Die Politik der Sozialistischen Einheitspartei Deutschlands gegenüber den evangelischen Kirchen in der Sowjetischen Besatzungszone und in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik von 1945 bis 1953

• Main Author: Räkel, Marie-Elisabeth
• Other Authors: Hoffmann, Peter (advisor)
• Format: Others
• Language: ge
• Published: McGill University 1993
• Subjects: Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands; Church and state > Germany (East)
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=69680

1945 marks the beginning of Soviet occupation in Eastern Germany. This was followed by the gradual implementation of a communist regime and its attendant atheist ideology in a region where over 80% of the population subscribed to protestantism. This thesis examines the policies of the SED towards the Protestant Church in Eastern Germany and attempts to define the various phases, motives, methods, and principles underlying that religious policy from 1945 to 1953. === The SED's atheist ideology alone fails to explain all the measures taken with regard to the Church. The religious policy of the SED depended in large part on the overall political situation, on developments during the Cold War and Soviet projects aimed at Germany. While the SED ultimately sought to eliminate the Church, it was nonetheless prepared to solicit its support through compromise, when necessary for the stability of the regime.