Walter Ulbricht and Erich Honecker did not only differ gradually in their leadership style, but also in their interest in culture - with far-reaching consequences. So far, however, policy analysis has been neglected in the research on autocracies in general and in the GDR research in particular. Comparative studies are also scarce. This actor-centered study analyzes and compares the changes in the cultural policy in terms of the office of the two dictators, especially with a view to the field of fiction literature, which the SED gave special attention to. It differentiates theoretically along various phases between actors, concepts and control instruments in the policy field "culture." Based on extensive documentary material the study illustrates the formal and informal decision-making and asks for the specific responsibility of senior officials. The focus, therefore, is the point of view of state actors, not of the writers, as is the case in many other studies.