Part 14/16:
However, the honeymoon was short-lived. From the late 1960s onward, relations with the Soviet Union soured—restrictions on technology transfer intensified, and resources like oil, steel, and grain became scarce due to Soviet prioritization elsewhere, including the Cold War conflicts in Cuba and Czechoslovakia.
Following the Prague Spring suppression in 1968, East Germany's economic reforms were rolled back amid political tightening. The government reasserted control, abolished market-oriented elements of NES, and intensified state planning, leading to economic stagnation. Ulbricht was eventually replaced in 1971 by Erich Honecker, who sought stability over reform, but economic momentum waned.