History of east germany project gutenberg selfpublishing. West texas before and after the civil war saw an explosion of immigrants making their way through the area on their way west. Weizsacker served as the president head of state of germany from 1984 to 1994, a decade which included the fall of the berlin wall 1989 and the reunification of the two germanies west and east into a single federal republic of germany 1990. This encyclopedic volume features around 2,000 items from its extraordinary collections. Germany is a vibrant country with a rich history and heritage. January, here are seven books from and about east germany worth reading now. A book s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book. Get the facts on nazi germany, east germany and the reunification of germany. Based on our xlsized volume, this edition includes a full spectrum of art, archives, and artifacts from socialist east germany. Because you have a choice of material, which is either from fanatical communists who loved the ddr, or from ddrhating westerners who only state the bad things and make us out to be bad people. What book is considered the definitive history of the ddr. Originally divided into five states, east germany was reorganized into 15 districts bezirke in 1952. Economy due in part to aid from the united states and other allied powers, west berlins recovery after world war ii was rapid and substantial.
Treaty of moscow between west germany and the ussr, gdr recognized, allies to leave germany, soviet troops to leave by end of 1994, no foreign troops or nuclear weapons in east germany, germany renounces claims to territory former german territories east of the oderneisse line. Its about east germanys secret police, the stasi, and is called stasiland. It covers mainly the history from the french revolution until the last decade of the 20th century, but it has an introductory chapter on the centuries before. List of books and articles about east germany online research. His berlin is both corrupted and corrupting, west as well as east. East germany german democratic republic history, german. Aug 25, 2009 east is east, but the east of the west was and remains gritty, workingclass kreuzberg. Other useful sites below are other useful sites for research in germany. Some sites may require a subscription to see the full records. Andreas dorpalens german history in marxist perspective. This lighthearted and helpful guide details the dos and donts of being german. Th e banalities of east german historiography berghahn books. Gunter grass is a nobel prizewinning german author who predominantly wrote during germany s postwar era.
The history of east germany from human smuggling to forced labor, from skateboarding to the peaceful revolution, dw takes a closer look at the history and legacy of the former german democratic. Following the german military leaders unconditional surrender in may 1945, the country lay prostrate. And certanly a book like frederick taylors must be on a par with any wall history in. The eras discussed range from the middle ages to european integration. This book proved to be an excellent history of the east german secret police force, the stasi. Still, being a secondhand witness to history is a role that more of us will face as the fall of the berlin wall passes into its 30th, 40th, and 50th anniversaries.
Out of several books set in berlin, berlin game is one of his most compelling. A primary source is a work that is being studied, or that provides firsthand or direct evidence on a topic. Treaty of moscow between west germany and the ussr, gdr recognized, allies to leave germany, soviet troops to leave by end of 1994, no foreign troops or nuclear weapons in east germany, germany renounces claims to territory former german territories east of. Th e banalities of east german historiography andrew i. After world war ii, the four allied occupation zones in germany were each controlled by a different country. The author was able to use documentation obtained after the fall of communist east germany to verify the information in this book. Somebodys got to lose, but it wont be the reader of this sly, sardonic tale. As with many countries of europe, germany has seen dramatic changes to its borders and even its internal regions.
East germany simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The editors present a collection of 23 historical papers exploring relationships between the germans necessarily adopting different senses of the term for different periods or different topics and their immediate neighbors to the east. Apr 24, 2017 the shortest history of germany by james hawes is published by old street publishing. Gdr, professional and popular interest in east german history focused on two broad themes. The initial flag of east germany adopted in 1948 was identical to that of west germany. Stories from behind the berlin wall by anna funder, the spy who came in from the. When in germany, do as the germans do hyde flippo, 2002. After german reunification, books about the gdr continued to appear. The stasi, which infiltrated every walk of east german life, suppressed political opposition, and caused the imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of citizens, proved to be one of the most powerful secret police and espionage services in the world. The long road west by heinrich august winkler two volumes. Of skaters and sweaters a brief history of east germany.
The information and opinions expressed herein are the sole responsibility and opinion of the authors. It offers an important historical account, from the perspective of a native german. The french, american, and british parts of germany formed west germany the bundesrepublik. Find a grave 42 million names gathered from cemeteries throughout the world. Top 10 books about the berlin wall books the guardian. Aug 17, 2000 in this gripping narrative, john koehler details the widespread activities of east germanys ministry for state security, or stasi.
