The Rise and Fall of the German Democratic Republic

The Rise and Fall of the German Democratic Republic PDF Author: Feiwel Kupferberg
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 9781412838757
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
Most public debate on reunited Germany has emphasized economic issues such as the collapse of East German industry, mass unemployment, career difficulties, and differences in wages and living standards. The overwhelming difficulty resulting from reunification, however, is not persisting economic differences but the internal cultural divide between East and West Germans, one based upon different moral values in the two Germanies. The invisible wall that has replaced the previous, highly visible territorial division of the German nation is rooted in issues of the past-the Nazi past as well as the German Democratic Republic past. In emphasizing economic differences, the media and academics have avoided dealing with typically German cultural traits. These include the psychological posture of West Germany, which emphasized not differences between East and West but the break with Germany's Nazi past. The adversarial posture of certain professional groups in East Germany towards the liberal and democratic values of West Germany have also been an obstacle. Reviewing the problems accompanying reunification, chapter 1 explores German culture and history and the moral lessons evolved from the Nazi past. Chapter 2 focuses on the East-West mindset and how differences in attitude affect efforts to adapt to reunification. Chapter 3 discusses the simulated break with Nazi Germany in the German Democratic Republic. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 analyze the roots of the adversary posture of the professional groups in East Germany towards the values of the Berlin Republic. Chapter 7 demonstrates the strong presence of inherited, typically German cultural traits among East Germans, such as a lack of individualism, suspicion of strangers, and obedience to authority. Chapter 8 documents the extent to which a right-wing extremist culture has remained latent in Eastern Germany. Chapter 9 documents the extent to which moral reasoning in the GDR relieves the individual of any kind of responsibility for the actions of the state, reproducing the way ordinary Germans rationalized their participation in the Nazi regime immediately after World War II. Chapter 10 concludes with an overview of the historical and sociological factors revolving around the discussion of Nazi Germany, the GDR and inner unification. This volume will be important for historians, political scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, and a general public interested in Germany's reunification.

The Rise and Fall of the German Democratic Republic

The Rise and Fall of the German Democratic Republic PDF Author: Feiwel Kupferberg
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
ISBN: 9781412838757
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Get Book Here

Book Description
Most public debate on reunited Germany has emphasized economic issues such as the collapse of East German industry, mass unemployment, career difficulties, and differences in wages and living standards. The overwhelming difficulty resulting from reunification, however, is not persisting economic differences but the internal cultural divide between East and West Germans, one based upon different moral values in the two Germanies. The invisible wall that has replaced the previous, highly visible territorial division of the German nation is rooted in issues of the past-the Nazi past as well as the German Democratic Republic past. In emphasizing economic differences, the media and academics have avoided dealing with typically German cultural traits. These include the psychological posture of West Germany, which emphasized not differences between East and West but the break with Germany's Nazi past. The adversarial posture of certain professional groups in East Germany towards the liberal and democratic values of West Germany have also been an obstacle. Reviewing the problems accompanying reunification, chapter 1 explores German culture and history and the moral lessons evolved from the Nazi past. Chapter 2 focuses on the East-West mindset and how differences in attitude affect efforts to adapt to reunification. Chapter 3 discusses the simulated break with Nazi Germany in the German Democratic Republic. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 analyze the roots of the adversary posture of the professional groups in East Germany towards the values of the Berlin Republic. Chapter 7 demonstrates the strong presence of inherited, typically German cultural traits among East Germans, such as a lack of individualism, suspicion of strangers, and obedience to authority. Chapter 8 documents the extent to which a right-wing extremist culture has remained latent in Eastern Germany. Chapter 9 documents the extent to which moral reasoning in the GDR relieves the individual of any kind of responsibility for the actions of the state, reproducing the way ordinary Germans rationalized their participation in the Nazi regime immediately after World War II. Chapter 10 concludes with an overview of the historical and sociological factors revolving around the discussion of Nazi Germany, the GDR and inner unification. This volume will be important for historians, political scientists, anthropologists, sociologists, and a general public interested in Germany's reunification.

