戦後東ドイツ農村における農民の「共和国逃亡」 : メクレンブルク・フォアポンメルン州 1952-1955年

Abstract

When emphasizing only the strong political pressure as the reason of the mass emigration from agriculture in East Germany of 1950's, it is not sufficient to understand its social historical meaning. The purpose of this paper is to clarify this problem from more expensive perspective. Particularly we differentiate between the old and new farmers, considering that few historical research has dealt with the matters of new farmer emigration. Land Mecklenburg- Vorpommern is chosen as the research area, because there emerged a series of problems as to the mass emigration very prominently. On old-farmer villages this paper firstly emphasizes the historical significance of 1952-1953 because it led to the end of the "Großbauern" as a social class. In analyzing the reasons of farm requisition by the "devastated farm act" of 20 March 1952 related to the Republikflucht of old farmers, we find that not merely the SED agricultural policy against Großbauern but also the negative influence of WW2 upon the farmer's family members, such as a war death and wound, caused the farm devastation. Secondly we pay attention to the family members who remained in the village even after farm requisition. While working as the farm labors of OLB (public organization controlling requisitioned farms in the village), they suffered from housing problems, as they were deprived of the right to live in their own house and forced in the narrow rooms. About new farmers we find a behavioral pattern different from that of old farmers. Their motives for emigration are regarded as "proletarian", such as material discontent and exacerbation of either marital or family relationship. Further they had few consideration for farm succession, which allow young people to emigrate from villages. But a major part of farmers giving up farming in 1950's did not emigrate. They were new farmers who had accepted the vacant farm of emigrant, and gave up its farming to avoid a burden beyond their ability. In addition, we find often a marriage pattern that male new fanner got married into the family of his brid, that is, a female farmer. It enabled them to concentrate both human and material resources into better one. In the 1950's, specially after 17. June, there were opened some paths for new farmers to survive, which we would take in consideration to explain the diversity of collectivization in 1950's.