Comparative Analysis of Agrarian Reforms in Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany and North Korea (1945–1946)

The military administrations formed in the Soviet occupation zones in East Germany and North Korea were in similar conditions and faced similar challenges. One of the key issues of that time for both countries was land reform. The authors aim to analyse and compare the approaches of administrations in Central Europe and the Far East, to highlight common and special points in the planning of agrarian transformations. The study is based on a wide range of archival materials from the collections of the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation, the State Archive of the Russian Federation, as well as research papers in Russian, English, German and Korean. The source database also includes published documents of North Korean origin. Consideration of agricultural projects allows one to conclude that neither in East Germany nor in North Korea did the military administrations plan land reform as a step towards Sovietization of these territories. However, an important goal was to strengthen the social base of the Communists. The authors note that local specifics, as well as the domestic and foreign political situation in the region had a significant impact on the projects. This refutes the frequently expressed point of view in modern historiography, indicating that the USSR did not use the same template for projects in different regions.

Keywords

USSR, Red Army, Military Administration, Soviet Military Administration, East Germany, North Korea, agricultural relations, land reform, comparative analysis, comparative studies

Received

08.06.2023

Publication date

31.08.2023

Number of characters

40512

Cite

GOST	Francev A., Lebedev V. Comparative Analysis of Agrarian Reforms in Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany and North Korea (1945–1946) // Novaia i noveishaia istoriia – 2023. – Issue 4 C. 124-137 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://nni.jes.su/S013038640021392-9-1 (circulation date: 23.07.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013038640021392-9
MLA	Francev, Aleksandr, Lebedev, Vasilii "Comparative Analysis of Agrarian Reforms in Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany and North Korea (1945–1946)." Novaia i noveishaia istoriia 4 (2023):124-137. DOI: 10.31857/S013038640021392-9
APA	Francev A., Lebedev V. (2023). Comparative Analysis of Agrarian Reforms in Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany and North Korea (1945–1946). Novaia i noveishaia istoriia (4), pp.124-137 DOI: 10.31857/S013038640021392-9

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 147

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Boldyrev R.Ju. Neoficial'nye kontakty sovetskogo i vostochnogermanskogo rukovodstva i ih rol' v sozdanii GDR (1945–1949) [Unofficial contacts of Soviet and East-German leadership and their role in the creation of the DDR (1945–1949)] // Vestnik Severnogo (Arkticheskogo) federal'nogo universiteta. Serija: Gumanitarnye i social'nye nauki [Bulletin of the Northern (Arctic) Federal University. Series: Humanities and Social Sciences]. 2010. № 5. S. 7–13. (In Russ.)

2. Boldyrev R.Ju. Sovetskaja okkupacionnaja politika v Vostochnoj Germanii (1945–1949 gg. ): jekonomicheskij aspekt [Soviet occupational politics in East Germany (1945–1949): economic aspect]: dis. … kand. ist. nauk. Arhangel'sk, 2004. (In Russ.)

3. Chzhon Hen Su. Zemel'naja reforma v Severnoj Koree v uslovijah sovetskoj voennoj administracii v 1946 g. [Land Reform in North Korea in the conditions of the Soviet Military administration] // Gosudarstvennaja vlast' i krest'janstvo v XIX – nachale XXI veka: sb. statej [State power and the peasantry in the 19th – early 21th century: collection of articles]. Kolomna, 2018. S. 222–227. (In Russ.)

4. Chzhon Hjun Su. Social'no-jekonomicheskie preobrazovanija v Severnoj Koree v uslovijah sovetskoj voennoj administracii [Socio-economic reforms in North Korea in the conditions of the Soviet Military administration]. Moskva, 1997. (In Russ.)

5. Filitov А.M. Germanija v sovetskom vneshnepoliticheskom planirovanii, 1941–1990 [Germany in the Soviet foreign policy planning, 1941–1990]. Moskva, 2009. (In Russ.)

6. Istorija Korei (s drevnejshih vremen do nashih dnej): v 2 kh t. [The history of Korea [from ancient times to the present days): in 2 volumes]: v 2-kh t. / red. kol. B.G. Gafurov, i dr. Moskva, 1974. (In Russ.)

7. Ki Kvan So. Formirovanie politicheskoj sistemy v Severnoj Koree i rol' SSSR (1945–1947) [The formation of the North Korean political system (1945–1947)]: dis. … kand. ist. nauk. Moskva, 1997. (In Russ.)

8. Kim V.A., Erenov A.E. Zemel'naja reforma v Korejskoj Narodno-Demokraticheskoj Respublike [Land reform in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea] // Voprosy istorii [Questions of History]. 1955. № 7. S. 102–112. (In Russ.)

