Books by Mary Fulbrook

What was life really like for East Germans, effectively imprisoned behind the Iron Curtain? The headline stories of Cold War spies and surveillance by the secret police, of political repression and corruption, do not tell the whole story. After the unification of Germany in 1990 many East Germans remembered their lives as interesting, varied, and full of educational, career, and leisure opportunities: in many ways perfectly ordinary lives.Using the rich resources of the newly-opened GDR archives, Mary Fulbrook investigates these conflicting narratives. She explores the transformation of East German society from the ruins of Hitlers Third Reich to a modernizing industrial state. She examines changing conceptions of normality within an authoritarian political system, and provides extraordinary insights into the ways in which individuals perceived their rights and actively sought to shape their own lives.Replacing the simplistic black-and-white concept of totalitarianism by the notion of a participatory dictatorship, this book seeks to reinstate the East German people as actors in their own history.

The two Germanies, arising from the unpromising ashes of defeated Nazi Germany, came to represent opposing models of state and society. The Federal Republic established itself as a remarkably stable democracy and successful social market economy: the German Democratic Republic developed an apparently exemplary form of 'actually existing socialism' and became a pillar of the Soviet bloc. Then in 1989, the 'gentle revolution' in East Germany added a new twist with the collapse of Communist rule. With rapid reunification, the united Germany of 1990 faced new challenges as the unprecedented transformation created a multitude of economic problems and social tensions.Previously published in 1992 as The Two Germanies, this book has been fully revised and updated to take account of all the latest developments in contemporary German history.

This collection brings together an international team of distinguished scholars to produce an innovative and accessible guide to the controversial course of modern German history. Exploring the main issues in social, economic, cultural, and political history, the book reflects the diversity and liveliness of the field.