Central (C): Germany (CG). Labour Affairs in GDR

A file of correspondence, reports, and press material concerning East German trade unions. The documents discuss several speeches made at a plenum of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (S.E.D.) that sharply criticized the work of the East German Free German Trade Union Federation (F.D.G.B.); and the revelation that a number of senior officials within the F.D.G.B. have recently lost their jobs. The documents also cover a letter published by the Central Committee of the S.E.D. calling upon East German trade unions to help ensure "the more efficient functioning of 'economic laws' in the D.D.R. under the conditions created by the erection of the Berlin Wall". Other documents include a report from the British Military Government in West Berlin on the problems faced by East German trade unions, claiming that their greatest single difficulty is persuading the East German workforce to participate in the East German government's production campaign.