FROM THE OPPOSITIONAL GROUPS OF THE GDR TO THE NEW SOCIAL-MOVEMENT IN EAST-GERMANY

The oppositional groups that began to emerge during the late 1970s in the GDR were small in number and size. With the 1989-90 ''Wende'', new group formations rapidly appeared. The newcomers partly absorbed and overshadowed the older oppositional groups. The ''Wende'' groups and movements were numerous in number and briefly enjoyed wide support. After the fail of the communist regime both the older oppositional groups and the newer citizen groups became marginal forces. Simultaneously, hitherto unnoticed ''project groups'' began to flourish. In contrast to their forerunners, these groups have a pragmatic orientation and concentrate on very specific problems, This paper provides an analysis of these three types of groups. The analysis emphasizes such facets as their number, composition and the structural changes that they experienced. The groups are also compared with West Berlin-based ''new-social movement'' groups. The data used in this analysis derives from two surveys. One, conducted in 1991, dealt retrospecitively with the situation as it stood in the Fall of 1989, The other survey was carried out in 1993. The main finding is that the Eastern groups have rapidly formalized and professionalized. This is particularly so in the case of the ''project groups.'' Lower levels of formalization and professionalization characterize those oppositional and citizens groups that have survived. In comparison with their Western counterparts, the Eastern groups have undergone structural change at a much faster pace. The extent of change, in terms of the features considered here, has also been greater. The data also strongly support the idea that public subsidies given to the Eastern groups are the most important force shaping the significant structural change that has occurred.