Open Access

Tobias Huff

• Die DDR gilt in ökologischer Hinsicht als failed state. Diese Wertung speist sich aus den Darstellungen der ostdeutschen Umweltbedingungen in der westdeutschen Presse in den 1980er Jahren. Während vor 1981 die Umwelt in der DDR allenfalls eine marginale Rolle spielte, brannten sich während des Wendeherbstes 1989 die Bilder von biologisch toten Flüssen, großflächig absterbenden Wäldern, Tagebau-Restlöchern und unwirtlichen Industrielandschaften in das ikonographische Gedächtnis der Bundesrepublik.
• The GDR is seen as having failed ecologically. This interpretation is based largely onwestern perception inthe late 1980s rather than on scientific research. There were, of course, high rates of air pollution caused by sulfur dioxide. The after-effects were, however, overestimated because of heightened ecological awareness, especially after the Waldsterben-debate. Based on this assumption the article highlights the formation of an east-German environmental policy, its conceptions, ideas and main objects. A central result is the great difference between progressive approaches, such as the pricing of natural resources during the Ulbricht-era, and the Honecker-era which demonstrated less interest in environmental issues.