9. Kul'bakin V.D., Viskov S.I., Poltavskij M.A. Istorija Germanskoj Demokraticheskoj Respubliki, 1949–1973: kratkij ocherk [The History of the DDR, 1949–1973: Brief account] / otv. red. V.D. Kul'bakin. Moskva, 1975. (In Russ.)

10. Morozova V.N. Politicheskie processy v sovetskoj zone okkupacii (1945–1949 gg.) v obshhestvenno-politicheskom diskurse sovremennoj Germanii [The political processes in the Soviet Occupation Zone (1945–1949) in the socio-political discourse of the modern Germany]: dis. … kand. ist. nauk. Voronezh, 2004. (In Russ.)

11. Mudrov S.N. Dejatel'nost' Upravlenija propagandy Sovetskoj voennoj administracii v Germanii v 1945–1947 gg. [Activities of the Propaganda Department of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany in 1945–1947]: dis. … kand. ist. nauk. Jaroslavl, 2010. (In Russ.)

12. Semirjaga M.I. Kak my upravljali Germaniej [How we ruled Germany]. Moskva, 1995. (In Russ.)

13. Shterkel A.V. Osobennosti sovetskoj okkupacionnoj politiki v Vostochnoj Germanii: celi i mehanizmy realizacii: 1945–1949 gody [The Special characteristics of the Soviet Occupation Politics in East Germany: goals and the mechanisms of realization: 1945–1949]: dis. … kand. ist. nauk. Pjatigorsk, 2011. (In Russ.)

14. SSSR i germanskij vopros. 1941–1949: dokumenty iz Arhiva vneshnej politiki Rossijskoj Federacii [The USSR and the German question. 1941–1949: documents from the Archive of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation. Die UdSSR und die deutsche Frage. 1941–1949: Dokumente aus dem Archiv fur AuBenpolitik der Russichen Federation]: v 4-kh t. T. 2: . 9 maja 1945 g. – 3 oktjabrja 1946 g. / sost. G.P. Kynin, J. Laufer. Moskva, 2000. (In Russ.)

15. Vanin Ju.V. Sovetskij Sojuz i Severnaja Koreja, 1945–1948 [The USSR and North Korea, 1945–1948]. Moskva, 2016. (In Russ.)

16. Armstrong C.K. The North Korean Revolution, 1945–1950. Ithaca; London, 2004.

17. Bauerkämper А. Ländliche Gesellschaft in der kommunistischen Diktatur: Zwangsmodernisierung und Tradition in Brandenburg 1945–1963. Köln, 2002.

18. Dimitrov G. Diary of Georgi Dimitrov, 1933–1949. New Haven, 2008.

19. Ross С. Constructing Socialism at the Grass-Roots: The Transformation of East Germany, 1945–65. London, 2000.

20. Youngjun Kim. Origins of the North Korean Garrison State. New York, 2018.

21. Sandford G.W. From Hitler to Ulbricht: The Communist Reconstruction of East Germany, 1945–1946. Princeton, 2017.

22. Scherstjanoi E. SED-Agrarpolitik unter sowjetischer Kontrolle 1949–1953: Veröffentlichungen zur SBZ-/DDR-Forschung im Institut für Zeitgeschichte. München, 2012.

23. Tooze А. The Wages of Destruction: The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy. London, 2006.

24. 송규진. 통계로 보는 일제강점기 사회경제사 [Song Gyu-jin. Socio-political history of the Japanese colonial period through the prism of statistics]. 고려대학교출판문화원. 2018.

25. 전현수. 해방 직후 북한의 토지개혁 [Chŏn Hyŏn-su. Land reform in North Korea immediately after the liberation] // 대구사학 [Daegusahak]. 2002. № 68. 85–135.

26. 김성보. 北韓의 土地改革과 農業協同化 국내박사학위논문 [Kim Sŏng-bo. Land reform and the agricultural cooperation: diss. PhD]. 延世大學校, 1996.

27. 김성보. 북한의 역사 [Kim Sŏng-bo. The History of North Korea]. 역사비평사, 2011.

28. 이헌창. 한국경제통사 제7판 [Yi Hŏng-ch'ang. The overview of the History of Korean Economics: 7th ed.]. 서울: 해남. 2016.

29. 조선로동당 중앙위원회 당력사연구소 편. 조선로동당력사. 1. 증보판 [Институт истории партии при Центральном Комитете Трудовой партии Кореи. История ТПК. Расширенное и дополненное издание. Т. 1]. 조선로동당출판사, 2017.