Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990

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Yet the process of dismissing the GDR as a footnote in German history is, for Hoyer, “ahistorical”. Like her, millions of Germans alive today “neither can nor want to deny that they had once lived in the GDR”. The system was far from perfect, but along with the “tears and anger”, “oppression and brutality”, there was “laughter and pride”, “opportunity and belonging”. Hence her decision to write a new “warts and all” history of the GDR that places it firmly in the wider German narrative.

Book Review: ‘Beyond the Wall’ by Katja Hoyer - The New York

In 1990, a country disappeared. When the iron curtain fell, East Germany simply ceased to be. For over forty years, from the ruin of the Second World War to the cusp of a new millennium, the GDR presented a radically different German identity to anything that had come before, and anything that exists today. Socialist solidarity, secret police, central planning, barbed wire: this was a Germany forged on the fault lines of ideology and geopolitics. The 1920s - Philosophy's Golden Age Wittgenstein changed his mind, Heidegger revolutionised philosophy (and the German language), and both the Frankfurt School and the Vienna Circle were in full swing. Matthew Sweet is joined by Wolfram Eilenberger, David Edmonds and Esther Leslie. Plus, a report on the plight of the Lukacs Archive in Budapest https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000q380 The main problem, of course, was the leaders's fanatical communism. That fanaticism may be explicable in the context of their formative years in the '30s and '40s, but their almost religiously cultish commitment to the communist dream is very much of the period, and difficult to accept as in any way a rational act. The East German communist regime (GDR /DDR) had, upon seizing power in the late 1940s, vowed to build the socialist society of the future out of the ruins of the Second World War. Instead, the regime brought misery to millions of its own citizens, devoted much of its energy to developing the most pervasive system of mass surveillance the world had seen up to that point, and seemed only capable of placating the population of the GDR by building a massive wall around them. Die Zeit, "'Das Interesse an deutscher Geschichte ist groß'" (in German), 8 May 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023.

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The reunification of Germany on 3 October 1990 marked the end of the division between the democratic West (FRG) and the communist East (GDR), which had persisted since 1949. However, while West Germans continued their lives as usual, the reunification brought about significant changes for East Germans.

Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949–1990 by Katja Hoyer Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949–1990 by Katja Hoyer

Hoyer records the reaction of one young East Berliner who walked over to the West on that remarkable night: 'It looks just like our Berlin, only the shop windows are more colorful. I will never forget their glaring neon lights.' While the end for East Germany came fast as its economy collapsed and its population actively protested on the streets, Hoyer seems keen to record some elements of its culture as positive. She notes the very high participation rate of women in the labour market, and the concomitant widely deployed state sponsored childcare facilities, both of which far exceeded comparable developments in the West. Powerfully told, and drawing on a vast array of never-before-seen interviews, letters and records, this is the definitive history of the other Germany, the one beyond the Wall. Unsurprisingly, the insidious reach of the Stasi was a serious deterrent to any potential dissenters. It was common for families and friends to inform on each other, and criticising the regime to almost anyone was incredibly risky and could also be a potentially extremely dangerous thing to do. Fear of losing opportunities, being subjected to a sustained harassment campaign or even torture and imprisonment ensured mass compliance with the regime, despite the hardships it often created.The book covers the history of East Germany in the period between 1949 and 1990, including the sudden and unexpected collapse of the state with the fall of the Berlin Wall, as well as many other points in the state's history. It includes both large historical events and anecdotal stories of ordinary people living within the state. [4] Reception [ edit ] Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial?

Beyond the Wall by Katja Hoyer | Goodreads Beyond the Wall by Katja Hoyer | Goodreads

Hoyer animates the story of the people of the East by beginning each chapter with an anecdotal snapshot of a personal event that replicates on an individual level broader political and social developments. Otherwise, her account follows a standard historical chronology of the East. It starts with post-war establishment in the late 1940s, and records the struggle to establish a working economy and society in the 1950s and '60s.Katja Hoyer (born 1985) [1] is a German historian, journalist and writer. [2] [3] Life and career [ edit ]