The East German coffee crisis was a shortage of coffee in the late 1970s in East Germany caused by a poor harvest and unstable commodity prices, severely limiting the government's ability to buy coffee on the world markets. As a consequence, the East German government increased its engagement in Africa and Asia, exporting weapons and equipment to coffee-producing nations. [1]
In 1977, East Germany experienced difficulties meeting domestic demand for coffee, a commodity that had to be bought using Westgeld , i.e. freely convertible Western currencies that were in short supply in Eastern Bloc countries. The coffee crisis indirectly led to changes in the world market for coffee. The coffee crisis led to a reorientation of East German foreign policy [2] as well as considerable belt-tightening. [3] In particular, the East German government engaged in barter with Third World countries, exporting weapons and trucks in exchange for coffee and energy. [4]
In the Soviet occupation zone, much like the rest of Europe after World War II, coffee was a scarce good. The first coffee imported into East Germany came from the Soviet Union. When these imports stopped in 1954, this led to the first mass shortages and intensified efforts to acquire foreign currency with which to purchase coffee. Beginning in 1957, roasted coffee was produced under the brand name Röstfein . Beginning in the 1960s, East Germany was able to reliably provide basic necessities, but luxury and exotic products remained scarce. [5] This led to increased demand for the available luxury goods, such as confections, tobacco, alcoholic beverages, and coffee (3.6 kilograms (7.9 lb) annually per capita) in the 1970s. By the 1970s, coffee was one of the most important items in an East German household budget, although gifts from friends and relatives in the West met about 20 percent of the country's coffee needs. [6] East German citizens spent an average of 3.3 billion East German marks for coffee per year, an amount comparable to expenditures on furniture and twice the amount spent on shoes. [7]
The coffee crisis began in 1976. The price of coffee rose dramatically after a failed harvest in Brazil, forcing the East German government to spend approximately 700 million West German marks on coffee (approximately US$300 million, equivalent to $1.45 billion today), nearly five times the expected DM 150 million per year. [8] The Socialist Unity Party (SED) leadership restricted the importation of food and luxury goods, while trying to gather sufficient foreign currency reserves to import petroleum. [9] This occurred against the backdrop of the 1970s energy crisis, as the effects of the 1973 oil shock only began to affect East Germany in the mid-1970s. [10]
The suggestion to cease coffee production, put forward by Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski, was able to be avoided after Central Committee member Werner Lamberz encouraged barter trades with, and armament sales to, [11] Third World countries, such as Ethiopia and Mozambique. The cheapest variety of coffee, "Kosta", was discontinued and only more expensive varieties were available. [12] Other alternatives were made available, such as "Kaffee-Mix", a 50 percent mixture of genuine and ersatz coffee, and rationing was not required. The Kaffee-Mix was pejoratively referred to as "Erichs Krönung", a reference to Erich Honecker, leader of East Germany, and the West German Jacobs Krönung coffee brand. The East German government assumed that much of the population would acquire coffee from Westpakete sent by West German relatives. This increased the demand for the typical return gift, a Dresdner Stollen, which also caused difficulties in the East German economy, because many of the ingredients, such as almonds, raisins, and succade, were also only available as imported goods. Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski's suggestion of a ban on giving Stollen was unsuccessful. [13]
The citizens of East Germany [14] overwhelmingly rejected the Kaffee-Mix and saw the coffee shortage as an attack on a major consumer need that was a large part of everyday life. The coffee mix also damaged some coffee machines, as the mixture contained substitute ingredients such as pea flour, which contains proteins that swell under heat and pressure, clogging the filters. [15] This led to numerous complaints and outraged reactions and protests. [16] Even though the price of coffee on the international markets retreated and normalized in 1978, [17] the problems faced by the East German government acquiring foreign currency continued into the 1980s, prolonging shortages that progressively damaged the image of the country's political leadership. It is estimated that 20–25 percent of the entire East German coffee consumption from 1975 to 1977 arrived from the West in care packages. [13] Coffee attained a value as a symbol of inner-German unity, far above its role as a mere consumer good or commodity. [18]
In West Germany, the coffee price increases in 1977 did not lead to any shortages, but did lead to the adoption of cheaper varieties of coffee in the lower price segment. [13] Coffee brands such as Tchibo and later Eduscho began to make forays into cross-selling, by offering coffee as well as non-food items. These changes can also be attributed to the effects of the coffee crisis on West Germany. [13]
The relationship between East Germany and Vietnam was exceptionally close. [19] Coffee production began in Vietnam in 1926 during French colonial rule. [20] Beginning in 1975, largely parallel with the coffee crisis in East Germany, the production of Robusta coffee began in Vietnam. Robusta plants grow faster, contain more caffeine, suit the climate of the Vietnamese Central Highlands, and lend themselves better to mechanized harvesting. However, Robusta coffee is cheaper and far more bitter than the gold standard Arabica.
