Bringing Culture to the Masses: Control, Compromise and Participation in the GDR

Esther von Richthofen

Published by Berghahn Books 2009

Bringing Culture to the Masses

Control, Compromise and Participation in the GDR

Esther von Richthofen

Volume 24 in the series Monographs in German History

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781845458942

Overview
Contents

About this book

Cultural life in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) was strictly controlled by the ruling party, the SED, who attempted to dictate how people spent their free time by prohibiting privately organized leisure time pursuits and offering instead cultural activities in state institutions and organizations. By exploring the nature of dictatorial rule in the GDR and analysing the population’s engagement with state-organized cultural activity, this book challenges the current assumptions about the GDR’s social and institutional history that ignore the interaction and inter-dependence between ‘rulers’ and ‘ruled’. The author argues that the people’s cultural life in the GDR developed a dynamic of its own; it was determined by their own interests and by the input of cultural functionaries, who often aimed to satisfy popular demands, even if they were at odds with the SED’s cultural policy. Gradually, these developments affected SED cultural policy, which in the 1960s became less focused on educationalist goals and increasingly oriented towards popular interests.

Author / Editor information

Esther von Richthofen grew up in Bonn, London and Brussels. For her undergraduate degree, she read Modern History at Oxford University. She did her M.A. and PhD at UCL and specialized in the history of the German Democratic Republic. She is currently employed as the personal assistant of the president of the Humboldt University in Berlin.

Reviews

". this book's investigation of how culture worked at the local level adds to our understanding of the diversity within the East German system. In particular, its more nuanced view of cultural functionaries-the many types that existed and their personal motivations-offers a valuable contribution to current scholarship." · German History

“Richthofen’s work conveys with empathy the complex choices that characterised life in the GDR. [This] astutely argued, thought-provoking study is a worthy addition to the increasingly impressive body of research on the social and cultural life of ordinary East Germans.” · English Historical Review

“In providing a multi-actor model for analyzing one area of policy and practice in the GDR, this book is a valuable contribution not only to the literature on that state but also to the methodological considerations of institutional and social history and organizational studies…Its accessibility in terms of excellent writing and clear argumentation also make[s] it an excellent text for both undergraduate and graduate classes in history and political science classes about models of communication and policy making.” · Central European History

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Publicly Available Download PDF	viii
INTRODUCTION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Prelude NONCONFORMITY, COERCION AND ALIENATION: THE 1950S Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	28
PART I Bending the Rules While Upholding the Structures: Cultural Functionaries
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	45
Chapter 1 NEITHER PUPPETS NOR OPPONENTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	49
Chapter 2 ORGANISING CULTURE Compromise and Communication Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	72
PART II Attempted Self-determination – Pursuing an Interest: The Participants
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	95
Chapter 3 PATTERNS OF PARTICIPATION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	100
Chapter 4 COMMUNICATION WITH CULTURAL FUNCTIONARIES Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
PART III From Utopianism to Pragmatism: Cultural Policy
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	149
Chapter 5 RESPONDING TO DEVELOPMENTS AT THE GRASS ROOTS Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	153
Chapter 6 FROM ART TO CULTURE Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	171
Aftermath BREAKDOWN OF COMMUNICATION: THE LATE 1970S AND 1980S Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	190
CONCLUSION Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	208
BIBLIOGRAPHY Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	219
INDEX Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	236

Language: English
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 252
Keywords: History: 20th Century to Present; Cultural Studies (General)

eBook

Published: March 1, 2009
ISBN: 9781845458942