Introduction: The CDU/CSU and the West German Party System Part 1: The Development of the CDU/CSU 1. The Occupation Period: The Formation of the CDU/CSU (1945-1949) 2. The Period of Adenauer’s Ascendancy: The Party in the Shadow of the Chancellor (1949 – 1959) 3. The Decline of Adenauer and the Question of Party Reform (1959-1963) 4. The Period of Transition: The Erhard and Grand Coalition Governments (1963-1969) 5. The CDU/CSU Out of Power: The Reluctant Opposition (1969-1972) 6. The CDU/CSU Adjusts Itself: The Renovated Opposition (1972-1976) Part Two: The Composition and Structure of the CDU/CSU 7. Party Organisation of the CDU 8. Party Membership of the CDU 9. Auxiliary Organisations of the CDU/CSU 10. The Christian Social Union (CSU) 11. Voter Appeal and Election Campaigns of the CDU/CSU. Conclusion: Government or Opposition – A Question of Existential Importance.

‘...should serve as the best informed overview of GDR affairs for some time to come’ Choice‘As a single-volume treatment of the history, political organization and social framework of the GDR (this volume) is unmatched’ Slavic Review