Volkseigenes Gut
Encyclopedia
The Volkseigenes Gut was a state-owned farm
in the Communist German Democratic Republic
(GDR), corresponding to the Soviet Sovkhoz
and the Państwowe Gospodarstwo Rolne in the People's Republic of Poland
. In contrast to the Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft
(LPG) or collective farm, another form of state agricultural enterprise, the VEGs were often the successors to former private farms which resulted from the land reform in the Soviet sector of Germany mandated in the Potsdam Agreement
of 1945.
Each VEG was directly integrated into national economic planning
. They were either central or subordinated to the district (Bezirk
).
A Volkseigenes Gut was state property
and the agricultural counterpart to the state-owned enterprise, in the GDR Volkseigener Betrieb
. They were run by a director according to the principle of individual management. Unlike the LPG, the workers employed on a VEG had no say in running it.
Initially, the VEGs predominantly raised animals and plants and propagated seed to supply LPGs.
In 1960, the approximately 690 VEGs had under cultivation approximately 6.3 percent of the available agricultural land in the GDR. However, in the course of the general concentration and specialisation in agriculture, by 1980 their number had fallen to 385.
As with the LPGs, so with the VEGs, in the late 1960s, a politically motivated separation of animal husbandry from arable farming was instituted. The VEB-P (for Pflanzenproduktion, "plant production") and VEB-T (for Tierproduktion, "animal production") classifications arose. However, these were simultaneously amalgamated into larger units, so that their total numbers declined from 511 in 1970 to 465 in 1985, while the agricultural land under cultivation by the VEGs remained almost constant at approximately 440,000 hectare
s.
Compared to the LPGs, in many cases the VEGs received preferential treatment, in the form of superior machinery and more capital investment, since they functioned as so-called pillars of the preferred working class
on the land. In particular in the 1950s and 1960s, they were expected to demonstrate the superiority of the "socialist model of production", and later also to take on a progressive role, which, however, they were not always able to perform adequately.
After Germany was reunified in 1990
, the assets of the VEGs were transferred to the government by the Treuhand
.
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
in the Communist German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(GDR), corresponding to the Soviet Sovkhoz
Sovkhoz
A sovkhoz , typically translated as state farm, is a state-owned farm. The term originated in the Soviet Union, hence the name. The term is still in use in some post-Soviet states, e.g., Russia and Belarus. It is usually contrasted with kolkhoz, which is a collective-owned farm...
and the Państwowe Gospodarstwo Rolne in the People's Republic of Poland
People's Republic of Poland
The People's Republic of Poland was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1990. Although the Soviet Union took control of the country immediately after the liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944, the name of the state was not changed until eight years later...
. In contrast to the Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft
Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft
The German expression Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft , or — more commonly — its acronym LPG was the official designation for large, collectivised farms in the former East Germany, corresponding to Soviet Kolkhoz.The collectivisation of private and state owned agricultural...
(LPG) or collective farm, another form of state agricultural enterprise, the VEGs were often the successors to former private farms which resulted from the land reform in the Soviet sector of Germany mandated in the Potsdam Agreement
Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement was the Allied plan of tripartite military occupation and reconstruction of Germany—referring to the German Reich with its pre-war 1937 borders including the former eastern territories—and the entire European Theatre of War territory...
of 1945.
Each VEG was directly integrated into national economic planning
Planned economy
A planned economy is an economic system in which decisions regarding production and investment are embodied in a plan formulated by a central authority, usually by a government agency...
. They were either central or subordinated to the district (Bezirk
Administrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic
The Administrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic were constituted in two different forms during the country's 41-year-long history. The Republic first retained the traditional German division into federated states called Länder, but in 1952 replaced them with arbitrarily-drawn...
).
A Volkseigenes Gut was state property
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
and the agricultural counterpart to the state-owned enterprise, in the GDR Volkseigener Betrieb
Volkseigener Betrieb
The Volkseigener Betrieb was the legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany...
. They were run by a director according to the principle of individual management. Unlike the LPG, the workers employed on a VEG had no say in running it.
Initially, the VEGs predominantly raised animals and plants and propagated seed to supply LPGs.
In 1960, the approximately 690 VEGs had under cultivation approximately 6.3 percent of the available agricultural land in the GDR. However, in the course of the general concentration and specialisation in agriculture, by 1980 their number had fallen to 385.
As with the LPGs, so with the VEGs, in the late 1960s, a politically motivated separation of animal husbandry from arable farming was instituted. The VEB-P (for Pflanzenproduktion, "plant production") and VEB-T (for Tierproduktion, "animal production") classifications arose. However, these were simultaneously amalgamated into larger units, so that their total numbers declined from 511 in 1970 to 465 in 1985, while the agricultural land under cultivation by the VEGs remained almost constant at approximately 440,000 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s.
Compared to the LPGs, in many cases the VEGs received preferential treatment, in the form of superior machinery and more capital investment, since they functioned as so-called pillars of the preferred working class
Proletariat
The proletariat is a term used to identify a lower social class, usually the working class; a member of such a class is proletarian...
on the land. In particular in the 1950s and 1960s, they were expected to demonstrate the superiority of the "socialist model of production", and later also to take on a progressive role, which, however, they were not always able to perform adequately.
After Germany was reunified in 1990
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, the assets of the VEGs were transferred to the government by the Treuhand
Treuhand
The Treuhandanstalt was the agency that privatized the East German enterprises, Volkseigener Betrieb , owned as public property. Created by the Volkskammer on June 17, 1990, it oversaw the restructuring and selling of about 8,500 firms with initially over 4 million employees...
.
Sources
- Klaus Schmidt (ed.). Landwirtschaft in der DDR - VEG, LPG und Kooperationen; wie sie wurden, was sie waren, was aus ihnen geworden ist. Clenze: Agrimedia, 2009
- Arnd Bauerkämper. Ländliche Gesellschaft in der kommunistischen Diktatur - Zwangsmodernisierung und Tradition in Brandenburg 1945-1963. Cologne: Böhlau, 2002, ISBN 3-412-16101-2
- Ilona Buchsteiner. "Bodenreform und Agrarwirtschaft der DDR. Forschungsstudie". In Zur Arbeit der Enquetekommission "Leben in der DDR, Leben nach 1989 – Aufarbeitung und Versöhnung", volume V Schwerin: Landtag Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 1997, ISBN 3-932447-00-X, pp. 9-61
- Jens Schöne. Frühling auf dem Lande? - Die Kollektivierung der DDR-Landwirtschaft. Berlin: Links, 2005, ISBN 3-86153-360-X
See also
- Landwirtschaftliche ProduktionsgenossenschaftLandwirtschaftliche ProduktionsgenossenschaftThe German expression Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaft , or — more commonly — its acronym LPG was the official designation for large, collectivised farms in the former East Germany, corresponding to Soviet Kolkhoz.The collectivisation of private and state owned agricultural...
- SovkhozSovkhozA sovkhoz , typically translated as state farm, is a state-owned farm. The term originated in the Soviet Union, hence the name. The term is still in use in some post-Soviet states, e.g., Russia and Belarus. It is usually contrasted with kolkhoz, which is a collective-owned farm...
- Państwowe Gospodarstwo Rolne
- Volkseigener BetriebVolkseigener BetriebThe Volkseigener Betrieb was the legal form of industrial enterprise in East Germany...
- Economy of the German Democratic RepublicEconomy of the German Democratic RepublicLike other states which were members of the Comecon, the German Democratic Republic had a centrally planned economy similar to the one in the former Soviet Union, in contrast to the market economies or mixed economies of capitalist states...