Were East Germans more acquiescent to Soviet domination than the rest of Eastern Europe and if so, why?
score:12
As knut's answer points out, it's strange that your list of Eastern Bloc uprisings omits the events of 1953.
So, no, East Germans were not as a general rule more passive or acquiescent to the imposition of soviet rule than any of the other populations of Eastern Europe.
Churches, small businesses, non-communist political parties, independently minded clubs and organisations (like the scouts), non-communist radio stations and newspapers etc etc had to be coerced, bribed, tricked or infiltrated into compliance using all the same techniques across East Germany as were used elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Anne Applebaum's recent book Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe is rich in detailed information on this topic.
In fact the Applebaum book is a study of the similarities between the Poland, Hungary and East Germany (she has very little to say about the other Soviet satellites), and shows how the patterns of totalitarian control (and indeed resistance) were the same in all three countries.
Nevertheless, to try to answer the final section of your question ... if there was anything unique in the East German situation which made communist government easier to impose, what did it comprise?
1) For those who desired a proper and symbolic break from Nazism, communism was an authentic alternative. Victor Klemperor was an example of an East German citizen whose anti-fascism bound him to the regime (to the extent of participating in government) even though he was never a communist. The title of his diaries for the post-war period The Lesser Evil alludes to his attitude to the regime.
2) Inauthentic as it was, the East German sense of identity and nationhood was problematic for dissidents. Whereas a dissident Pole, Romanian etc could still think of himself as a loyal or true Pole (or Romanian etc), how was a dissident of Leipzig to think of himself? A loyal East German? Preposterous. A true German? Perhaps, but what a can of worms!
3) Of the Eastern Bloc countries, East Germany was amongst the most prosperous, or at least was perceived that way. It may well have received preferential levels of economic assistance from Moscow in order to maintain that status, though I don't have sources for this.
4) Although Republikflucht was of course a problem, East Germany, unlike other Eastern bloc countries was able to use deportation to West Germany as a safety valve. It could rid itself of its most troublesome dissidents and thereby prevent the build up, within the country, of an established and organised opposition.
Upvote:-4
The reason why the uprising in Berlin of 1953 was not so widely publicized could be because the uprising could be seen as an attempt of a fascist revanche. Such uprisings in a defeated country were well expected due to degraded level of life, contributions and lost national pride.
The uprising was closer to the end of WWII than anti-Communist coups in other East block countries, and the West still had not develop united line on how to react and whether to support such developments.
Upvote:2
Possibly this may be relevant.
This map shows the vote share of the party Die Linke ("The Left", former Socialist United Party, the ruling party of the GDR) at the German elections in 2009:
As you can see, the former SUP received a high share of votes in East Germany, sometimes exceeding 30%, much more than in West Germany. If you compare this to Poland or Hungary you will see that the East Germans are much more left-leaning in their sympathies. They probably could be even more loyal to Socialism when all the state media were supportive of the socialist party.
If East Germany was independent today, the Die Linke could come to be winners of the elections.
Upvote:5
As an addendum to knut - and I'm lifting a quote from an answer I gave to another question - There is a quote from a Russian General about fighting East Germans that comes to mind for this particular question.
Penkovskly, for instance, cited Gen. Kupin, the Commander of the Soviet Tank Army in Dresden and others stationed in East Germany as asserting that
“in case of a Berlin crisis or a war we would have to kill both West and East Germans. Everything is ready to fight against not only West Germany but East Germany as well, because the Germans have Anti-Soviet sentiments”
Page 12, Right Column
This came from "Intelligence Estimates of the Warsaw Pact" from "Studies in Intelligence Vol. 51, No 4 (Extracts-December 2007)"
Upvote:17
Your assumption is wrong, there was the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany
And the Fall of the Iron Curtain was also initiated by the East German mass protests.
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