Society of Departure: The German Democratic Republic
Society of Departure: The German Democratic Republic
This chapter examines from which kind of society the East Germans entered the process of reunification. It discusses characteristics of the former society of the German Democratic Republic that can be assumed to have been most salient for the process of transformation and the way it was experienced. As a socialist state, the GDR was widely assumed to be a repressive, authoritarian system where politics pervaded both public and private lives. Although the GDR regime was less repressive than it appeared and aspired to and often even triggered individualistic responses as flexible adaptation to control and material shortages, this chapter concludes that the biographical baggage East Germans carried over from their GDR past might have proven more as a liability than an asset in the transformation.
Keywords: East Germans, reunification, German Democratic Republic, authoritarian system, German Democratic Republic
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