EAST GERMANY CONSUMER SUPPLY SITUATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A000400110003-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 5, 2009
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: March 9, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved For Release 2009/02/05: CIA-RDP80-0081 OA000400110003-5
CLASSIFICATION
;;, ET SECURITY INFOPU?!ATION
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY REPOR1
INFORMATION REPORT
COUNTRY
SUBJECT
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE OF
INFO.
East Germ Consumer Supply Situation
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_n.. On 27 November 1952 Minister Pres".cent heinrich Rau, the now State Secretary
for the Office for the Coordination and Control of a n+.arnan "!'rx,rir. Hermann j r mp ?er.
One oirect.or of the Administration for Material Production ,Alfred Binz, and other
unidentified East Ceram government official: net to discuss the increasing, -?;C.11.~4r'les ;..C
Sa..P-.^k .- i red _Y_n n?"ovisJorl1ns the c.:~ ...au _. nitri i l,ai''! P'fo7'ltt7 al;:r.Cii1t, of 0,'-t f'
Gerrn. ;ny . The meeting was under the d rection of .:sinister i'r3sident Rau.
It was pointed out at the meeting that an increasing excess purchasing
power: exists in .i:ast Gerrmany. This has teen caused by the fact that increases
:awn productivity have not matched the increase in the income of the
popu:letions Since the beginning of 1952, for exampie, productivity increasF:~,d
only 12 percent While income rose 13,,5 percent? At the sane time marketable
consumer goods decreased because a. considerable part of the East German
produce had to be placed a.t the disposal of police troops and applied to
state reserves., This is true of foodstuffs as well as industrial products.,
Since there is no hone that the volute of products will increase in 1953,.
it. is necEessary to lir.it. or decrease in some other way the purchasing
power oi: the civilian population, .past Germany will allegedly tr,r to
solve the problem by imposing state bonds (Staatsanleihe) for reconstruction
of th.e country and place an extra tax (excise tax) on a large numbur of
consumer goods in sort supply, These measures were not to be made public
until after Christmas 1952. The wage group catalog which is currently
being worked out is to be re-examined to make sure that any further iricrear
in salary income is avoided,
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Approved For Release 2009/02/05: CIA-RDP80-00810A000400110003-5