For a few brief years, it seemed as though Germany would be firmly divided between a capitalist/democratic state in the west and a single-party Marxist-Leninist state in the east, a division that might have lasted several decades throughout the Cold War, if not beyond (as with North Korea's continued existence). However, following the death of Joseph Stalin and the ascension of Lavrentiy Beria as Soviet leader, he shifted from that course and stunned the world by stating that he aimed to "de-Stalinize" Soviet foreign policy, with the reunification of Germany under the Federal Republic as a goal of that project. Chancellor Adenauer was deeply hesitant at the thought of accepting the offer, feeling that the condition of neutrality would be a ploy for further communist expansion upon western Germany. However, under mounting public pressure accepted, and relinquished all German claims east of the Oder.

Of course, Beria's vision of an economically and diplomatically reformed USSR would not last, being overthrown and assassinated by hardliners in the party in 1961, but his legacy of allowing Germany to be reunified would. So what would happen if Beria didn't succeed Stalin after his death? Was reunification an inevitability in any case, given that some historians still argue as to the genuineness of the so-called "Stalin note" as a precursor to reunification. Or does the shorty lived GDR live a much longer life?
 
If you want to know what East Germany would end up like, just look at every other client state the USSR had in Europe. Unitary one-party socialist republic with government regulated the free market. And while many essentials like transport and energy, utilities etc would be government owned. While none essentials are owned by private companies.

On the large picture, Geopolitically Beria is the reason why the USSR collapsed so quickly after Stalin's death and the Reason it paradoxically still exists. He gave the people a different way of life, in five short years he helped create a growing, wealthy and influential middle class, aka the neo-kulaks as he started to sell off minor state-owned companies and allowed private citizens to create small businesses. If after Stalin's death Nikita Khrushchev had taken over like was planned which would have definitely stopped Leonid Brezhnev coup. The USSR would have just waddled along. But with Beria's reforms starting to bear fruit before the coup and the fear that Brezhnev would follow in Stalin's footsteps and liquidate the neo-kulaks during the drought of 1963 caused panic which sparked the 63 revolution and the Bloody September massacre in the red square which led to him being ousted, and Soviet Republics declaring independence after Brezhnev supports started to fear for their power. There was a 7 month period when the USSR was just the Russian SFSR and Armenia. But after cooler heads prevailed the USSR reformed and got a new constitution, that is why it is the world's factory today. Heck Without Beria we would be still be looking at a military cold war between the USSR and USA rather than the trade wars we see today. And seeing that both nations were nuclear powers it could have got ugly.
 

BigBlueBox

Banned
If you want to know what East Germany would end up like, just look at every other client state the USSR had in Europe. Unitary one-party socialist republic with government regulated the free market. And while many essentials like transport and energy, utilities etc would be government owned. While none essentials are owned by private companies.

On the large picture, Geopolitically Beria is the reason why the USSR collapsed so quickly after Stalin's death and the Reason it paradoxically still exists. He gave the people a different way of life, in five short years he helped create a growing, wealthy and influential middle class, aka the neo-kulaks as he started to sell off minor state-owned companies and allowed private citizens to create small businesses. If after Stalin's death Nikita Khrushchev had taken over like was planned which would have definitely stopped Leonid Brezhnev coup. The USSR would have just waddled along. But with Beria's reforms starting to bear fruit before the coup and the fear that Brezhnev would follow in Stalin's footsteps and liquidate the neo-kulaks during the drought of 1963 caused panic which sparked the 63 revolution and the Bloody September massacre in the red square which led to him being ousted, and Soviet Republics declaring independence after Brezhnev supports started to fear for their power. There was a 7 month period when the USSR was just the Russian SFSR and Armenia. But after cooler heads prevailed the USSR reformed and got a new constitution, that is why it is the world's factory today. Heck Without Beria we would be still be looking at a military cold war between the USSR and USA rather than the trade wars we see today. And seeing that both nations were nuclear powers it could have got ugly.
OOC: I highly doubt that the Central Asian SSRs and Belarus would leave. Their economy was too dependent on Russia.
 
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