Paying attention to each other. An essay on the transnational intersections of industrial economy, subjectivity, and governance in East Germany's social-psychological training.

This article examines a little-known chapter both in the history of socialist labor relations and the history of psychology: Social Psychological Training (SPT) for industrial leaders in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Based on previously untapped archival sources, it uncovers the transnational genesis of SPT and its intricate relationships with Western "therapeutic culture" of the 1970s. Governmental perspectives are addressed, as well as the level of individual appropriation of SPT and possible unintended side effects of techniques that were drawn from the social psychological and therapeutical fields. This case study helps to explore the functions of psychological expertise in authoritarian political contexts, as well as the polyvalence of group methods of change, the effects of which could turn out repressive as well as liberating on both sides of the Iron Curtain. The history of SPT solicits a polycentric view on therapeutic culture, capturing its diverse manifestations and interconnections between different societies and political economies.

[The 1960 poliomyelitis vaccination campaign in the GDR using the example of the city of Halle (Saale): historical experiences and problems]. / Die Impfaktion gegen Poliomyelitis in der DDR im Jahr 1960 am Beispiel der Stadt Halle (Saale): Historische Erfahrungen und Probleme.

In the 1950s, the epidemic occurrence of infantile paralysis (poliomyelitis) posed major challenges to health systems worldwide. Since there was no causal therapy for the viral disease, exposure prophylaxis was of particular importance. Ultimately, it was only through the development of vaccines that infantile paralysis could be permanently reduced. In 1960, the Sabin-Tschumakow oral vaccine was administered in the former German Democratic Republic GDR for the first time in Germany. Within one year, this vaccine succeeded in almost completely eradicating polio in the GDR. The article uses unpublished archival material to trace the systematic vaccination campaign using the example of the then district capital Halle (Saale). There alone, 63,328 children and adolescents were immunized within three days in May 1960. With 78,085 vaccinees recorded in advance, this corresponded to a rate within the polio-vulnerable population group of around 81%. The sources show that the GDR's government healthcare system and the principle of outreach vaccination contributed to the success of the vaccination campaign.

Medical Aid, Repression, and International Relations: The East German Hospital at Metema.

Between 1984 and 1988, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) built a hospital in a remote part of Ethiopia, close to the Sudanese border. The project evolved in a complex combination of contexts, including the general foreign policy goals of the GDR, its specific alliance with Ethiopia, the famine of 1984-85, civil war in Ethiopia, and a controversial resettlement program by the government of Mengistu Haile Mariam. Though almost unknown today, it was a high-profile project at the time, which received the personal support both by Erich Honecker in the GDR and Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia. However, their interest was directed more at the political goals the project was expected to serve than at the hospital itself. Both the preparation and the implementation of the project were extremely difficult and almost failed due to problems of transportation, of red tape, and of security. The operation of the hospital was also not ideal, involving frustrated personnel and less than complete acceptance by the local population. Ironically, for all its practical difficulties, the hospital has outlived both governments and their political goals, surviving as a medical institution.

The development of maxillofacial surgery in East Germany: From a municipal hospital to specialised department at the medical academy Dresden.

The transition of the Stomatology Clinic into the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery at the Medical Academy Carl Gustav Carus in Dresden shows how healthcare evolved in East Germany after the Second World War. Founded in 1954 to tackle medical staff shortages, the department grew and specialised over time, becoming a key hub for surgical dentistry in Saxony. Through structural changes, it became a semi-autonomous unit, emphasising patient care and research. By 1983, it evolved into a full Section of Stomatology, streamlining care and training, enhancing expertise and promoting collaboration. Overall, this transformation reflects a significant shift in dental healthcare and academic leadership, shaping surgical dentistry in the region.

Persecutee in the Third Reich, full professor in the GDR: The communist physician Carl Coutelle (1908-1993) and his post-war career as pathologist.

