Protestantism in East Germany, 1949–1989: A summing up

The reunification of Germany in October 1990 brought an end to an era. For the 40 years of the existence of the German Democratic Republic, Soviet military occupation of East Germany was a fact of life, the East German state attempted to construct a communist system on the Soviet model, and where religion was concerned the protestant churches played an ever greater role in harbouring political opposition to the regime and its policies. With the dismantling of the GDR, however, the churches, which had been invigorated by their politicisation, lost their unique political role, and watched helplessly as their congregations rapidly shrank. The GDR (1949-90) had the distinction of being the only communist country in which protestantism was clearly the predominant religious force. This fact, combined with the fact that Germany was a divided country, made for an almost unparalleled intensity of interaction between the churches of this society and churches in the 'moncommunist world, particularly West Germany and Austria. Clergy enjoyed an exemption from the general proscription against travel to noncommunist countries, and frequently travelled west for ecclesiastical and ecumenical meetings.