kampf fur den Frieden als treuer Verbundeter an der Seite der Sowjetunion," Neues Deutschland, May 9, 1985.
⁷ H. Tisch, "Mit hohen Leistungen fur das Wohl und das Gluck unseres Volkes," Neues Deutschland, May 2, 1985.
⁸ "Aufruf," op. cit.
⁹ E. Honecker, "Die DDR verkorpert die Ideale des antifaschitischen Kampfes," Neues Deutschland, April 29, 1985.
¹⁰ K. Hager, "Die DDR ist ein stabiler Friedensfaktor in Europa," Neues Deutschland, April 22, 1985.
¹¹ Axen, op. cit.
¹² E. Honecker, "Eine welthistorische Tat, die auch das deutsche Volk befreite," Neues Deutschland, March 23/24, 1985.
¹³ Ibid.

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Middle Ages."¹⁴ Most Germans were themselves victims of fascism. Among the fifty million victims of the war were six million Germans."¹⁵ Although the communists suffered the most under Hitler, democrats and Christians were also attacked.¹⁶

The state argues, therefore, that the GDR has no link to fascism. The entire nation is a testimony against imperialism and militarism. It stands on the side of the victors, especially the Soviet Union. May 8 is an occasion for celebration rather than humiliation. The state, however, never addresses the role of the millions of Germans still living in the GDR who did not oppose Hitler. It is the church which takes up this question and calls for confession of guilt.

The church language depicts the horror of facism, but does not rely upon a standardized terminology. Fascism was a "unique, cynical-nihilistic blood and terror regime."¹⁷ Hitler's victory would have brought the end of all human values.¹⁸ But Germans were not simply victims. "We see that wide circles of the populace supported the national socialist regime with enthusiastic agreement. The church was no exception. Fascism was not the wor of a few who had to execute their will. against the majority."¹⁹ "I believe that everyone who at that time consciously experienced what happened in our people will have to concede that he shares guilt, for he did too little to change things."²⁰ The roots of fascism do not simply lie in imperialism, but rather "in the fateful traditions of our history … in the idolization of nation and state, in anti-semitism, in education to blind obedience and suppression of social and democratic movements."²¹ Germans felt so sure that God was on their side that they no longer asked for God's word.²²

The church statements reflect the conviction that the wounds of the past can begin to heal when people confess their guilt and receive forgiveness. The first step is to acknowledge one's own complicity.²³ The second step is to ask forgiveness of the peoples who suffered death and loss at the hands of Germany.²⁴ The church acknowledges that 40 years later it still stands at the beginning of these tasks.²⁵ Yet, there have been signs of forgiveness and reconciliation. Peoples and nations formerly at

¹⁴ "Aufruf," op. cit. and E. Honecker, March 23/24,1985, op. cit.
¹⁵ "Aufruf," op. cit.
¹⁶ Sindermann, op. cit.
¹⁷ A. Schoenherr, unpublished manuscript of address at Buchenwald commemorating Dietrich Bonhoeffer, March 30, 1985, p. 1.
¹⁸ Aktion Suhnezeichen in der DDR und Aktion Siihnezeichen/Friedensdienste in Berlin-West, "Zeichen des Friedens and der Versohnung setzen," 1995.
¹⁹ Ibid.
²⁰ Bishop Forck, address at Sachsenhausen, May 10, 1985, Pressemitteilung Nr. 21, Bund der Evangelischen Kirchen in der DDR, 1985,
²¹ Aktion Suhnezeichen op. cit.
²² Bishop Demke, unpublished manuscript of sermon in Torgau, April 25, 1985, p. 1.
²³ A. Schoenherr, address at the memorial for the Jewish old people's home in Berlin, May 10, 1985, Pressemitteilung Nr. 21, Bund der Evangelischen Krtchen in der DDR, 1985.
²⁴ Ibid.
²⁵ Aktion Suhneziechen op. cit.

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war have learned to live together in peace.²⁶ It is this experience of forgiveness which has liberated people for a new beginning.²⁷

Church and state thus offer differing interpretations of the relationship of the GDR to the victors of war. By addressing the question of the personal guilt of millions of Germans, the church extends the range of public conversation in regard to May 8. Moreover, the church in its statements suggests that celebration not of victory, but of signs of reconciliation is the appropriate response to the 40th anniversary. If the process of healing begins indeed with confession of guilt, the church's statements to May 8 carry broad social significance.