As an avowed communist, Carl Coutelle was one of the few (future) pathologists persecuted for purely political reasons in the Third Reich. Despite this peculiarity, his life has received little attention. The present article takes the existing research desideratum as an opportunity to elaborate on Coutelle's fate during the Nazi era, but also on his academic rise to the position of full professor at the University of Halle (GDR). The analysis is based on extensive files from various German archives. The article pursues a twofold question: On the one hand, it seems necessary to clarify how Coutelle's life between 1933 and 1945 can be characterized and classified, and on the other hand, it is of interest whether he owed his career in the GDR primarily to scientific merit or to state support. It can be shown that Coutelle's career path reflects the prevailing political power relations: With the beginning of the Third Reich, Coutelle was completely disenfranchised because of his political views; he was forced to emigrate, interrupted his nascent scientific career, and became actively involved in the international anti-fascist resistance. After the war, Coutelle became one of the protagonists of the socialist transformation and denazification of the health care system in the Soviet Occupation Zone. Now his career took the opposite course: Although his research performance was below average compared to other pathologists from the GDR, the avowed communist was appointed full professor - due to state intervention and against the declared will of the faculty in Halle.

Nixon and Scheel in China: Acupuncture and Anesthesia in West and East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s.

BACKGROUND: Acupuncture anesthesia was used instead of intubation anesthesia in the 1970s and 1980s in West Germany and West Berlin. In East Germany acupuncture played no decisive role. SOURCES: Different articles and papers in journals, in daily press, statements of contemporary witnesses, films, records in archives. RESULTS: As in other Western countries, acupuncture was hugely popular in the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1970s. Chief triggers were the state visits to China of the American President Richard Nixon in 1972 and shortly thereafter of West German Foreign Minister Walter Scheel and his wife Mildred, an x-ray technician. During that period observation of an operation under acupuncture anesthesia was an obligatory element in the agenda of a foreign delegation. Following this showcasing, acupuncture was widely adopted in Western surgery as an alternative to the previously exclusive employment of intubation anesthesia. While the alternative method was soon abandoned in the frontline city of West Berlin, it continued to prevail in other West German cities, e.g. Gießen and Munich. Following the Chinese example, the acupuncture effect was normally enhanced electrically. In accordance with the animosity between the USSR and the People's Republic of China, exchange between the German Democratic Republic and China was very restricted through the late 1980s. This made it easier for East German acupuncture sceptics to reject the procedure and brand it as unscientific. Those who advocated it were in a precarious position. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture was lauded in the West as ancient savvy destined to complement science-oriented medicine. However, the cultural transfer which accompanied the spread of acupuncture was flawed by misunderstanding and misguidance. Acupuncture anesthesia instead of intubation was not practiced in the GDR. Acceptance of acupuncture in East German medicine failed to make any headway until the last few years of the country's existence.

Were our critics right about the Stasi?

BACKGROUND: Disinformation, now best known generically as "fake news," is an old and protean weapon. Prominent in the 1980s was AIDS disinformation, including the HIV-from-Fort-Detrick myth, for whose propagation some figures ultimately admitted blame while others shamelessly claimed credit. In 2013 we reported a comprehensive analysis of this myth, finding leading roles for the Soviet Union's state security service, the KGB, and for biologist and independent conspiracy theorist Jakob Segal but not for East Germany's state security service, the Stasi. We found Stasi involvement had been much less extensive and much less successful than two former Stasi officers had begun claiming following German reunification. In 2014 two historians crediting the two former Stasi officers coauthored a monograph challenging our analysis and portraying the Stasi as having directed Segal, or at least as having used him as a "conscious or unconscious multiplier," and as having successfully assisted a Soviet bloc AIDS-disinformation conspiracy that they soon inherited and thenceforth led. In 2017 a German appellate court found our 2013 analysis persuasive in a defamation suit brought by a filmmaker whose work the 2014 monograph had depicted as co-funded by the Stasi. Question and methods. Were our critics right about the Stasi? We asked and answered ten subsidiary questions bearing upon our critics' arguments, reassessing our own prior work and probing additional sources including archives of East Germany's Partei- und Staatsführung [party-and-state leadership] and the recollections of living witnesses. FINDINGS: Jakob Segal transformed and transmitted the myth without direction from the KGB or the Stasi or any element of East Germany's party-and-state leadership. The Stasi had trouble even tracking Segal's activities, which some officers feared would disadvantage East Germany scientifically, economically, and politically. Three officers in one Stasi section did show interest in myth propagation, but their efforts were late, limited, inept, and inconsequential. CONCLUSION: The HIV-from-Fort-Detrick myth, most effectively promoted by Jakob Segal acting independently of any state's security service, was not, contrary to claims, a Stasi success.

