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.

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.

Preface
List of Abbreviations

Introduction: Beyond Uniformity: The Challenge of Historicizing the GDR
Konrad H. Jarausch

PART I: THE THEORETICAL PROBLEM OF DICTATORSHIP

Chapter 1. The GDR: A Special Kind of Modern Dictatorship
Jürgen Kocka

Chapter 2. Modernization and Modernization Blockages in GDR Society
Detlef Pollack

Chapter 3. Care and Coercion: The GDR as Welfare Dictatorship
Konrad H. Jarausch

PART II: MECHANISMS OF POLITICAL REPRESSION

Chapter 4. From Dismantling to Currency Reform: External Origins of the Dictatorship, 1943-1948
Jochen Laufer

Chapter 5. Foreign Influences on the Dictatorial Development of the GDR, 1949-1955
Michael Lemke

Chapter 6. Repression and Tolerance as Methods of Rule in Communist Societies
Mario Keßler and Thomas Klein

PART III: MEANS OF SOCIAL CONTROL

Chapter 7. Creating State Socialist Governance: The Case of the Deutsche Volkspolizei
Thomas Lindenberger

Chapter 8. Food Supply in a Planned Economy: SED Nutrition Policy between Crisis Response and Popular Needs
Burghard Ciesla and Patrice G. Poutrus

Chapter 9. The Myth of Female Emancipation: Contradictions in Women's Lives
Leonore Ansorg and Renate Hürtgen

Chapter 10. The Socialist Glass Ceiling: Limits to Female Careers
Dagmar Langenhan and Sabine Roß

PART IV: CULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF DOMINATION

Chapter 11. Dictatorship as Discourse: Cultural Perspectives on SED Legitimacy
Martin Sabrow

Chapter 12. The Fettered Media: Controlling Public Debate
Simone Barck, Christoph Classen and Thomas Heimann

Chapter 13. Criticism and Censorship: Negotiating Cabaret Performance and Book Production
Sylvia Klötzer and Siegfried Lokatis

Chapter 14. The Pivotal Cadres: Leadership Styles and Self-Images of GDR-Elites
Arnd Bauerkämper and Jürgen Danyel

PART V: TEMPORAL TRANSFORMATIONS

Chapter 15. Stagnation or Change? Transformations of the Workplace in the GDR
Peter Hübner

Chapter 16. The Hitler Youth Generation in the GDR: Insecurities, Ambitions and Dilemmas
Dorothee Wierling

Chapter 17. Reforming Socialism? The Changing of the Guard from Ulbricht to Honecker during the 1960s
Monika Kaiser

Chapter 18. Mobility and Blockage during the 1970s
Ralph Jessen

PART VI: POSTSCRIPT

Chapter 19. Rethinking the Second German Dictatorship
Christoph Kleßmann

Selected Bibliography
Notes on Contributors
Index