III

According to the official interpretation, the Soviet Union is the liberator of the German people. She played the leading role in the anti-Hitler coalition, and suffered the heaviest losses. In its proclamation about May 9, the state declares that the "glorious" Soviet army bore the "major" burden of the war; it fought on the "chief " front where the "decisive" battles took place; the Soviet people demonstrated mass "heroism" under the leadership of the communist party; their victory testifies to the "historical superiority" of socialism and represented the "triumph of humanism, freedom and human worth."²⁸ Such words and phrases constitute a standard vocabulary which appears in different combinations in the state's language to May 8.²⁹

At times, the state language sounds almost religious in its description of the role of the Soviet Union. Her victory is elevated to a singular deed of enduring, universal significance. One theme is salvation. The Soviet Union "saved world civilization" through an "enduring, world historical act."³⁰ She "saved mankind from barbarism."³¹ A second theme is thankfulness. While the GDR acknowledges the role of all the Allied powers, she especially thanks the Soviet Union. In the weeks prior to May, several key slogans emerged in the state's language: "thanks to you, you Soviet soldiers," "glory and honor to the sons and daughters of the heroic Soviet people," "glory and thanks to our liberators."³² A third theme is the unique accomplishment of the Soviet Union. Her act of liberation is "incomparable and everlasting."³³ With her victory "shone

²⁶ Bishop Hempel, sermon in Berlin, May 8, 1985, Pressernitteilung Nr. 21, Bund der Evangelischen Kirchen in der DDR, 1985, p. 2.
²⁷ Der Bund der Evangelischen Kirchen in der DDR und die Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland, "Wort zum Frieden," 1985.
²⁸ "Aufruf," op. cit.
²⁹ See other speeches cited.
³⁰ "Aufruf," op. cit., and Hager, op. cit.
³¹ Honecker, April 29, 1985, op. cit.
³² Hager, op. cit.; E. Honecker, "Bewegende Manifestation unserer Kampfgemeinschaft," Neues Deutschland, May 6, 1985; Axen, op. cit.
³³ E. Honecker, "Der welthistorische Sieg fur den Frieden und eine gluckliche Zukunft der Menschheit," Neues Deutschland, May 9, 1985.

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the noble concepts of freedom, equality and brotherhood … on all mankind."³⁴

The church in its statements to May 8 also acknowledged the special role of the Soviet Union. At a special church ceremony, the heavy sacrifice of the Soviet people was remembered.³⁵ The guilt of Germans especially over against the Soviet Union was expressed in several statements.³⁶ But by contrast to the state language, the church's word is reserved. No special terminology was coined to magnify the role of the Soviet Union. Moreover, the church does not focus on the act of liberation, but calls rather for mutual forgiveness and reconciliation between Germans and Soviets.³⁷

Church and state thus offer differing assessments of the role of the Soviet Union forty years ago. Both acknowledge the suffering which Germany brought over the Soviet Union. But the state declares the mighty deeds of the Soviet Union, and fails to betray the mistrust which millions of Germans still harbor toward Soviets. By expressing the hope that Germans and Soviets can slowly learn friendship, the church suggests publicly that a long, hard task is still ahead of them. Once again, it is the church's language which addresses difficult social issues which the state avoids in its statements.

IV

In the GDR, May 8 is celebrated as the "Day of Liberation." On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the end of the war, the day was declared a national holiday. Celebration, not humiliation, was the dominant tone. Whereas public debate raged, especially in West Germany, over the significance of the 40th anniversary, citizens of the GDR were reminded daily that May89 meant liberation also for the German people. Newspapers, billboards, and posters publicly declared the state position.

