'Preach Water, Sell Liquor' Alcohol's Place in East Germany 1949-1971

This thesis examines the place of alcohol in the German Democratic Republic from 1949 until 1971. Alcohol was central to the economy and culture of East Germany, yet only a handful of scholars have approached this topic. This research uses extensive primary material produced by the regime itself, sourced in German from various archives both online and in-person in Berlin. These findings are divided into three distinct periods, presented chronologically through the three chapters of this work. The first, from 1949 to 1956, examines the foundation of alcohol policy in East Germany. How historical and geographic considerations influenced the state’s starting point in this area, as well as the role of abstinence in this period, are also explored. The second chapter examines the years from 1957 to 1962, a time in which the East German cultural revolution took place. In this section this research explores the cultural revolution’s impacts on alcohol, the push for abstinence, as well as on tradtional places of alcohol consumption. The final chapter, covering the years from 1963-1971, highlights how the economic benefits of alcohol, especially spirits, were becoming both more widely accepted by various government departments and more important for the state’s bottom-line.