The Rise And Fall Of The German Democratic Republic 1945 1990

This new book investigates communist rule in East Germany from the end of World War II to its rapid collapse after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Using newly available archival material, the early chapters trace the emergence of the GDR in 1949 from out of chrysalis of the Soviet zone of occupation. Later chapters cover the dramatic episodes of the 1953 uprising against Soviet dominance and the buildling of the Berlin Wall in 1961. The subsequent stabilization of the GDR and the establishment of an uneasy compromise between the ruling elites and the population in the later 1960s and 1970s are explained with reference to a range of internal social, economic and political factors. The disintegration of the regime in 1989, despite the comprehensive system of surveillance operated by the infamous Stasi, is explained in the light of * the chronic weakness of Gorbachev's Soviet Union * the bravery of the protestors * the enduring appeal of West Germany's social market economy and political pluralism.This clear and comprehensive survey marshals secondary and original primary sources in order to give a unique insight into the GDR's struggles and achievements.Mike Dennis is Professor of Modern History, University of Wolverhampton. His many publications include `The German Democratic Republic' (1988).

Most of the public debate on reunited Germany has tended to focus on economic issues such as the collapse of East German industry, mass unemployment, career difficulties, and differences in wages and living standards. However, the author of this text argues that the main problem is not persisting economic differences but the internal cultural divide between East and West Germans, which is based upon different moral values in the two Germanies. He shows that the invisible wall that has replaced the previous, highly visible territorial division of the German nation is rooted in issues of the past - the Nazi past as well as the GDR past.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of social policy in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, 1949-1990), followed by an analysis of the “Social Union”, the transformation of social policy in the process of German unification in 1990. Schmidt’s analysis of the GDR also depicts commonalities and differences between the welfare state in East and West Germany as well as in other East European and Western countries. He concludes that the GDR was unable to cope with the trade-off between ambitious social policy goals and a deteriorating economic performance. Ritter embeds his analysis of the Social Union in a general study of German unification, its international circumstances and its domestic repercussions (1989-1994). He argues that social policy played a pivotal role in German unification, and that there was no alternative to extending the West German welfare state to the East. Ritter, a distinguished historian, bases his contribution on an award-winning study for which he drew on archival sources and interviews with key actors. Schmidt is a distinguished political scientist.

Based on interviews and the voluminous materials in the archives of the SED, the Stasi and central and regional authorities, this volume focuses on several contrasting minorities (Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jews, ‘guest’ workers from Vietnam and Mozambique, football fans, punks, and skinheads) and their interaction with state and party bodies during Erich Honecker’s rule over the communist system. It explores how they were able to resist persecution and surveillance by instruments of the state, thus illustrating the limits on the power of the East German dictatorship and shedding light on the notion of authority as social practice.

A study of the powerful and much-feared East German Ministry of State Security from its establishment in 1950 to its fall in 1990. The Stasi were a central institution of the GDR, and this book illuminates the nature and operation of the entire East German regime, addressing one of the most important topics in modern German history. Its emphasis is primarily on the key years under Erich Honecker, who was Head of State from 1976 and ousted in 1989.The book looks at all aspects of the control, operation and impact of the security police - their methods, targets, structure, accountability, and in particular the crucial question of how far they were an arm of the ruling communist party or were themselves a virtually autonomous political actor.

This book is a succinct yet comprehensive history of East Germany which provides a differentiated picture of the communist state. It offers a sophisticated analysis of life under dictatorship which candidly confronts the abuses of the East German Communist Party (SED) and the Stasi state security service. Ned Richardson-Little delves into the central contradictions of the GDR as a state meant to overcome the horrors of the Third Reich and create a new utopia, while itself a brutal dictatorship. He also convincingly argues that while the existence of the GDR was a product of the Cold War, it was also entangled in international politics well beyond the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. In this way, the book offers a history of the GDR in a global perspective that illustrates the worldview of those who ruled it, those who rebelled against the strictures of state socialism, and those in between who sought a normal life under dictatorship. The German Democratic Republic traces the foundation of the GDR from its origins as the Soviet Zone of Occupation after the Second World War through key events such as the 1953 Uprising, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Helsinki Accords and the collapse of state socialism in 1989. Some of the key themes explored include the memory of Nazism and national identity, everyday life under dictatorship, the global politics of the GDR, the diversity of dissent and the competing visions for East Germany's democratic future.

Most public debate on reunited Germany has emphasized economic issues such as the collapse of East German industry, mass unemployment, career difficulties, and differences in wages and living standards. The overwhelming difficulty resulting from reunification, however, is not persisting economic differences but the internal cultural divide between East and West Germans, one based upon different moral values in the two Germanies. The invisible wall that has replaced the previous, highly visible territorial division of the German nation is rooted in issues of the past-the Nazi past as well as the German Democratic Republic past. In emphasizing economic differences, the media and academics have avoided dealing with typically German cultural traits. These include the psychological posture of West Germany, which emphasized not differences between East and West but the break with Germany's Nazi past. The adversarial posture of certain professional groups in East Germany towards the liberal and democratic values of West Germany have also been an obstacle. Reviewing the problems accompanying reunification, chapter 1 explores German culture and history and the moral lessons evolved from the Nazi past. Chapter 2 focuses on the East-West mindset and how differences in attitude affect efforts to adapt to reunification. Chapter 3 discusses the simulated break with Nazi Germany in the German Democratic Republic. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 analyze the roots of the adversary posture of the professional groups in East Germany towards the values of the Berlin Republic. Chapter 7 demonstrates the strong presence of inherited, typically German cultural traits among East Germans, such as a lack of individualism, suspicion of strangers, and obedience to authority. Chapter 8 documents the extent to which a right-wing extremist culture has remained latent in Eastern Germany. Chapter 9 documents the extent to which moral reasoning in the GDR relieves the individual of any kind of responsibility for the actions of the state, reproducing the way ordinary Germans rationalized their participation in the Nazi regime immediately after World War II. Chapter 10 concludes with an overview of the historical and sociological factors revolving around the discussion of Nazi Germany, the GDR and inner unification. This volume will be important for historians, political scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, and a general public interested in Germany's reunification.

Based on original Stasi and Communist Party archival sources, this book uncovers why East Germany was for two decades running one of the most successful nations in the Summer and Winter Olympics, exploring how the central elite sports system was beset by internal tensions and disputes.