A decade after the collapse of communism, this volume presents a historical reflection on the perplexing nature of the East German dictatorship. In contrast to most political rhetoric, it seeks to establish a middle ground between totalitarianism theory and apologetics of the socialist experiment, emphasizing the normality of daily lives.

Preface List of Abbreviations Introduction: Beyond Uniformity: The Challenge of Historicizing the GDR Konrad H. Jarausch PART I: THE THEORETICAL PROBLEM OF DICTATORSHIP Chapter 1. The GDR: A Special Kind of Modern Dictatorship Jürgen Kocka Chapter 2. Modernization and Modernization Blockages in GDR Society Detlef Pollack Chapter 3. Care and Coercion: The GDR as Welfare Dictatorship Konrad H. Jarausch PART II: MECHANISMS OF POLITICAL REPRESSION Chapter 4. From Dismantling to Currency Reform: External Origins of the Dictatorship, 1943-1948 Jochen Laufer Chapter 5. Foreign Influences on the Dictatorial Development of the GDR, 1949-1955 Michael Lemke Chapter 6. Repression and Tolerance as Methods of Rule in Communist Societies Mario Keßler and Thomas Klein PART III: MEANS OF SOCIAL CONTROL Chapter 7. Creating State Socialist Governance: The Case of the Deutsche Volkspolizei Thomas Lindenberger Chapter 8. Food Supply in a Planned Economy: SED Nutrition Policy between Crisis Response and Popular Needs Burghard Ciesla and Patrice G. Poutrus Chapter 9. The Myth of Female Emancipation: Contradictions in Women's Lives Leonore Ansorg and Renate Hürtgen Chapter 10. The Socialist Glass Ceiling: Limits to Female Careers Dagmar Langenhan and Sabine Roß PART IV: CULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF DOMINATION Chapter 11. Dictatorship as Discourse: Cultural Perspectives on SED Legitimacy Martin Sabrow Chapter 12. The Fettered Media: Controlling Public Debate Simone Barck, Christoph Classen and Thomas Heimann Chapter 13. Criticism and Censorship: Negotiating Cabaret Performance and Book Production Sylvia Klötzer and Siegfried Lokatis Chapter 14. The Pivotal Cadres: Leadership Styles and Self-Images of GDR-Elites Arnd Bauerkämper and Jürgen Danyel PART V: TEMPORAL TRANSFORMATIONS Chapter 15. Stagnation or Change? Transformations of the Workplace in the GDR Peter Hübner Chapter 16. The Hitler Youth Generation in the GDR: Insecurities, Ambitions and Dilemmas Dorothee Wierling Chapter 17. Reforming Socialism? The Changing of the Guard from Ulbricht to Honecker during the 1960s Monika Kaiser Chapter 18. Mobility and Blockage during the 1970s Ralph Jessen PART VI: POSTSCRIPT Chapter 19. Rethinking the Second German Dictatorship Christoph Kleßmann Selected Bibliography Notes on Contributors Index

"The essays presented display a realm of vibrant historical inquiry. Many of the chapters significantly expand our understanding of the complexity of GDR society."  · Central European History "This is certainly the best single volume on the social and cultural history of the GDR in English, and indeed ranks highly among works in German as well."  · German Politics "What emerges from this collection is a picture of a complex society that was neither fully modern nor fully totalitarian ... The dense book provides an illuminating discussion of the difficulties inherent in characterizing the GDR and, in so doing, points the reader in directions that might prove more fruitful."  · German Studies Review "The contributions represent sound research, employing use of new archival sources, interviews and oral history, as well as rich secondary literature ... The volume merits high marks for its theoretical and empirical import."  · The Historian