| Zusammenfassung: | Based on a vague conceptual framework which combined the recommendations of German financial experts and the tenets of Soviet monetary policy, attempts to reform the monetary structure of East Germany were hardly professional. State owned enterprises as well as party biased organisations were clearly favored, which demonstrated a political dimension very much in line with the motives of communist oriented SED leadership. A 90 % reduction of the existing money supply was not achieved as originally planned. The circulation of new currency in East Germany, which was based on population size, far exceeded that of West Germany. More importantly, however, these reform measures allowed the introduction of Soviet monetary policy which ultimately changed the entire economic system. As a result, the continued existence of an economic system, whose capacity for growth was not based on real productivity, monetary policy in East Germany was never as significant as in West Germany. It was but another step in the process of enforcing Soviet economic policy. (Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte / FUB)
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