ABSTRACT
Every nation has a political culture, a set of widely shared beliefs about the appropriate functions of government and the proper relationship of citizens to their state. For the purpose of understanding East Germany’s official political ideology, it is important to emphasize that Marxism and Leninism are two separate, if related, components. The influence of Marxism-Leninism is most apparent in the official Socialist Unity party view of political democracy. Between sessions of the National Assembly, many of its functions are entrusted to the State Council. The Council of Ministers encompasses forty-five ministers and heads of other government agencies. Higher political authorities have responded to complaints about the relative impotence of local government. Reactionary elements have been eliminated or reconciled to the new order, and the great majority of the working people are joined shoulder to shoulder in creating a fully developed socialist society.