Funders history captures a rare moment in time during which one could experience both east and west before they became a unified whole. May 3, 1971 erich honecker replaces walter ulbricht as party chief. Two novels set there capture the days immediately preceding that fateful 9 november. I was the washington post s berlin bureau chief in 1989 when the barrier that had divided communist east germany from capitalist west germany since 1961 finally fell. Germany to germany is his personal diary chronicling his travels throughout reunified germany in the months that followed the fall of the berlin wall. Reviews of books including the shortest history of germany, by james hawes, and the german war, by nicholas stargardt. His purpose is to analyze the way in which gdr historians, guided by the theoretical presuppositions of marxistleninist ideology, have interpreted the german. What book is considered the definitive history of the ddrgdr. German history blog german history and austrian history. By the time he left germany in 1960, agee, once an enthusiastic red. In their description of the book, the editors point out that weizsacker belongs to. What if the east german socialist state that existed from around the end of the allied occupation of germany around the early 1950s till the fall of the eastern bloc around 1990 had, instead of claiming to be the legitimate government of all germany which resulted in tensions within european. Szabo is professor of austrian and habsburg history and director of the wirth institute for austrian and central european studies at the university of alberta in edmonton, canada. The physical devastation from allied bombing campaigns and from ground battles was enormous.
Formerly divided into east berlin 156 sq mi404 sq km and west berlin 185 sq mi479 sq km, the city was reunified along with east and west germany on oct. Of skaters and sweaters a brief history of east germanys stasi near the center of the town of neuruppin, not far from berlin, sits a large if unassuming house that once belonged to the local newspaper publisher. Examples of specific topics addressed include the teutonic. East is east, but the east of the west was and remains gritty, workingclass kreuzberg. The book captures the reality of life behind the wall, as people work to survive. Funders history captures a rare moment in time during which one could experience.
Common types of primary sources include works of literature, historical documents, original philosophical writings, and religious texts. Many vital, birth, marriage, death, and other records. The history and legacy of the soviet satellite state established after world war ii kindle. You are given details of the tactics that were employed by the stasi.
The period of the renaissance to the present is the bulk of many european history courses in the english language world. The history and legacy of the soviet satellite state established after world war ii to be quite interesting. Germany deutschland cyndis list helpful links for genealogy in germany note. The rise and downfall of prussia, 16001947 by christopher clark, the rise and fall of the third reich. Then in 1871, all germanspeaking states except the austrian. The history and legacy of the soviet satellite state established after world war ii examines the controversial country and its place in the cold war. In 1959, the east german government issued a new version of the flag bearing the national emblem, serving to distinguish east from west. It offers an important historical account, from the perspective of a native german, about the aftermath of reuniting the country after. The east german approach is the most comprehensive study of historical scholarship in the former german democratic republic to have appeared in any language.
Red love, a memoir of east germany the new york times. The german state had ceased to exist, and sovereign authority passed to the victorious allied powers. The history and legacy of the soviet satellite state. Leos paternal grandfather, by contrast, was an east german everyman, one of the untold number who, bruised and battered by history, kept their heads down and plowed their furrow for whoever. List of books and articles about east germany online.
Along with pictures and a bibliography, you will learn about east germany like never before. Looking at your book choices and having read your own book about east germany, im struck by how traumatic modern german history has been. The best books on modern german history five books. Germany is a large northern european country with a complex history and a population of over 82 million. In this gripping narrative, john koehler details the widespread activities of east germanys ministry for state security, or stasi. The history of east germany from human smuggling to forced labor, from skateboarding to the peaceful revolution, dw takes a closer look at the history. Nevertheless, as early as 1956 east germanys prussian heritage asserted itself in the nva. Spymaster bernie samson crosses and recrosses east berlin checkpoints as he schemes to get an operative out of the east and discover whos doublecrossing him. I guess it makes me all the more impressed by the kind of country that germany is now. As a result of the ninth party congress in may 1976, east germany after 197677 considered its own history as the essence of german history, in which west germany was only an episode. East germany, officially the german democratic republic gdr. East germany east germany, 41,610 sq mi 107,771 sq km, consisted of the area included in the present states of mecklenburgwest pomerania, saxonyanhalt, thuringia, saxony, and brandenburg.
The former east germany, gdr, ddr 170 books goodreads. List of books and articles about german unification 1990. Listed are some of the most important history books ever written, as recommended by some of the most eminent historians working today. Although germany existed as a loose polity of germanicspeaking peoples for millennia, a united german nation in roughly its present form dates only to 1871. The butterfield stage line ran from 1857 to 1861, but the road was used by settlers, cattle drives and trade caravans long after. Defa and film history is a concise and clearly written introductory text that offers the reader basic information on the film production context for some of the great classics of gdr cinema, produced by this now closed chapter of film history. Its big, packs in a lot, and the single author ties things together better than many multiauthor works. List of books and articles about berlin history online. He has published widely in europe and in north america and is the author of the awardwinning kaunitz and enlightened absolutism, 17531780 1994. The best books on modern german history recommended by hester vaizey. It laid claim to reformers such as spartacus league, karl liebknecht, and rosa luxemburg. East germany from the questia online library, including fulltext online books. This spy novel about a british intelligence operation in cold war east germany was later made into a movie. Soviet military administration in germany organised censorship in east germany in 1945.
615 1450 497 509 1510 150 295 1494 1399 1215 694 1360 990 767 1063 305 1471 608 1019 1307 1144 9 117 1043 48 1327 701 611 1039 1145 984 878 1493 1050 1346 161