NEWSPAPER CORRESPONDENT AT LEIPZIG FAIR DESCRIBES LIVING CONDITIONS IN GDR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160061-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 8, 2011
• Sequence Number: 61
• Publication Date: January 11, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160061-5
CLASSIFICATION C~~`IDENTIAL
CENTRALINTELLICENCE AGENCY REPORT
INFORMATION FROM
FOREIGN Dri:UMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS CD N0.
DATE OF
Economic -Trade ~ -~w~~yvu"
HOW Political - Unrest, sabotage
PUBLISHED Daily newspaper
WHERE
PUBLISHED Paris
DATE
PUBLISHED 21 - 23 Oct 1953
LANGUAGE French
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT N0.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED IP~FORMATION
NEWSPAPER CORRESPONDENT AT LEIPZIG FAIR
DESCRIBES LIVING CONDITIONS Ili GDR
~omment: Following is a summary of the first three install-
ments oi' a five-installment feature article by Georges Penchenier,
who covered the Leipzig Fair for the Paris daily nexapaper L?Monde.
The article xas carried in the 21 - 23 October 1953 issues of Le
Monde under the title "Feat Germany Losing Speed." The three in-
stallments summarized below contain information on living condi-
tions in the GDR as xell as observations on the Leipzig Fair]
En Route to Leipzig
Once on the autobahn connecting Berlin xith West Germany, it is ordinarily
forbidden to stop along the 150-kilometer route or to turn ofP the road. The
only exception to this regulation is the annual Leipzig Fair. For 10 days in
the early autumn, the usually deserted south autobahn is traveled by curious
diplomats, military personnel, end ,journalists. But their number is small, oxing
to the obstinacy of the Soviet authorities in discouraging visitors to the fair.
For anyone other than military or diplomatic personnel, it requires great
patience to get permission to visit Leipzig. The interviexa xith the Soviet
authorities are designed, to discourage even the most resolute. They not only
question your identity and background, but also you: motives for visiting Leip-
zig. Consul Panin, xho i.s in charge of receiving foreigners at Berlin, is mag-
nificent in his role, xith his forbidding air and disturbing smile. There are
many forms to be filled. (Even after 8 years, the forma still carry the name
of the USSR instead oP the GDR.)
Your reward, if successful, is a small slip of paper stamped "Gueltig our
fuer Leipzig" (Good only for Leipzig). There are rarely more than txo or three
Western correspondents xho xin the fight.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160061-5
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160061-5
Leaving thin Autobahn
orderede whilesthealong way toLLeipzigientailsacertain risksretjincedthesriots
in June and the American parcel campaign, check points have sprung up at the
intersections along the eastern section of the autobahn.
The procedure for getting ofP the autobahn is merely to turn boldly into
a aide road -- for example, at Dessau. Five hundred meters i'rom the autobahn
is a sign in French and English, which reads: "Access to thl.s area is forbid-
den to members of foreign missions or to any foreigner."
It is imFortant to resember that there are certain traditions which, in
spite of the change of regime, have not been discarded. Gernany, respectful
of regulations, believes others will respect them as well. Once n categorical
prohibition is posted, it is inconceivable that it xill be violated. If there
is no "schwarzer Vogel" (blackbird, a term for the People's Police) near the
sign, it is safe to continue.
With luck you can dri?.e 200 kilometers without encountering a road bar-
rier. Even at a barriar, perhaps the Peoples Police will let you through on
seeing the Cyrillic letters on your visa.
Interviewing an Innkeeper
The only way to arrange an interview in a People's .O~mocracy is to meet
people in a place away from listeners, to gain their confidence, and to let
them talk.
I stopped at nn inn in a small Saxon village, where I had to spend one half
hour reassuring the inn3;eeper that I was not a Russian. She refused to sell me
anything, even an egg. She explained that eggs must be sold for 15 pfennigs
apiece in prtvate commerce, while the RO (Aandels Organization), a sort of offi-
cial black market, sells them for 55 pfennigs. She had an acquaintance who was
sent to prison, accused of hav?ng resold some cigarettes. So I gave her 15
pfennigs apiece for the eggs, and a tip which made up the difference.
Leipzig at Fair Time
Leipzig 3oes act chsnge from year to yeax?. Whil? other cities have built
"avenues of socialism" and Idoscovite skyscrapers, the Saxon capital has retained,
in the midst of its still gaping ruins, the character of the small, bourgeois
provincial city.
