"German Autumn" ("Deutscher Herbst"): RAF terrorists kidnap the president of the employers’ association, Hanns Martin Schleyer; his driver and three of his companions are murdered during the abduction. The kidnappers demand the release of all of their comrades from the Stammheim Prison in Stuttgart.more
12 September
1977
After the SED Politburo reduces coffee imports because of the price rise on the global market in summer and restricts coffee consumption in canteens and restaurants, the Ministry for Security warns internally of a storm of protest from the population.
"The prosperity of workers in the GDR is coming slowly but steadily to an end," is how Mielke’s informers summarise public opinion in a hastily written memo. It says that many workers are of the opinion "that the ‘loyal’ worker without contacts in the West who supports the policies of our government is losing out, while people who are less aware or unstable and negative elements purchase luxury goods in the ‘Intershop’."
Intershops are "naturally not a permanent accompaniment to socialism," Honecker responds in a public speech, but at the same time he stresses that they are essential for the GDR for the time being as a source of foreign currency.
RIAS report on the importance of the D-mark in the GDR and the Intershop system, 28 December 1977 (in German) (Source: Archiv Deutschlandradio, Broadcast: Rundschau am Abend)
The USA and the Soviet Union agree to extend the SALT I treaty (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks Agreement).more
30 September
1977
The GDR National Defence Council has been given a secret review, carried out by the SED Central Committee, of the effectiveness of border security measures.more
