End Game : The 1989 Revolution in East Germany

The fall of the Berlin Wall, and the chain of events leading up to it, arguably constitute one of the most thoroughly documented episodes in recent history. Nonetheless, most accounts have focused predominantly on high-level politics and diplomacy along with the most dramatic and photogenic public displays. __End Game__, a rich, sweeping account of the autumn of 1989 as it was experienced “on the ground” in the German Democratic Republic, powerfully depicting the desolation and dysfunction that shaped everyday life for so many East Germans in the face of economic disruption and political impotence. Citizens’ frustration mounted until it bubbled over in the form of massive demonstrations and other forms of protest. Following the story up to the first free elections in March 1990, the volume combines abundant detail with sharp analysis and helps us to see this familiar historical moment through new eyes. CONTENTS PREFACE TO THE 2015 EDITION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABBREVIATIONS INTRODUCTION Part 1 IMAGES OF A SOCIAL CRISIS Introduction Chapter 1 GENERAL CONDITIONS Chapter 2 THE GDR IN ITS INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT Chapter 3 SYMPTOMS OF CRISIS Chapter 4 NUANCES Regional Variations and Subcultures Chapter 5 COUNTERMOVEMENTS The Pull of the West and the Churches Chapter 6 OPPOSITION IN THE SED STATE Chapter 7 GERMINATION TIME The Ossietzky Affair Part 2 FROM THE SOCIAL CRISIS TO A CRISIS OF THE DICTATORSHIP Chapter 8 THE SOCIAL CRISIS DEEPENS Chapter 9 REGIME COLLAPSE AND HISTORIC DAYS Part 3 THE FALL OF A DICTATORSHIP Chapter 10 FROM DEMONSTRATIONS TO THE FALL OF THE WALL Chapter 11 THE FALLOUT Chapter 12 FORGING A NEW PATH Elections and Reunification CONCLUSION Th e Revolution: Or Otto Schily as a Symbol AFTERWORD TO THE 2022 EDITION From the Revolution in the GDR in 1989 to Eastern Germany in the Twenty-First Century SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX "The fall of the Berlin Wall, and the chain of events leading up to it, arguably constitute one of the most thoroughly documented episodes in recent history. Nonetheless, most accounts have focused predominantly on high-level politics and diplomacy along with the most dramatic and photogenic public displays. End Game, a rich, sweeping account of the autumn of 1989 as it was experienced "on the ground" in the German Democratic Republic, powerfully depicting the desolation and dysfunction that shaped everyday life for so many East Germans in the face of economic disruption and political impotence. Citizens' frustration mounted until it bubbled over in the form of massive demonstrations and other forms of protest. Following the story up to the first free elections in March 1990, the volume combines abundant detail with sharp analysis and helps us to see this familiar historical moment through new eyes"-- Provided by publisher