Constructing Socialism at the Grass-roots : The Transformation of East Germany, 1945-65

In the two decades following the defeat of the Third Reich, East Germany was transformed from a war-ravaged occupation zone into an apparent model of Soviet style socialism. Based on extensive archival research, this book explores the building of socialism in East Germany not from the standard perspective of the party and state authorities. It also examines the effect this had at the grassroots level, where patterns of popular opinion, social and cultural continuities from the pre-communist past and the divided loyalties of local functionaries played a crucial role in shaping the face of real existing socialism. Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-14 Front Matter....Pages 15-16 The Land Reform and its Effects....Pages 17-32 Recasting the Factories after the War....Pages 33-50 Front Matter....Pages 51-51 The Origins and Effects of 17 June in the Factories....Pages 53-59 The ‘Unforced’ Collectivization, 1952–53....Pages 60-70 Mobilizing East German Youth....Pages 71-82 ‘Republikflucht’: Fleeing the Construction of Socialism....Pages 83-87 Front Matter....Pages 89-90 The Factories from 17 June to the Socialist Brigades....Pages 91-104 The Villages from Stalemate to Collectivization....Pages 105-124 Youth and the Threats to Socialism....Pages 125-142 The Problems and Possibilities of the Open Border....Pages 143-158 Front Matter....Pages 159-159 The Grass-Roots Effects of the Berlin Wall....Pages 161-182 Integration, Scepticism and Pragmatism: Patterns of Popular Opinion and Social Change in the Mid-1960s....Pages 183-201 Conclusions....Pages 202-211 Back Matter....Pages 212-262 In the two decades following the defeat of the Third Reich, East Germany was transformed from a war-ravaged occupation zone into what was in many ways a remarkably stable model of Soviet-style socialism. Or so it seemed until the dramatic events of autumn 1989. The history of the former German Democratic Republic has been the subject of intense interest and debate since the fall of the Berlin Wall, not least because of the opening of its previously restricted archives. Based on extensive archival research and utilizing the insights of other studies, this book explores the building of socialism in East Germany, not from the standard perspective of the party and state authorities, but, rather, from focusing on the effects this had at the grass-roots, where patterns of popular opinion, social and cultural continuities from the pre-communist past and the divided loyalties of local functionaries played a crucial role in shaping the face of 'real-existing socialism'

Fascinated with the former German Democratic Republic since his first visit there in 1991, the author fills in scholarly lacunae in the GDR's sociopolitical transformation under the Communists in the first two post-war decades by studying the history of the East German Socialist Unity Party and the popular perception and implementation of its policiesrather than the typical polemics over totalitarian and top-down models. Ross (modern history, U. of Birmingham) discusses laying the foundations for socialism after the war with land form and factory recasting; mobilizing youth in the early 1950s; setbacks and new offenses from 1953-61; and the grass-roots effects of the Berlin Wall and 1960s social change. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

In the two decades following the defeat of the Third Reich, East Germany was transformed from a war-ravaged occupation zone into an apparent model of Soviet-style socialism. Based on extensive archival research, this book explores the building of socialism in East Germany not from the standard perspective of the party and state authorities. Rather, it focuses on the effects at the grass-roots, where patterns of popular opinion, social and cultural communities from the pre-eminent past and the divided loyalties of local functionaries played a crucial role in shaping the face of "real existing socialism." "Based on extensive archival research and utilizing the insights of other studies, this book explores the building of socialism in East Germany, not from the standard perspective of the party and state authorities, but, rather, from focusing on the effects this had at the grass-roots, where patterns of popular opinion, social and cultural continuities from the pre-communist past and the divided loyalties of local functionaries played a crucial role in shaping the face of 'real-existing socialism'."--Jacket