Marx on Campus: A Short History of the Marburg School

Marx on Campus: A Short History of the Marburg School PDF Author: Lothar Peter
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004410163
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 199

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Book Description
Alongside the ‘critical theory’ of the Frankfurt School, West Germany was also home to another influential Marxist current known as the Marburg School. In this volume, Marburg disciple Lothar Peter traces the school’s history and situates it in the political discourse and developments of its time. The renowned political scientist Wolfgang Abendroth plays a large role, but unlike most histories of the Marburg School Peter also takes the sociologists Werner Hofmann and Heinz Maus into account as well as their many students and successors. They were united by the conviction that teaching and scholarship must necessarily be tied to the practical goal of transforming society – an approach that met with considerable opposition in the harshly anti-Communist atmosphere of the period. This book was first published in 2014 as Marx an die Uni. Die "Marburger Schule" – Geschichte, Probleme, Akteure by PapyRossa Verlag, Cologne, ISBN 978-38-94-38546-0. With a new Introduction by Ingar Solty.

Being German, Becoming Muslim

Being German, Becoming Muslim PDF Author: Esra Özyürek
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400852714
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
Every year more and more Europeans, including Germans, are embracing Islam. It is estimated that there are now up to one hundred thousand German converts—a number similar to that in France and the United Kingdom. What stands out about recent conversions is that they take place at a time when Islam is increasingly seen as contrary to European values. Being German, Becoming Muslim explores how Germans come to Islam within this antagonistic climate, how they manage to balance their love for Islam with their society's fear of it, how they relate to immigrant Muslims, and how they shape debates about race, religion, and belonging in today’s Europe. Esra Özyürek looks at how mainstream society marginalizes converts and questions their national loyalties. In turn, converts try to disassociate themselves from migrants of Muslim-majority countries and promote a denationalized Islam untainted by Turkish or Arab traditions. Some German Muslims believe that once cleansed of these accretions, the Islam that surfaces fits in well with German values and lifestyle. Others even argue that being a German Muslim is wholly compatible with the older values of the German Enlightenment. Being German, Becoming Muslim provides a fresh window into the connections and tensions stemming from a growing religious phenomenon in Germany and beyond.

Royalty and Diplomacy in Europe, 1890-1914

Royalty and Diplomacy in Europe, 1890-1914 PDF Author: Roderick R. McLean
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521038195
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
This 2001 book examines the diplomatic role of royal families in the era before the outbreak of the First World War. It argues that previous historians have neglected for political reasons the important political and diplomatic role of monarchs during the period. Particular attention is given to the Prusso-German, Russian and British monarchies. The Prusso-German and Russian monarchies were central in their countries' diplomacy and foreign policy, principally as a result of their control over diplomatic and political appointments. However, the book also argues that the British monarchy played a much more influential role in British diplomacy than has been accepted hitherto by historians. Individual themes examined include relations between Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II, the political significance of the ill-feeling between Wilhelm II and his uncle King Edward VII, the role of Edward VII in British diplomacy, and the impact of royal visits on pre-1914 Anglo-German relations.

Books in Print Supplement

Books in Print Supplement PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : American literature
Languages : en
Pages : 1478

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Book Description


Higher Education in the German Democratic Republic

Higher Education in the German Democratic Republic PDF Author: H. J. Schulz
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education, Higher
Languages : en
Pages : 86