Ingeborg Syllm-Rapoport (1912-2017): An Exemplary Life for Children and Paediatrics.

Ingeborg Syllm-Rapoport, the first Chair in neonatology in Europe, passed away on March 23. Her biography illustrates how medical and scientific work has been influenced by social, ideological, and economic frames and boundaries in the 20th century. Regarded as a "Half-Jew" by the Nazi racist laws, she was denied her medical doctorate. She went to the USA, where she trained in paediatrics and met her husband, the biochemist Samuel Mitja Rapoport. During the "McCarthy Era" both were persecuted as communists. They returned to Europe and became two of the most influential figures at the Charité Hospital in East Berlin. She had to wait until 2015 to finally undergo the doctoral examination at the age of 102 years, making her the oldest person in history to receive a doctorate. We describe Syllm-Rapoport's life and the challenges she had to face living in several countries under different political systems in the 20th century.

Accuracy of recall of use of an intrauterine device.

Within a case-control study of the relationship between oral contraceptives and breast cancer, information on other contraceptive practices, including use of an intrauterine device (IUD) was obtained through interviews of study subjects and from the records of gynaecologists. Information from these two sources was compared for 239 women who had ever used an IUD. The results showed that agreement on total duration, number of IUD episodes, and time since first and time since last IUD use was excellent. As approximately 75% of IUDs used were unknown, agreement on brands could not be investigated. Studies investigating the effects of individual types of IUDs should use physician records as an additional source of information.

PIP: Researchers analyzed interview and physician records' data on 45 women with breast cancer (cases) admitted to the Central Institute of Cancer Research in Berlin, East Germany between November 1982-June 1986 and born in 1983 or later and 194 women (controls) admitted to the Klinikum Berlin-Buch also in East Germany for conditions other than breast cancer to compare recall accuracy in women who had ever used an IUD. These women were drawn from case control study of the relationship between breast cancer and oral contraceptive use was part of the WHO Collaborative Study of Neoplasia and Steroid Contraceptives. Agreement between patient recall and physician records was exceptional for duration of IUD use (p.001), number of IUD episodes (kappa=0.79), time since 1st IUD and time since last IUD use (p.001). Agreement rates did not differ between cases and controls. 75% of the women could not name the IUD brand used so the researcher could not examine agreement of brand name. Thus, other than brand name, this study showed that validity of information on IUD use obtained from interviews is significant. In fact, it also pointed out that case control studies probably yield sound relative risk estimates.

Sexuality, sexual behaviour and contraception in East Germany.

Social factors may influence sexual health and its related behaviour. The political changes in East Germany have revealed a positive attitude towards sexuality and the use of family planning methods. A study on sexual behaviour and the use of contraceptives was undertaken recently, at the end of the old regime and the beginning of the new one. The survey was performed among 3103 male and female respondents (pupils, students and workers) of between 16 and 48 years of age. The results show a decreased number of stable partner relationships among young people, however, love and sexuality are considered to be central values. Before the age of 19 years, the majority of girls (80%) and boys (68%) had had sexual intercourse for the first time, a rate which has not changed during the last decade. There is a tendency to postpone having a first child. Modern contraception is widely accepted and used. There is a growing number of condom users, however, the pill is still the most popular method. Family planning is much more advanced than in the other countries of Eastern Europe. Sex education and counselling should sustain this situation.

