Conflict and Stability in the German Democratic Republic

by Andrew I. Port

• ISBN13: 9780521744171
• ISBN10: 0521744172
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-10-06
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Why did the German Democratic Republic last for so long - longer, in fact, than the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich combined? This book looks at various political, social, and economic conflicts at the grass roots of the GDR in an attempt to answer this question and account for regime stability. A local study, it examines opposition and discontent in Saalfeld, an important industrial and agricultural district. Based on previously inaccessible primary sources as well as on interviews with local residents, the book offers a novel explanation for the durability of the regime by looking at how authorities tried to achieve harmony and consensus through negotiation and compromise. All of this provides an indirect answer to perhaps the major question of the postwar period: Why did the Cold War last as long as it did?

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations and Tables	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
List of Abbreviations	p. xv
Note on the Text	p. xix
Introduction: The Puzzle of Stability	p. 1
A Brief History of Saalfeld	p. 13
Upheaval (1945-1953)
Creating a "New Order"	p. 21
Denazification and the Seizure of Power	p. 23
Reforming the Countryside	p. 28
Housing Shortages and Forced Requisitioning	p. 33
Reconstruction and Restructuring	p. 38
The GDR's "First Strike"	p. 46
The Events of August 16, 1951	p. 47
Underlying Causes	p. 52
A Political Protest?	p. 57
The Creation of a "Privileged Cadre"	p. 61
"Outcast Elements"	p. 65
The Revolution Manquee of June 1953	p. 70
The March on Saalfeld	p. 72
Popular Reactions	p. 75
A Sense of Injustice	p. 78
The Limits of Solidarity	p. 82
Official Responses	p. 85
Collectivization and Class Conflict	p. 87
The Calm After the Storm (1953-1971)
The Limits of Repression	p. 97
A Siege Mentality	p. 99
Punitive Measures	p. 101
Exit, Voice, and Apathy	p. 112
Dissenting Voices in the "Grumble Gesellschaft"	p. 115
The Repertoire of Everyday Protest	p. 120
Pacifism and the "Revenge of the Little Man"	p. 128
Fleeing the Republic	p. 133
Power in the People's Factories	p. 140
Shop-Floor Etiquette	p. 142
The Motor versus the Transmission Belt	p. 147
Showdown at Zeiss	p. 156
The Schizophrenic Role of the Unions	p. 161
Economic Struggles on the Shop Floor	p. 164
Spiraling Wages and Stagnating Productivity	p. 166
The Limits of Economic Reform in the 1960s	p. 172
"A Real Traveling Circus"	p. 178
The Sick, the Slacker, and the Slovenly	p. 184
Divide and Rule?	p. 195
Schichtegoismus, or "Shift Selfishness"	p. 198
Collective Divisions	p. 201
Gender Discrimination and the Battle of the Sexes	p. 206
The Unmaking of the East German Working Class?	p. 215
"I Comes before We" in the Countryside	p. 217
Struggling (Not) to Deliver	p. 218
Forced Collectivization (Round Two)	p. 220
Old Wine in New Bottles	p. 224
Rural Divisions and Traditional Mentalities	p. 230
The Limits of Interclass Unity	p. 234
"Whatever Happened to the Classless Society?"	p. 238
The Traditional "Collar Divide"	p. 240
Endemic Scarcity: The Great Equalizer?	p. 244
The "Triple Burden" of Working Women	p. 253
The Local Housing Crisis	p. 257
An Apartment of One's Own	p. 262
Conclusion: A Divided Society in a Divided Nation	p. 271
Primary Sources	p. 287
Index	p. 291
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