In 1980 and 1986, two treaties were signed between East Germany and Vietnam, whereby East Germany provided the necessary equipment and machinery for production, increased the area of coffee plantations from 600 to 8,600 hectares (1,500 to 21,300 acres), and trained the local population in cultivation techniques. [20] In particular, East Germany provided trucks, machinery, and irrigation systems for the newly founded Kombinat Việt-Đức, as well as spending approximately $20 million on a hydropower plant. [20] East Germany also built housing, hospitals, and shops for the 10,000 people who were relocated to the area for coffee production. Against this investment, East Germany was scheduled to receive half of the coffee harvest for the next 20 years. [20] However, coffee takes eight years from planting until the first usable harvest, which occurred in 1990; at which point the East German state had already ceased to exist. [21]
Despite the loss of its original customer, Vietnam was able to quickly establish itself after 1990 as the second-largest coffee producer in the world after Brazil, driving much of the traditional coffee production in Africa out of the market. Export production was particularly boosted by the re-establishment of trade relations between the U.S. and Vietnam. This overproduction led to a crash in worldwide coffee prices in 2001. In 2016, Germany remains the largest export destination for Vietnamese coffee. [22]
Intershop was a chain of government-owned and operated retail stores in the German Democratic Republic in which only hard currencies could be used to purchase high-quality goods, usually from or associated with Western countries. The East German mark was not accepted as payment. Intershop was originally oriented towards visitors from Western countries, and later became an outlet where East Germans could purchase goods they could not otherwise obtain. An unintended consequence was that ordinary East Germans had some insight into the selection of goods available in the West, which they could then compare with the rather limited offerings available in their own country.
Radio DDR 1 was a radio channel produced and transmitted by Rundfunk der DDR, the radio broadcasting organization of East Germany (GDR). It had a mixed of news and light entertainment schedule, with an emphasis on events in the GDR, and also included regional programming.
The Order of Karl Marx was the most important order in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The award of the order also included a prize of 20,000 East German marks.
Rundfunk der DDR was the collective designation for radio broadcasting organized by the State Broadcasting Committee in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) until German reunification in 1990.
Coffee production has been a major source of income for Vietnam since the early 20th century. First introduced by the French in 1857, the Vietnamese coffee industry developed through the plantation system, becoming a major economic force in the country. After an interruption during and immediately following the Vietnam War, production rose once again after Đổi mới economic reforms, making coffee second only to rice in value of agricultural products exported from Vietnam.
Deutscher Fernsehfunk was the state television broadcaster in the German Democratic Republic from 1952 to 1991.
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Günter Rössler was a German photographer who made a name for himself especially in the field of nude art photography. A pioneer of nude photography in East Germany and notable fashion photographer, Rössler was often referred to by the media as the Helmut Newton of East Germany, stylized since Playboy published in 1984 a photo-gallery titled: Mädchen der DDR. Rössler however, never liked this comparison with Newton, saying: "with Newton the pose dominates, with me it is about the highest possible authenticity of the girls". Rössler significantly contributed to the history of German photography in the second half of the twentieth century, earning him recognition not only as a great photographer, but also as the "old master of German nude photography".
Erik Neutsch was one of the most successful writers in East Germany.
Werner Lamberz was a senior politician in the German Democratic Republic.
Gerhard Schürer was a leading politician in East Germany.
Paul Markowski was an East German politician. He became a member of the country's powerful Party Central Committee in 1971, at the unusually young age of 43. He was also unusually talented as a linguist. A promising career was cut short, however, when he died as the result of a desert helicopter accident while accompanying Werner Lamberz on a trade mission to Libya.
Christa Luft is a German economist and politician of the SED/PDS. Luft joined the SED in 1958. From 18 November 1989 to 18 March 1990, she was the Minister of Economics in the Modrow government. From 1994 to 2002 she was member of the Bundestag for the PDS.
Arno Donda was an East German economist and statistician. Between July 1963 and October 1990 he was in charge of the East German Statistical Authority .
Westpaket is the common term for care packages sent by West Germans to their friends and families in East Germany during the division of Germany from 1961 to 1989.
Musik und Gesellschaft was a music magazine in the German Democratic Republic. It was published monthly from 1951 to 1990 in East Berlin by Henschelverlag.
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Helga "Big Helga" Hahnemann was an East German multi-faceted stage performer and entertainer. She came to wider prominence through her television and radio appearances after 1962. By the time reunification arrived in 1990 she had become a leading star of the small screen in East Germany. She fell terminally ill and then died shortly afterwards, possibly because of the extent of her addiction to cigarettes: she was 54. Her death left unanswered the question of how successfully her performances might have captivated pan-German television audiences post unification.
Michael Hametner is a German–Austrian journalist, editor, writer and literary and theater critic
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