Dictatorship as Experience: Towards a Socio-Cultural History of the GDR

Published by Berghahn Books 1999

Dictatorship as Experience

Towards a Socio-Cultural History of the GDR

Edited by: Konrad H. Jarausch

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781782384793

Overview
Contents

About this book

A decade after the collapse of communism, this volume presents a historical reflection on the perplexing nature of the East German dictatorship. In contrast to most political rhetoric, it seeks to establish a middle ground between totalitarianism theory, stressing the repressive features of the SED-regime, and apologetics of the socialist experiment, emphasizing the normality of daily lives. The book transcends the polarization of public debate by stressing the tensions and contradictions within the East German system that combined both aspects by using dictatorial means to achieve its emancipatory aims. By analyzing a range of political, social, cultural, and chronological topics, the contributors sketch a differentiated picture of the GDR which emphasizes both its repressive and its welfare features. The sixteen original essays, especially written for this volume by historians from both east and west Germany, represent the cutting edge of current research and suggest new theoretical perspectives. They explore political, social, and cultural mechanisms of control as well as analyze their limits and discuss the mixture of dynamism and stagnation that was typical of the GDR.

Author / Editor information

Konrad H. Jarausch is Lurcy Professor of European Civilization at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a Director of the Zentrum für Zeithistorische Studien in Potsdam, Germany.

Reviews

"The essays presented display a realm of vibrant historical inquiry. Many of the chapters significantly expand our understanding of the complexity of GDR society." · Central European History

"This is certainly the best single volume on the social and cultural history of the GDR in English, and indeed ranks highly among works in German as well." · German Politics

"What emerges from this collection is a picture of a complex society that was neither fully modern nor fully totalitarian ... The dense book provides an illuminating discussion of the difficulties inherent in characterizing the GDR and, in so doing, points the reader in directions that might prove more fruitful." · German Studies Review

"The contributions represent sound research, employing use of new archival sources, interviews and oral history, as well as rich secondary literature ... The volume merits high marks for its theoretical and empirical import." · The Historian

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
List of Abbreviations Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Introduction
Beyond Uniformity: The Challenge of Historicizing the GDR Konrad H. Jarausch Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
The Theoretical Problem of Dictatorship
1. The GDR: A Special Kind of Modern Dictatorship Jürgen Kocka Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	17
2. Modernization and Modernization Blockages in GDR Society Detlef Pollack Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	27
3. Care and Coercion: The GDR as Welfare Dictatorship Konrad H. Jarausch Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	47
Mechanisms of Political Repression
4. From Dismantling to Currency Reform: External Origins of the Dictatorship, 1943–1948 Jochen Laufer Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	73
5. Foreign Influences on the Dictatorial Development of the GDR, 1949–1955 Michael Lemke Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	91
6. Repression and Tolerance as Methods of Rule in Communist Societies Mario Keßler and Thomas Klein Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
Means of Social Control
7. Creating State Socialist Governance: The Case of the Deutsche Volkspolizei Thomas Lindenberger Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
8. Food Supply in a Planned Economy: SED Nutrition Policy between Crisis Response and Popular Needs Burghard Ciesla and Patrice G. Poutrus Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
9. The Myth of Female Emancipation: Contradictions in Women’s Lives Leonore Ansorg and Renate Hürtgen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	163
10. The Socialist Glass Ceiling: Limits to Female Careers Dagmar Langenhan and Sabine Roß Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Cultural Dimensions of Domination
11. Dictatorship as Discourse: Cultural Perspectives on SED Legitimacy Martin Sabrow Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	195
12. The Fettered Media: Controlling Public Debate Simone Barck, Christoph Classen and Thomas Heimann Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	213
13. Criticism and Censorship: Negotiating Cabaret Performance and Book Production Sylvia Klötzer and Siegfried Lokatis Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	241
14. The Pivotal Cadres: Leadership Styles and Self-Images of GDR-Elites Arnd Bauerkämper and Jürgen Danyel Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	265
Temporal Transformations
15. Stagnation or Change? Transformations of the Workplace in the GDR Peter Hübner Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	285
16. The Hitler Youth Generation in the GDR: Insecurities, Ambitions and Dilemmas Dorothee Wierling Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	307
17. Reforming Socialism? The Changing of the Guard from Ulbricht to Honecker during the 1960s Monika Kaiser Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	325
18. Mobility and Blockage during the 1970s Ralph Jessen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	341
Postscript
19. Rethinking the Second German Dictatorship Christoph Kleßmann Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	363
Selected Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	373
Notes on Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	379
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	383

Language: English
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 402
Keywords: History: 20th Century to Present

eBook

Published: October 1, 1999
ISBN: 9781782384793