Western (W): Germany (WG). Economic Situation in GDR

A file of reports and correspondence on the East German economy. The file contains reports on the fulfilment of the economic plans for 1956 and for the first half of 1957, and speeches by East German ministers on the effects of the events in Hungary and Poland in late 1956 on the East German economy. The file notes East German efforts to increase imports and exports; the chain of problems caused by the disruption of Polish black coal supplies to East Germany; and East German efforts to compensate by increasing domestic production of brown coal. The file also reports a speech by the East German leader, Walter Ulbricht, setting out the preconditions for the reunification of Germany, which would entail the nationalisation of major West German industries and the expropriation of large farms.