East German Intellectuals and the Unification of Germany An Ethnogra
This book discusses the reunification of Germany and the negative impacts that this had on East German intellectuals. The book is an ethnographic account of how the intellectuals of East Germany reacted to the demise of their nation, their “dream” of a so
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An Ethnographic View Dan Bednarz
East German Intellectuals and the Unification of Germany
Dan Bednarz
East German Intellectuals and the Unification of Germany An Ethnographic View
Dan Bednarz Bristol Community College Fall River, Massachusetts USA
ISBN 978-3-319-42950-2 ISBN 978-3-319-42951-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42951-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016958024 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover image Bruce Tanner / Alamy Stock Photo Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
For Leonard Lieberman, October 25, 1925–February 6, 2007
PREFACE
When East Germany (the GDR, German Democratic Republic) ceased to exist after its October 3, 1990, unification with West Germany (the FRG, Federal Republic of Germany), almost all East German intelligentsia felt like the flotsam of history. In the West, most were typified as ill-, un-, or mis-educated apologists for the Socialist Unity Party (the Party) that had controlled the GDR during its four-and-a-half-decade history. According to this view, few were genuine intellectuals or artists because they were not devoted to the honest study, use, or expression of ideas and emotions. Instead, they were, in the West, presumed apparatchiks of the Socialist Party that ruled the GDR. That is, in West Germany, they were regarded, with few exceptions, as either feral children or propagandists, not scientists and scholars. Concomitantly, an unknown number of them were suspected of spying on their colleagues, friends, and even family members at the behest of the Stasi, the East German state security apparatus. Their status in East Germany had been complicated and tortuous. Workers tended to envy them as a privileged elite insulated from the harsh demand
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