Comparative analysis of the transformation of Hungarian and East German agriculture

Abstract

Agriculture, and within it, the development and later transformation of the cooperative system shows many similarities between Hungary and the Eastern German provinces. A few examples can be mentioned, such as the mistrust against the notion of cooperation, the forced development of the cooperatives and, as an occupied territory, the influence of the Soviet Union. Similar issues emerged in both countries’ agriculture and the measures taken were also alike. Similar social, economic processes and changes were started at the end of the 1980s (1989/90) and these had a significant effect on the areas that serve as a basis for this study.