PIP: In 1990, the Central Institute for Youth Research in Leipzig, Germany, conducted the Partner Study III which consisted of 3103 pupils, students, and factory workers in the former East Germany, 16-48 years old, to determine society's influence on partner relationships, sexuality, sexual behavior, and family planning use. Just 25% of 16-year-old males and 50% of 16 year-old-females had a stable partner relationship compared to 75% and 93%, respectively, for 16-year-olds in earlier studies. Almost everyone (99%) had premarital sexual intercourse. Mean age at first intercourse was 17, which usually occurred in a stable partnership (77% of males and 85% of females). 67% of 16-18 year old couples had agreed on contraception, especially oral contraceptives (OCs) and condoms (75% and 32%, respectively), before first intercourse. Most respondents considered love and sexuality to be central aspects of their lives. Respondents had sexual intercourse 8-9 days/month. Most women (91%) had had a recent orgasm. Most people wanted to marry, but later than they did previously, and to have children (87% and 99%, respectively). Yet, many East Germans were delaying childbearing. 99% favored contraception. Most people considered contraception to be the responsibility of both men and women. Acceptance of contraception did not include acceptance of abortion as a birth control method. Yet, few wanted to make the liberal abortion law more restrictive. The most commonly used contraceptive methods were OCs (66%) and condoms (62% vs. 35% in 1980). Overall, the sample had a good knowledge of contraceptive methods. More than 90% favored OCs. More than 80% accepted the condom. They considered it to be morally sound to carry a condom due to the threat of AIDS. Yet, few used a condom for each act of coitus. Safe contraception was a prerequisite for sexual intercourse for 79% of youth. Youth in East Germany tended to have a serious attitude of responsibility towards one's partner, contraception, and sexuality.

Eastern Europe: pronatalist policies and private behavior.

PIP: Fertility trends in the 9 Eastern European socialist countries (Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, USSR, Yugoslavia) are reviewed. Official policy in all these countries but Yugoslavia is explicitly pronatalist to varying degrees. Attention is directed to the following areas: similarities and differences; fertility trends (historical trends, post World War 2 trends, and family size); abortion trends (abortion legislation history, current legislation, abortion data, impact on birth rates, abortion seekers, health risks, and psychological aftereffects); contraceptive availability and practice; pronatal economic incentives (impact on fertility); women's position; and marriage, divorce, and sexual attitudes. The fact that fertility was generally higher in the Eastern European socialist countries than in Western Europe in the mid-1970s is credited to pronatalist measures undertaken when fertility fell or threatened to fall below replacement level (2.1 births/woman) after abortion was liberalized in all countries but Albania, following the lead of the USSR in 1955. Fertility increased where access to abortion was again restricted (mildly in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary at various times, and severely in Romania in 1966) and/or economic incentives such as birth grants, paid maternity leave, family and child care allowances, and low interest loans to newlyweds were substantially increased (Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland to some extent, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the German Democratic Republic in 1976). Subsequent declines in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Romania suggest that policy induced increases in fertility are short-lived. Couples respond to abortion restrictions by practicing more efficient contraception or resorting to illegal abortion. It is evident that the region's low birth rate is realized mainly with abortion, for withdrawal remains the primary contraceptive method in all countries but Hungary and the German Democratic Republic. It seems that cash incentives have advanced the timing of 1st and 2nd births without substantially increasing the 3rd births required to keep national fertility above replacement level. Demographic factors alone will most likely keep birth rates low in several Eastern European countries during the 1980s and the 1990s. Due to the low birth rates in the 1960s, there will be fewer women in the prime childbearing ages of 20-29 in at least Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Hungary. It becomes clear that policy efforts to influence private reproductive behavior can only be moderately successful if the living conditions are such that women are determined not to have more than 1 or 2 children.^ieng

Late effects of induced abortion. Hypothesis or knowledge?

