Changes

In 1945 the Soviet armies swept into the eastern parts of Germany, and destroyed both the Nazi government and the local political, religious, business, landowning and cultural leadership. All land was taken over and turned into collective farms; all businesses, banks and factories were nationalized. The economy declined as the new bosses did not understand production. Most of the leadership that escaped execution fled to the west. A ruthless Communist dictatorship, backed by Soviet armies took control. No forms of popular democracy was allowed, and all media were tightly controlled by the state. A powerful secreta secret police called the "Stasi" infiltrated every part of society, and used hundreds of thousands of secret informers to ensure that bad ideas were immediately identified and rooted out. No one trusted anyone outside their family.