Part 8/16:
Accelerating Investment and Early Economic Plans
Following the Berlin Blockade and Airlift (1948-1949), East and West Germany were formally established, with East Germany recognizing its socialist path under the SED. The East German leadership, especially under Walter Ulbricht, pursued aggressive economic objectives—primarily to increase output and pay hefty reparations to the Soviet Union, which challenged the legitimacy of the socialist regime.