The officials of the fair are an unchanging group. There is little imagi-
nation here, hardly any initiative, a great amount of good will, and pounds and
pounds of documents of no interast to anyone.
The lodging problem is acute. With the hotels filled, all Leipzig rents
rooms. If you have arrived late, the choice is li:,i:ited. While the foreigners'
bureau assures you of s "modern room with running v,'ater," it i~? invariably only
1E meters square with no room to move about.
Leipzig comes to life nt fair time, ai'ter 11 months of hibernetion. Excite-
ment is at its height at the station, where school groups and meiabers of the FDJ
(Freie Deutsche Jugend, Free German Youth) form in columns three abreast to march
to the fair. At the fair, their instructors show them models of reconstruction
projects and the vast Soviet exhibit.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160061-5
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160061-5
Worker and peasant delegations from all over "democratic" Germany come to
marvel at the riches and activity in Leipzig. A special event is the arrival
of automab:les carrying Americans in uniform. Pedestrians turn to watch these
foreigners who, they are told, want to conquer the world.
Merchandise and Prices
a parthof the Auerba?hsrKellerareaervedcexcl
i
y
oe
~
ute
f
us
vel
P
them
B
the
storea
are never crowded. The time has passed when it was possible to Pind Saxon por-
celain, furs, and fine paintings in Leipzig. The shops have only small stocks
of poor merchandise, such as the inevitable wooden objects crafted by the Thu-
ringian peasants in wintertime. Only Soviet soldiers and peasants from deep
xithin the GDR go to the state stores, in search of things they do not have at
home.
For e?rery purchase made at the jewelers, the buyer must give s gold or sil-
ver item of equal value. Antique dealers are unable to replenish their stocks
because the bourgeoisie has nothing to sell. Only two of the 30 stores attract
Western customers -- those which sell silks imported directly frc:n China.
Prices are prohibitive. The East German mark, north 20 francs in Berlin,
is here arbitrarily rated at 110 francs, or more than the West Gprmaa mark.
Moreover, the Western mark is sound money, while the CDR mark represents almost
nothing. Although West Germans are unable to go to Leipzig via Berlin, where
they could obtain East German marks at the 20-franc rate, they must use the
Eastern banks.
Exhibits at the Fair
The 1953 Pair was somewhat more successful than preceding fairs. Not only
were many more products displayed, but they indicsted, particularly regarding
agricultural machinery, great technical progress. The equipment displayed at
the USSR psvilion proved that the Soviets can compete with other countries in
any field.
At the Chinese exhibit, rather than admiring machine tools and looms, the
public marveled at the multicolored Bilk fabrics, shells, ivories, and ,jades.
The other buildings were no less crowded. The Poles sold vodka, the Czechs dis-
Played a small sport aircreft, and the Bulgarians installed at the center of
their pavilion a rose water fountain.
Western participation in the fair increases from year to year. There were
more than 1,100 visitors from the Netherlands this year, as compared with only
300 from Great Britain and 150 from France. None of the Western nations has
yet organized a national exhibit.
East-West Trade Restrictions
Most of the foreigners were satisfied with their visit, although they found
great obstacles to even the smallest trade transactions. With trade agreements
lacking, the Western buyers must contend with the complicated system of compen-
sations Por which they have to make the arrangements.
The Grotewohl government has decided to abandon the importing of capital
goods, and intends to buy consumers' goods abroad. This cannot fail to interest
the West. But compensations are still required, and the newcomers were poorly
equipped for this. The Dutch, on the other hand, who have dealt with the GDR
for years, increase at each fair the volume of their trade and frequently serve
as agents for countries such as France.
-3-
CONFIDENTIAL
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160061-5
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160061-5
The Western embargo policy is definitely turning against its authors. Lack-
ing purchasing power in the West, the People's Democrscies have in recent years
been forced to find their own suppliers. One example is the case of a Munich
firm which used to sell oil well equipment to Rumania. The fire was forced to
discontinue selling to Rumania, but when the restriction wea finally removc?d,
Rumania no longer needed its services, 1'or meanwhile 3ungary had developed an
industry to produce oil-well equipment.