Neues Deutschland reminded its readers that many leading politicians in the West took a different stance. In its proclamation over May 8, the state declared that whoever in West Germany "speaks of May 8 as a day of sadness, of capitulation rather than liberation, and wishes to alter the map of Europe, places himself outside of history and endangers the peace in Europe."³⁸ Later statements underlined this point. Whoever in the West intends to observe May 8as a day of sorrow "probably would have preferred to see the fascist arsonists and murderers triumph."³⁹ "Whoever still speaks of May 8 only as a day of the capitulation of the

³⁴ Sindermann, op. cit.
³⁵ Bishop Dernke, address at the memorial on the Seelower Heights, May 10, 1985, Pressemitteilung Nr. 21, Bund der Evangelischen Kirchen in der DDR, 1985.
³⁶ Bund, op. cit.; Aktion Suhnezeichen, op. cit.; Schoenherr, March 30, 1985, op. cit.; Demke, April 25, 1985, op. cit.
³⁷ Hempel does not even mention the word "liberation" in his sermon, op. cit.
³⁸ "Aufruf," op. cit.
³⁹ H. Hoffmann, "Unsere Freundschaft hat tiefe Wurzeln geschlagen," Neues Deutschland, April 17, 1985.

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Germany army and not as a liberation from fascism seeks to erase the gruesomeness of the Nazi rule from the memory of the nations, and has never heard the death cry of the innocent victims."⁴⁰

As in its descriptions of the role of the Soviet Union, the state language assumes an almost religious character when it refers to the liberation. Through the liberation, the nations were preserved from decline and fall, and were granted a peaceful and happy future.⁴¹ "The history of mankind is acquainted with events and times in which the world transformative power of social progress so triumphantly opens a way through the dark forces of slavery and death."⁴² The liberation introduced a new period of world history and life.⁴³

The statements of the church to May 8 reflect greater nuance and more reservation. May 8 was not simply liberation. Many Christians experienced the end of the war as judgment: imprisonment, dislocation, hunger, humiliation, the division of Germany into zones of occupation.⁴⁴ The end of the war was collapse. The degree of destruction and gruesomeness could no longer be hidden from the German people: millions dead, the extermination of the Jews, the complete devastation of cities in Poland, Germany, France, and the Soviet Union.⁴⁵

But May 8 was also liberation. The church reflects carefully over the kind of liberation which May 8 brought: liberation from the continuation of war, an unjust political system, an ideology of national and racial superiority; liberation to witness and service, confession of guilt, friendship with other nations.⁴⁶ This liberation was painful, for it had to come from the outside. "We Germans were not able to liberate ourselves."⁴⁷ But "in retrospect we experience the end of the war as liberation to a new witness to God's grace and a new service to God's world."⁴⁸

Rather than coining a special vocabulary to celebrate the unique enduring significance of the liberation, the church identifies the continuing tasks which grow out of it. In this sense, liberation is not yet complete, for war and mistrust have not yet been overcome.⁴⁹ "Our liberation presupposes that we Germans remember that which the National Socialist regime poisoned: to speak the truth rather than to lie, to value justice, to call injustice injustice, to act as advocates for those who are unable to procure justice for themselves, to establish joy, friendship, reconciliation, and peace as the holy bonds between us human beings."⁵⁰ Christians in the GDR could perhaps become "parliamentarians

⁴⁰ H. Sinderman, "Menschheit siegte uber die Barberei," Neues Deutschland, April 15, 1985.
⁴¹ Honecker, May 9, 1985, op. cit.
⁴² Axen, op. cit.
⁴³ Ibid.
⁴⁴ Bund, op. cit.
⁴⁵ Aktion Suhnezeichen, op. cit.
⁴⁶ Ibid
⁴⁷ Schoenherr, March 30,1985, op. cit., p. 4.
⁴⁸ Bund, op. cit.
⁴⁹ Demke April 25, 1985, op. cit., p. 4.
⁵⁰ Schoenherr, March 30, 1985, op. cit., p. 4.

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of reconciliation and peace, that is to say, the people who without weapons, without power, without privileges, are reliable, accountable, and willing to risk going back and forth between the fronts in order to serve as interpreters. To interpret for example … that one must always begin anew with trust, even when it brings so little success."⁵¹

The church statements to May 8 call for a renewed commitment to peace and justice. "We ask the Allies of the Second World War … [to] promote cultural, economic and scientific cooperation as well as contact between people across the borders."⁵² The church supports the development of good relations between the nations.⁵³ Moreover, Christians in the GDR can work together with other groups (such as the communists) on issues of common concern.⁵⁴

Church and state thus agree that May 8 is a "Day of Liberation." But their differences in perspective are again apparent. According to the state interpretation, May 8 was only liberation. Anyone who speaks otherwise is potentially an opponent. The church insists upon a deeper and fuller interpretation. The pain and sorrow which the end of the war brought should not be repressed, but openly confessed. The state employs religious-like language to express the universal, enduring significance of liberation as a political event. The church, by contrast, views liberation theologically. The experience of God's grace has important consequences for the church's mission in the world. If the state would "sanctify" liberation, the church would give it concrete social content in terms of the continuing challenge to promote peace and justice both within the GDR and internationally.

