The German Democratic Republic

This book is a succinct yet comprehensive history of East Germany which provides a differentiated picture of the communist state. It offers a sophisticated analysis of life under dictatorship which candidly confronts the abuses of the East German Communist Party (SED) and the Stasi state security service. Ned Richardson-Little delves into the central contradictions of the GDR as a state meant to overcome the horrors of the Third Reich and create a new utopia, while itself a brutal dictatorship. He also convincingly argues that while the existence of the GDR was a product of the Cold War, it was also entangled in international politics well beyond the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. In this way, the book offers a history of the GDR in a global perspective that illustrates the worldview of those who ruled it, those who rebelled against the strictures of state socialism, and those in between who sought a normal life under dictatorship. The German Democratic Republic traces the foundation of the GDR from its origins as the Soviet Zone of Occupation after the Second World War through key events such as the 1953 Uprising, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Helsinki Accords and the collapse of state socialism in 1989. Some of the key themes explored include the memory of Nazism and national identity, everyday life under dictatorship, the global politics of the GDR, the diversity of dissent and the competing visions for East Germany’s democratic future.