The Collapse of East German Communism - The Year the Wall Came Down, 1989

This book focuses on a key aspect of the German question--the problem of German national identity and communist ideology in their historical perspective since 1945 and their immediate clash in the downfall of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1989. The book's theme might be summarized as German identity recovered. The book is unique in that it is in part an eyewitness account of one of Europe's most startling transformations.

In the four decades of its existence, the GDR did not succeed in fostering a separate political or social identity, and thus an underlying difficulty of the state was never resolved. The overriding objective of the political socialization process in the GDR was to instill socialist political culture into the citizenry. This political culture had not only to be uniform with ideological imperatives and aspirations, but had to stand on its own because of the absence of a broader-based national culture. Given the newness of the state and its political institutions, and the continual challenge on the national question presented by the mere existence of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the East German Communist Party (SED) always faced an uphill task. This book should be of interest to students and scholars interested in Germany, in Europe, and in the fate of communism.

List of contents

Introduction
Backdrop to Revolution
The Nature of East German Communism
Legitimacy Deficit
The Debate on the Nation
Economic Difficulties in the GDR
The West German Connection
Upheaval and Revolution
Winds of Change
The Iron Curtain Corrodes and Shakes
Marx and God
The SED Alone
The Dam Bursts
People Without Fear
The Wall Opens
Dwindling Options
The Synthesis
Into the Dustbin
Bibliography

About the author

DAVID M. KEITHLY is a university professor and a consultant. He has lived in Europe for over ten years and has taught at Lynchburg College, Claremont McKenna College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Troy State University, and Old Dominion University. He has published two books, Arms Control and the Future and Breakthrough in the Ostpolitik, as well as numerous articles.

Product details

• Authors: David Keithly, David M. Keithly
• Publisher: Bloomsbury
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 7 to 17
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 21.08.1992
• EAN: 9780275942618
• ISBN: 978-0-275-94261-8
• No. of pages: 256
• Weight: 595 g
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; HISTORY / Europe / Germany, Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000, European History, Germany, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / European, Political structure & processes, c 1960 to c 1970, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, Far-left political ideologies and movements, c 1950 to c 1959, c 1970 to c 1979, c 1960 to c 1969, c 1970 to c 1980, C 1980 To C 1990, c 1980 to c 1989, Marxism & Communism, C 1945 To C 1960, Political structure and processes, Politics, Law, and Government: Comparative Politics