Recent local, state and federal regulations intending to provide "informed consent" for women considering termination of pregnancy have misrepresented the current state of knowledge about certain long-term complications: the alleged risks are presented to the patient as if they were scientific facts rather than still-unproven hypotheses. While it is possible that some late sequelae are associated with previously induced abortions, there is no agreement in the scientific literature on the magnitude of the risks, if any. Moreover, few studies adequately define the particular method of induced abortion whose effects they are investigating. The current data do not support firm conclusions about induced abortion either causing or not causing any of the alleged long-term complications.

PIP: At this time there is no agreement in the scientific literature on the magnitude of the risks, if any, of long-term complications of induced abortions. In an attempt to deal with this issue, the design complexities of the different studies on the long-term effects of induced abortion are described and the findings of the published analytic studies dealing with such alleged complications as sterility, ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, prematurity, pregnancy complications and birth defects are summarized. The most obvious variable potentially affecting long-term complications from induced abortion is whether it was performed under legal or illegal conditions. Many of the published studies were conducted in countries where induced abortion has not been legalized, thus the inferences drawn from these studies cannot be generalized to the U.S. where safe, legal abortion is available at the woman's request. Variables such as the patient's demographic profile, medical risk factors, the facility in which the procedure is performed, the use of prophylactic antibiotics and the type of postabortion contraception may independently influence the incidence and/or spectrum of postabortion morbidity. Other factors related to the technical aspects of the procedure may also affect the complication rate. Because of the many technical factors possibly having an effect on the long-term complications of induced abortion, studies focusing on aggregated abortion procedures should be viewed with caution. Different research approaches have been used to determine whether induced abortion has any longterm sequelae; some studies are well designed and permit valid inferences; others have a weaker scientific foundation and are no more than suggestive. The available analytic case-control and cohort studies generally form no consistent pattern. Current data fail to support firm conclusions about induced abortions either causing or not causing any of the alleged long-term complications.

[Legal abortion]. / Abortus legalis

PIP: The English abortion law, passed in 1967, is the most liberal in Europe. Abortion can be had on request up to the 12th week of pregnancy if the pregnancy can be dangerous to the mental or physical health of the mother or of the newborn, and if there are risks of abnormalities. These conditions must be witnessed by 2 doctors, one of whom will have to report the abortion to the medical authorities. No parental consent is necessary for minors, and foreigners can be assisted in English hospitals. Other European countries with liberal abortion laws are Austria, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. More conservative laws are to be found in Switzerland, Holland, and Norway. Abortion is absolutely forbidden in all catholic countries, except for strict medical reasons. Russia introduced abortion on request in 1955 not only for medical reasons, but for social and economic ones as well. Most other east European countries also have liberal abortion laws. Complications after abortion are about 2/20 abortions; the percentage increases considerably if abortion is performed after the first trimester. Procedures for 2nd trimester abortion include injection of saline solution, of urea, or of prostaglandins. Psychological consequences of abortion are even more important than medical or pathological ones. An even more serious problem is the emotional health of children from an unwanted pregnancy.^ieng

The effects of food shortage on human reproduction.

PIP: The first dramatic effect of food shortage is upon fertility. The authors attribute the marked decline in fertility in Dresden following the second world war to a sudden reduction in food supplies from the formerly occupied territories following the fall of the German armies. There were also epidemics of low birth weight, miscarriage, and congenital malformations. The epidemic of low birth weight in Leipzig immediately after the war is illustrated, with note made of the existence of similar epidemics in all European cities affected by food shortages. Epidemics of miscarriage contributed to the decline of fertility wherever there was a food shortage. The effects of food shortage upon hormone status, how food shortage increases the risk of neural tube defects and other congenital malformations, and the long-term consequences of poor maternal nutrition are considered.^ieng

The determinants of East-West German migration: some first results.

Determinants of the propensity to migrate are explored using data collected in a survey of East German residents following German reunification in 1991. The author notes that in the period 1989-1992, some 870,000 individuals migrated to West Germany, representing about 5% of the total East German population and 10% of the work force. He suggests that "recent developments in the literature on the option value of waiting may yield important insights into these determinants."

The changing European family: lessons for the American reader.

