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OverviewWould it have been possible to build a unified and democratic Germany half a century before the fall of the Berlin Wall? This book reassesses this question by exploring Germany's division after the Second World War from the point of view of the SED, the communist-led and Soviet-sponsored ruling party of East Germany.Drawing on unpublished documents from the SED archives, Dr Spilker rejects claims that the East German comrades and their Soviet masters had abandoned their struggle for socialism and were willing to accept a democratic Germany in exchange for a pledge to neutrality. He argues that the communists' sudden switch to a multi-party approach at the end of the war was a tactical move inspired not by a desire for compromise but by the mistaken belief that they could win political hegemony - and the chance to introduce socialism throughout Germany - through the ballot box.Communist optimism, as this book shows, rested on specific assumptions about the situation after the war, all of which revolved around the prospect of political instability and social unrest in West Germany. The comrades in East Berlin did not just say that their regime would ultimately prevail, they genuinely believed it. Nor should their hopes be dismissed as a mere fantasy. In the aftermath of the war, the economic gap between the two Germanies was still relatively narrow and West Germany's future success as a magnet for the people in East Germany was by no means guaranteed. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Dirk SpilkerPublisher: Oxford University Press Imprint: Oxford University Press Dimensions: Width: 14.50cm , Height: 2.30cm , Length: 22.30cm Weight: 0.528kg ISBN: 9780199284122ISBN 10: 0199284121 Pages: 320 Publication Date: 13 July 2006 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: To order  Stock availability from the supplier is unknown. We will order it for you and ship this item to you once it is received by us. Table of ContentsReviews...cogent and persuasive...Specialists will find the book stimulating...But the book's vigorous argument, and direct, unpretentious prose will also make it accessible to a wider audience interested in the early phases of the Cold War. Gareth Pritchard The English Historical Review Spilker often breaks new gorund...a well structured and readable study... Dierk Hoffmann Bulletin German Historical Institute ...cogent and persuasive...Specialists will find the book stimulating...But the book's vigorous argument, and direct, unpretentious prose will also make it accessible to a wider audience interested in the early phases of the Cold War. Gareth Pritchard The English Historical Review Spilker often breaks new gorund...a well structured and readable study... Dierk Hoffmann Bulletin German Historical Institute Author InformationDirk Spilker took degrees at the Universities of Cologne, Cambridge, and Oxford, and is now a management consultant in his native Germany. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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