Conflict and Stability in the German Democratic Republic
Published on 25. December 2006
Book
Hardback
326 pages
978-0-521-86651-4 (ISBN)
Description
Why did the German Democratic Republic last for so long - longer, in fact, than the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich combined? This book looks at various political, social, and economic conflicts at the grass roots of the GDR in an attempt to answer this question and account for regime stability. A local study, it examines opposition and discontent in Saalfeld, an important industrial and agricultural district. Based on previously inaccessible primary sources as well as on interviews with local residents, the book offers a novel explanation for the durability of the regime by looking at how authorities tried to achieve harmony and consensus through negotiation and compromise. At the same time, it shows how official policies created deep-seated social cleavages that promoted stability by hindering East Germans from presenting a united front to authorities when mounting opposition or pressing for change. All of this provides an indirect answer to perhaps the major question of the postwar period: Why did the Cold War last as long as it did?
Reviews / Votes
'[Port's] study makes a significant contribution to the history of the GDR and to scholarly debate about the relationship between state and society in Stalinist states.' Donna Harsch, Carnegie Mellon University 'Port provides a compelling and eloquently written argument which brings us closer to understanding the precarious stability of the GDR and the highly nuanced internal workings of the regime. ... the detailed notes provide an exhaustive selection of secondary reading, and the broader context is clearly outlined for readers with a less detailed knowledge of the GDR.' The Slavonic and East European ReviewMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
655 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-86651-4 (9780521866514)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Andrew I. Port is an Assistant Professor of History at Wayne State University, Detroit. He earned a PhD in history from Harvard University and a BA in history from Yale University. He has published articles in Social History and the Frankfuerter Allgemeine Zeitung. Professor Port is a research associate at the Center for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and he was a visiting scholar at the Zentrum fuer Zeithistorische Forschung (Center for Contemporary Historical Research) in Potsdam, Germany.
Content
Part I. Upheaval (1945-53): 1. Creating a 'new order'; 2. The GDR's 'first strike'; 3. The revolution manque of June 1953; Part II. The Calm after the Storm (1953-71): 4. The limits of repression; 5. Exit, voice, and apathy; 6. Power in the people's factories; 7. Achieving harmony on the shop floor; 8. Divide and rule?; 9. 'I comes before we' in the countryside; 10. 'Whatever happened to the classless society?'