This text examines the political, ideological, and cultural policies pursued by the German Communist of Socialist Unity party, acting upon the instructions of Stalin and his military administration, in Soviet-occupied Germany from 1945 through 1949.

Preface; Part I. Doctrinal Adjustments and Cultural Corollaries (1945-1946): 1. Sovietization or democracy?; 2. organization and bureaucracy; 3. Seizing the initiative; 4. Theory and practice; 5. The origins of socialist realism; Part II. Two Camps (1947): 6. Ideological offensives; 7. SED and intelligentsia; 8. Censorship and controversy; Part III. Ideological Reversion and Cultural Conformity (1948): 9. Nationalist deviations; 10. Cultural coordination; 11. According to plan; Part IV. Stalin and the Fate of the Nation (1949): 12. Theories of dictatorship; 13. Privileges and perquisites; 14. Norms and forms; Translations and abbreviations; Bibliography; Index.