V

In a society in which one group such as the Marxist-Leninist party propagates a language that dominates the mass media, public conformity rather than debate may seem inevitable. In the GDR, one continually encounters a standardized vocabulary of words and phrases especially coined for significant state occasions, whether May 8, October 7 (the anniversary of the founding of the GDR), or a forthcoming party congress. Words like "peace," "justice," and "liberation" are filled with a content that reflects the prevailing ideology.

Appearances are, of course, deceptive. In the GDR, as in every society, people hold a wide variety of positions on every significant social question. Beneath the public conformity reflected in the mass media, one encounters a lively debate over the concrete significance of words like "peace," "justice," and "liberation." The church, too, has an interest in defining these words. Through its public statements, the

⁵¹ Hempel, op. cit., p. 4.
⁵² Bund, op. cit.
⁵³ Ibid.
⁵⁴ Schoenherr, March 30, 1985, op. cit., p. 6.
⁵⁵ See my article "Christian Options in East Germany," The Christian Century, 103 (Jan. 22, 1986) 3.

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church reminds society that no one group has exclusive ownership of such concepts. Neither retreating into a private language nor relinquishing public language to the state, the church finds its own language by which to address its society. The church raises a public voice that would remain faithful to the gospel and serve society.

Forty years ago, Germany fell in defeat before the armies of East and West. To the wounds of war was added the pain of division. Ideological confrontation obscured the effort to make sense of past and present. The church, too, found itself in a new situation. No longer did it enjoy the special privileges of a "state church." The communist government propagated a "scientific-atheistic" world-view, and anticipated that religion would gradually die of itself as the new social order took hold. Christians responded in different ways. Some feared that the new government would repress religion. They believed that the church would have to go underground or publicly confront the totalitarian order. Other Christians hoped that they might find ways to work together with Marxists to envision and realize a society freed of the remnants of fascism. They believed that the church should acknowledge the possibilities of the new social order.

These various responses continue to characterize different segments of the church today. Yet, Christians have increasingly come to find their way between "confrontation" and "conformity." Both theological and political factors have played a role. On the one hand, the church understands its primary task as preaching the gospel rather than a pro-communist or anti-communist ideology. The fact that it no longer enjoys special privileges need not discourage it in the work of proclamation. On the other hand, the church has learned that Christians can work together with Marxists on those "penultimate" matters that promote and preserve the social good. Christians have found elements of the socialist order that they can affirm and support. It is not surprising, therefore, that the church in the GDR increasingly identifies itself as "Kirche im Sozialismus," rather than against or outside of Socialism.

Ideological differences are not insignificant. Christians realize that the gospel they preach also has implications for their commitment to peace and justice. East German Christians feel a special responsibility in light of the suffering and destruction which Germany has wrought over the world this century. They support their state's call for removing nuclear warheads from both Germanies, but question the growing militarization of their society. They support their state's program of economic justice, but call for equal treatment of all citizens regardless of their religious or ideological commitments.

Yet, the church in the GDR does not see its first task as consisting in trying to change the structures that, for example, effectively limit what it can publish, but to make creative use of the possibilities that it enjoys. There is, of course, considerable debate within the church over what is possible and what is not. But, the recent emergence of peace groups demonstrates that the church can give concrete social content to its

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theological convictions without degenerating into a mere "political opposition."⁵⁵

Forty years after the end of the war, Christians are a minority in the GDR. The wounds of war have also left disillusionment over religion. The church seeks to heal these wounds through proclaiming the liberation that Christ offers the world. Through its language of liberation, the church would respond to the deepest of human longings-even forty years later, the longing for forgiveness and reconciliation.