THE SOCIALIST UNITY PARTY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00926A000400050001-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 16, 2002
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: July 16, 1948
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved FoC~I~ ?~1~~0 i/~~9NC~.IA~t~g~~~-00926A0~~!~~.~
ILLEGIB
~~~~~'~~E~~A ~ 25X1A
COUNTRY Germany Soviet zoao)
SUBJECT The Socialist Unity Party
PLACE
ACQUIRE?
25X1 C
DATE
AcQu~REa
?ATE QIS1 R. ~6 J~:y 194-
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(LISTED BELD4V)
SUPPLEMENT i"'0
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1? Those r+eatern observers a~ho consider the Socialist Unity Party (SE-; of {uho
Soviet Zone of Germany a failure, lacking vitality and influence anti i^~andc~cp~~e)f.~.
by dependence upon the Soviet occupation authorities are overlooking ~:be
v~-g?~.ni=?
zation~-1 str?a~gth of s party arhich coa~bine3a the mcst effactiver$
powe~ri`ui
a~~a
Bangerous features of` the P~azia and Bolsha~vil~a~ It is capable
power in Germany ~rithoui: the b~lp of they Sovi?t Armyo
of ~;aix~in
~ap~?ea=~
2n th? SI';i3 ostensibly is ltd by thvnrists, writ?rs and orato~?a who ar? ~ra2~ lea to
to the gublico In the ~.nx~er circle are the 'grey" organizers, such as y7alter
Ulbrioht, ~Yilhelr3 7PieckP Anton Ackvrmann, .8oinrich Rau and Ed~rin. Iio?r~:le s, ~~?:~1Q
thette znen lack the glamor of their wcsatarn oaunferparts, they paraonia'y ;his now
Gauleitar who gill characterize the "Stalin epoch." They have bees Rv:ssii'ied
by long ;~taye in Moscow and have been involved in the purges aa(I shuf#'li~g of caclx?~~s
~rhich hs.ve typified the history of the Soviet Umion.
3a Thia cores of ~doacow.~tra.in?d organiers has been joined by Germar Cam~munittts fro~i
countries where they had taken refuge during the iXazi rel~r)., but a':.wa~;s ma~.n-~:~~ined
contact with I~?oacow. In comes of the countries, the Gom~?uni ttte ~er:~ jc~i.ne3 bar
Socialists who had floda The kno~rle3dge and axperiencfl that this w.dely tra.ve~.ed
g,ruup brings the Ste} is supplemented by that brought by a larUe group s~ho w ?ra
in concentration camps whesre they learned to dc~a.l with I~azia, instia;,u'~e .t?a?ror?
survive and even prosper under. the most adve)ree) conditiansa Lastl~r t~~esres ~xre the
Sacia.l Dez~ocrats, such ns Fritz Eb?rt.
r~. The S~ has th4 Soviet ~oae (zndesr :iron control, maintain.~ng a strong ~~.ch.ir.e;
police, action committees in plants, youth brigac~c~a, information ne~.~,vorl~fl ?~nd
tcjrrorist groups, all i.1VD=trs.inod. The group is larger than necesaarvrn inc~.icAting
it is prepared to de:~zl :vith a larger arses. than just then Soviet zon?. At its
sescond convention in April 197, the party numbered 1800,000, out of s. total
population of 19 million. :This dcos not inclu~.o innumerable front or~;anizationa
which :narshe~l women, youtho crai'ta, reacreatioxs, cultures anti era ready to infil~
trots ~resstern Gerrmm~y:~
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COI.7FZDlsI3TIAL
CONFIDENTIAL ~~aC~~d ~y ~.R.
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CONFP~~~~I~l
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58 Thee vitriolic fight between the S.F'D-dominated QGO (Unabhaengij;e +:~ewer'cschc~its
Organisation) and the SED shows up the myth of the unit?d proletariat. ~.'hiF
battle is fou;_*,ht from two aides of the same basin doctrine tivith both ,rou?as
using similar terminology, ideals and background. Both agree that the
proletariat must attain full power in the new German state and be able to
exercise this power through a centralized goverrunent and a natianalizad.
economy. This simplii zed ~Iarxisn~ implies unity among the workin; clas..c~.,
a dooms which is -accepted because of the contention that i3itler)g reed to no?:~rer
~~ae opeszed by a split in the r:orl:ini; .classes, The SPD has produced r~o o~.r:cr
arument and no other analysis of I~aaism than this constant harping; an
rral.etsarian unity. Becaus? the SLD also ernphasizea this u_*~ity, it hs.s a ar-~d$
f.
influence on the SFJ, despite disagreement on less funda~nenta.? isaur~sa
;i., German workers are pushed around ju st as workers in th? USSR; but thc~ t'e~.r cre-
ated by the kidnappings and terrorist methods employed in the Soviet Zone .icg:s
not alienate the tivarkers as western observers believe. b4any consider ~t
healthy discipline which wends out disloyal bourgeois elements '+~~orke,:~
treated to the crudest flRttery in bezng advanced as the central fi~;r.~r=~a in
thQ new Germany. Soviet bureaucracy, the new ruling class with grea,~> Mme;: ~~ris~
privileges, h~.s tremendous facility in dealing with the workers. Cad. Tti~:~a--parr,,
sokolavsky's adviser, upeaks eaceilent G~armar~, is versed in the back~.rou?id cz~.'
German socialism :end literature and is seen everywhere with workers vr;supu~
its ~Yill quote Hegel and I;arx, as well as Fichte and Goatheo Ho typi:'i~s t E;r{atxp
which may Pose merman Pdarxism and Soviet culture. They are a nAw ~;?y~~,=
Russified. Germans and Gerr.-.aniLed Russians-who are eqully at home in R~:rlin R.nd.
,Ioscow, feel a dual loyalty and spend all their tiane bringing the two cauntrias
together,
CONFIDENTIAL
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