1st Edition

Popular Protest in East Germany

By Gareth Dale Copyright 2005
    264 Pages
    by Routledge

    264 Pages
    by Routledge

    An incisive new study of dissent and protest in the German Democratic Republic, focusing on the upheaval of 1989-1990.

    The author, an active participant both in the 'Citizens' Movement' and in the street protests of that year, draws upon a vast array of sources including interviews, documents from the archives of the old regime and the Citizens' Movement and his own diary entries, to explore the causes and processes of the East German revolution. The book is at once a lucid and vibrant narrative history and a pioneering contribution to research in this field.

    Acknowledgements; Introduction; PART ONE Mass Movements in the GDR’s Early Years; 1.The June 1953 Uprising; 2. Labour Heritage and Collective Action, 1945-53; PART TWO Infra-political Resistance and Social Movements, 1954-1988; 3. Techniques of Domination, Arts of Resistance; 4. Helsinki and Bohemia: Emigration and Youth Rebellion; 5. ‘Politics in the Bell Jar’: Socio-ethical Movements in the 1980s; 6. The Formation of Political Opposition; PART THREE The Revolution of 1989 ; 7. The Summer Crisis; 8. The Autumn Uprising; 9. Intellectuals and Workers; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index

    Biography

    Gareth Dale is a Lecturer in Politics at the University of Wales, Swansea. He has recently published a monograph entitled Between State Capitalism and Globalisation (2004). His research interests include German politics, the politics of migration and international political economy.

    'Dale’s insightful analysis and persuasive argument sheds new light on the traditions and motivations behind those who claimed ‘we are the people’ in 1989 and makes a valuable contribution to the increasingly differentiated field of GDR research.' -Journal of Contemporary European Studies

    This book fills an important gap in the market for books on the GDR…an exceedingly useful book...Dale presents a very subtle, concise and convincing analysis of the rich and complex literature that has emerged on the protest movements of 1953 and 1989... because so little else has been published on this important subject in English, this is a very welcome book.’ - West European Politics