PIP: The 7 chapters in this journal discuss the European family, including families in Britain, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, the German Democratic Republic, Italy, and Sweden. The authors feel that observers in the US sometimes resort to peculiarly American explanations (the budget deficit, changes in welfare benefits) to account for recent trends in marriage and fertility. The articles in this issue demonstrate that the pattern of post-WWII family change has been generally similar in North America, Western Europe, and even part of Eastern Europe, suggesting that more global rather than particular national explanations need to be sought. The post-WWII years can be divided into 2 periods: 1) the period from 1945 to 1965 that brought the unexpected marriage rush and baby boom, and 2) the period from 1965 to the present that brought a reversal of those trends in the form of later marriage, a great increase in nonmarital cohabitation, a large rise in divorce, and a sharp fall in fertility to below the replacement level. The similarity of these large-scale trends in North America and Western Europe is striking. The US is most like Britain and, beyond Europe, Canada, and Australia, suggesting that influence of the common culture of the English-speaking Western world. Yet the US has, and probably always has had, higher rates of fertility, marriage, and divorce than most Western European nations. The proportion of single-parent families is unusually large, even though some nations such as Sweden and East Germany have higher proportions of births to unmarried but cohabiting women. The level of cohabitation in the US, although greatly increased, is still moderate by European standards. Concern over the burden of government support for the elderly already has prompted changes in the Social Security program. The ability to support programs for children and for poor families is being questioned, even though the level of government support for the family is relatively low by Western standards. Concern about the below-replacement birth rate is just beginning to emerge. For American as well as European readers, the major question left unanswered by the accounts presented in this issue is whether the continuing changes will lead to a greater degree of convergence in the future or to an elaboration of current variations on the Western theme. The former possibility would likely imply a massive erosion of marriage and radical change in the division of labor. The latter would still encompass substantial similarities (generally low fertility, increasing proportions of women in the labor force), but with important differences of historical, cultural, and political origin.^ieng

New family forms in a state socialist society: the German Democratic Republic.

PIP: Family formation patterns and the changing role of women in the German Democratic Republic are examined. Consideration is given to employment and female labor force participation, the availability of child care, changes in the fertility rate (including illegitimacy), female education and occupational level, single parenthood, divorce, consensual union, and state policies. Data are from official and other published sources.^ieng

Changing settlement patterns in the German Democratic Republic: 1945-1976.

PIP: The character of changes in settlement patterns in both urban and rural areas of the northern German Democratic Republic between 1945 and 1976 is examined. The impact of a government policy aimed at concentrating population into fewer but larger central areas is analyzed, with a focus on the authoritative nature of the policy and on the desired and achieved goals.^ieng

[Education, birth cohort, and marriage age: a comparative analysis of marriage age in West Germany, East Germany, and the United States]. / Bildung, Geburtskohorte und Heiratsalter: eine vergleichende Untersuchung des Heiratsverhaltens in Westdeutschland, Ostdeutschland und den Vereinigten Staaten.

"This paper investigates how education influences marriage behavior in three countries: the United States, West Germany, and former East Germany. Following family economics we postulate that for women a longer education decreases marriage rates both during education (institutional effect) and after the degree has been obtained (human capital effect). For men family economics predicts the delaying institutional effect, too, but the human capital effect is expected to increase marriage rates. Further considerations lead to the additional hypothesis that for younger birth cohorts these sex differences should attenuate.... For the United States and West Germany the observed marriage patterns confirm our hypotheses for the most part. For East Germany, however, we observe different marriage patterns. This was expected because the institutional context in this former socialist country was a very different one." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

[The massive migration out of the Soviet Occupied Zone and the German Democratic Republic]. / Die Massen-Migration aus der SBZ und der DDR

PIP: This article is a review of research on mass migration from the Soviet Occupied Zone and the German Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic of Germany during the 1950s. The various official sources of migration statistics are first described, and the extent of politically motivated migration is assessed. The sociological consequences of this migration are then examined, and individual migration motives are briefly considered.^ieng