Abstract
This part covers fieldwork done from August 1990 to July 1991. The aim was to capture real-time reactions of East German intellectuals to the end of their nation, the GDR (German Democratic Republic); the simultaneous end of their nearly universally shared dream of a socialist world succeeding capitalism; and the realization that it was capitalist West Germany, not the GDR, that had “won” the struggle for German national identity and economic survival. The virtually universal sentiment among these intellectuals in 1990–91 was that East Germany was not unifying with West Germany; rather the conclusion was that the GDR was being taken over and “colonized” by the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany). Lastly, there was confusion and a lack of consensus among these intellectuals regarding the viability of socialism as an organizing principle for society.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Bibliography
Brecth, Bertholt. 1950. Kinderhymne. Poetry Connection. http://www.poetryconnection.net/poets/Bertolt_Brecht/9288.
Brown, Dee. 1970. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee. New York: Henry Holt.
Buber, Martin. 2010. I and Thou. Mansfield Centre, CT: Martino Publishing.
Darnton, Robert. 1991. Berlin Journal: 1989-1990. New York: Norton.
Foucault, Michel. 1977. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Vintage Books.
Fukuyama, Francis. 1989. The End of History? The National Interest, Summer.
Helsinki Conference. 1975. The Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, Aug. 1.
Markovits, Inga. 1995. Imperfect Justice: An East-West German Diary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Mol, Hans. 1976. Identity and the Sacred: A Sketch for a New Social Scientific Theory of Religion. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Orwell, George. 1945. Animal Farm. London: Martin Secker and Warburgh, Ltd.
Torpey, John C. 1995. Intellectuals, Socialism, and Dissent: The East German Opposition and Its Legacy. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Ulfkotte, Udo. 2014. Gekaufte Journalisten: Wie Politiker, Geheimdienste und Hochfinanz Deutschlands Massenmedien lenken (Bought Journalists: How Politicians, Intelligence and High Finance Steer Germany’s Mass Media). Rottenberg: Kopp Verlag.
Welcome to Germany.info. 2014. Begrüßungsgeld. German Missions in the United States, April 4. http://www.germany.info/Vertretung/usa/en/__pr/GIC/TWIG__WoW/2014/13-Begruessungsgeld.html.
Williams, William Appleton. 1959. The Tragedy of American Diplomacy. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.
Wolf, Christa. 1990. Was Bleibt? Frankfurt am Main: Luchterhand Literatureverlag.
Wolff, Robert Paul, Barrington Moore Jr., and Herbert Marcuse. 1960. A Critique of Pure Tolerance. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bednarz, D. (2017). Part I: After the Turn, 1990–91. In: East German Intellectuals and the Unification of Germany. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42951-9_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-42951-9_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-42950-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-42951-9
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)