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Book Description
The system of higher education of the German Democratic Republic is described. Information on the different kinds of colleges--universities, university colleges, and engineering and technical colleges--is provided, including admission procedures, course objectives, course content and structure, further education, paths leading to the award of higher academic degrees, types of academic degrees awarded, training of foreign students, research at higher education institutions, the role of the library in the tertiary education system, senior academic staff, junior members of academic staffs at universities and university colleges, and college lecturers. Additional topics include: the integrated system of state administration, the administration of universities and university colleges, the administration of engineering and technical colleges, and international cooperation by universities, university colleges, and technical colleges. Appendices include diagrams of: the Integrated Socialist Education System, the routes to technical education, and the administrative structure at a university. Also appended are timetables for the curricula of livestock farming and technology of metal processing, and a list of higher education institutions. (SW)

Between Elite and Mass Education

Between Elite and Mass Education PDF Author: Max Planck Institute
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438412258
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
Major changes in education have taken place in West Germany over the past three decades. The experience of the Federal Republic differs from that of its European neighbors, since it was conditioned by postwar efforts of the occupying powers to impose a new model of education: the American comprehensive secondary school. Yet the traditional American educational system is at the extreme of what could be called "mass education," whereas that of West Germany is more nearly "class education" that is, more structurally differentiated and keeping a much smaller proportion of pupils in school until age 18. Moreover, as in every developed country, West Germany has experienced increased consumer demand from an expanding middle class for more extended secondary education that does not foreclose post- secondary options. This study shows the structure that has emerged from this unique experiment with elite and mass education. Discussed at length are the four secondary routes: the Gymnasium, the Realschule, the Hauptschule, and the Volksschule. Also featured are the German answers to questions that have occupied the center of attention in American education for some years: education of ethnic minorities, education- ally disadvantaged, and handicapped children. Prepared by a team of researchers associated with the Max Planck Institute for Human Development and Education, the study provides the only comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the pre- sent educational system in the Federal Republic of Germany. Its abundance of statistical data make it a valuable resource for the educator, political scientist, and European Studies specialist. Its clarity renders it accessible to the non-specialist as well. The panoramic and yet detailed view that this book gives of German education goes a long way toward providing the base upon which comparison of education in the United States and the Federal Republic can begin.

Books in Print

Books in Print PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : American literature
Languages : en
Pages : 2132

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Book Description


Youth and Political Participation

Youth and Political Participation PDF Author: Glenn H. Utter
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1598846620
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
This comprehensive reference examines the history and importance of youth participation in politics, suggests reasons for their disengagement, and discusses efforts to increase the interest of young voters in the political process—a process in which they could be a controlling factor. Surveys indicate that those under the age of 30 consistently score the lowest on factual questions about politics, and young people are the least likely to engage in political activity online despite being the age group most likely to use the Internet. Many political researchers and activists are justifiably concerned, linking the low level of political participation among American youth to the overall health of our democratic system. Youth and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook sheds light on this important subject, identifying and discussing factors that have influenced youth political participation in the past and those that play a role today, including the mass media, political parties, interest groups, and individual attitudes toward political engagement. The book also provides historical perspective by addressing the early years of the Republic, the protest politics of the 1960s, the campaign for the 18-year-old vote, and the results of the 26th Amendment granting that right.

Soviet Military Doctrine

Soviet Military Doctrine PDF Author: Harriet Fast Scott
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000312542
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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Book Description
The purpose of this book is to document from basic Soviet sources the development of Soviet military doctrine and its impact upon the Soviet Armed Forces. Soviet military doctrine is defined as the military policy of the Communist Party. In one way or another, this policy affects the lives of all of us-as a possible threat to free institutions and political processes as well as to our economic life and well-being. Generally we approach Soviet military policy in terms of military balances and weapons: comparisons in the number of men under arms, the speed of aircraft of the Soviet bloc versus that of NATO aircraft, the number of ballistic missiles and their throw-weights. Studying such balances is of critical importance in defining, to some degree, existing forces. But it is only through a deep and thorough study of the military policy of the Communist Party, which translates directly into military doctrine, that we can obtain the background that might aid in negotiating with the Soviets on arms control matters or in making decisions that will enable those nations outside of the Soviet bloc to deter future Kremlin military moves.