Difficulties do not arise exclusively as a result of Western policy. The
exhibitors at the fair from the Eastern countries also face many obstacles. East-
ern plants have no direct contacts with their buyers, but must deal through many
intermediaries, and an unbelievable amount of red tape hinders all trade. In
some cases, items ready for delivery remain for months in their crates, awF.iting
an order that is lost in some official's file.
Moreover, the lack of raw materials is a great handicap to the People's
Democracies, at least the CDR, and frequently buyers interested in an exhibited
prototype discover that the delivery date will be several years later.
Entertainment i~- Leipzig '
For evening entertainment, in addition to the opera, theater, snd concerts,
there is the famous restaurant still known as the Antifa. Here the orchestra
makes the windows shake to the rhythm of sambas, rumbas, swing, and other dance
music ordinarily forbidden because they indicate degeneracy.
There are also crowded cabarets, where the chansonniers, to the great boy
of the audience, make ,71bes at the sacrosanct institutions of the regime and say
what they think of the H0. Some observers interpret this as proof that the gov-
ernment does not dare to intervene. Others believe that the government author-
izes such humorous criticism to demonstrate that freedom does exist.
An Interviex on the Road
On the way to Leipzig, I offered a ride to an East German engineer who had
obtained a day off from his plant to visit the fair. He was delighted to have
met a foreigner and immediately began to criticize the regime, describing the
horrible political, economic, and social situations in the GDR.
The situation is constantly worsening and discontent is widespread. The
workers are sick of norms and are resisting any increases. No one believes in
the sincerity of the new government policy.
The engineer told me that the June riots were not intended to overthrow the
government, and were far from an expression of a popular revolutionary movement.
The people, he said, accept any government, right or left, authoritarian or not.
According to him, the June uprisings were the result of the announcement of in-
creased norms and lower wages.
Resentment Against the Re ime
Complaints against the worthless money and poor merchandise tre common,
even at Leipzig. The people appear to hsve accumulated their resentment over
the long winter months, to release it at one blow at fair time. Leipzig may
appear to be well kept, well fed, and very pleasant, but the appearance is arti-
ficial. After the fair, the city returns to hibernation for another 11 months.,
Never before has there been as much irritation as was expressed this year at
Leipzig. Never have the people of the Soviet Zone been so eager to confide in
foreigners, to complain, and to attack the government. The most curious Pact
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160061
50X1-HUM ,
 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160061-5
is that this great discontent is developing at a time of improvements in the
standard oP living and when the government has declared a policy more lenient,
more liberal, and more favorable to the peasant and small businessman.
Conditions have clearly improved since the inauguration oP the new policy
(11 June 19,3) in East Germany. For the first time in a long while, food ration
coupons are being honored. The meat ration is 1,300 grams per month instead of
the former 900 grams, The sugar ration has been raised to 1,200 grams, which
the grocer now hands over without argument, and the ration of Pats is 900 grams,
at least one third oP which is real butter.
While the neu government policy could have been expected to be successful,
only 6 days after its inauguration the Berlin riots began. The people, after
7 years of timorous bowing to government decrees, suddenly realized that the
situation had been reversed: the man on the street was now feared by the cen-
tral power. This Pact has not been forgotten. More and more Sast Germans
today are refusing to be swayed by the government's self-criticism. A govern-
ment which admits to having been misled is not liked, particularly in Germany.
Sabotage and German Youth
Sabotage is increasing in the GDR. More and more spies and saboteurs are
being arrested. The information released by the GDR government to ,justify the
repressive measures employed since June must, of course, be distrusted. How-
ever, one can believe the anti-Communist organizations in West Berlin and the
Western special services, which say that, since June, many ~D~ young people
have volunteered for espionage and sabotage missions in the GDR.
The measures taken by the Communists against the distribution of American
parcels in West Berlin have s double purpose: to halt the onrush of East Ger-
mans to West Berlin, which shows too clearly the increasing opposition to the
government, and to prevent the recruitment by the US oP volunteer agents, who
would be prepared to run any risks. Such recruitment is not difficult.
The youth are eager to strike, these same youngsters who had given the FDJ
leaders so much hope. For the first time in 8 years, many of them realize that
the ne'.r regime has not kept its promises. The romantic word, liberty, has taken
on new meaning. They are reverting to the views of their parents.
Anyone who has attended several Leipzig Fairs will realize that this year
something has changed betweer. the Elbe and the Oder rivers.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/09/08: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700160061