Honecker's children : youth and patriotism in East(ern) Germany, 1979-2002 / Anna Saunders.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Saunders, Anna, 1976-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Youth--Germany (East)--Psychology.

Youth.

Youth--Germany (East)--Social conditions.

Patriotism--Germany (East)--History--20th century.

Patriotism.

Socialism and youth--Germany (East)--20th century.

Socialism and youth.

History.

Social conditions.

Psychology.

Germany (East).

Physical Description:

xii, 252 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Manchester ; New York : Manchester University Press ; New York : Distributed exclusively in the USA by Palgrave, 2007.

Summary:

During the final decade of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), young citizens found themselves at the heart of a rigorous programme of patriotic education, incorporating school lessons, extra-curricular activities, ritual ceremonies and organised holidays. As the second generation born in the GDR, they knew nothing other than the 'normality' of German division. However, following the fall of the Berlin Wall, they not only became citizens of a new state, but the emphasis of official state rhetoric, textbooks and free-time activities changed beyond recognition: young soldiers were expected to swear an oath of loyalty to their former enemy, loyalists were denounced as opportunists or informers, and rebels became heroes. For this young generation, 'normality' was turned on its head, leaving a sense of insecurity and inner turmoil.

Using a combination of archival research and interviews, together with educational materials and government reports, this book examines the relationship between young people and their two successive states in East(ern) Germany between 1979 and 2002. This unusual time-span straddles the 1989/1990 caesura which so often delimits historical studies, and thus enables not only a detailed examination of GDR socialisation, but crucially also its influence in unified Germany, and the extent to which a young generation's loyalties can be officially regulated in the face of cultural and historical traditions, changing material conditions and shifting social circumstances. In this study, Anna Saunders highlights the nature of the GDR as a state where the divisions between state and society, as well as dissent and conformity, were less distinct than is frequently asserted. Her original research finds GDR socialisation to be influential to post-unification loyalties through its impact on the personal sphere, rather than through the ideological propaganda of socialist patriotic education.

At a time of globalisation and European expansion, this lucid study not only provides unique insight into the functioning of the GDR state and its longer-term impact, but also advances our broader understanding of the ways in which collective loyalties are formed. It will be of particular interest to those in the fields of German History and Politics, European Studies and Sociology.

Contents:

Introduction: Honecker's Germany - a world of the past? 1

Eastern identity in the wake of the GDR 3

Frameworks: defining the GDR in the 1980s 7

Growing up under Honecker 11

Researching young behaviours 15

1 The parameters of patriotism 24

Nation and state 25

Germany: problematic patriotisms 28

The GDR's patriotic programme 31

2 Young people of the 1980s: a generation of loyal patriots? 50

The foundations of identity: historical consciousness 51

'Peace must be armed!': protecting the fatherland 58

'Educating hatred': young people and the 'imperialist' West 68

Proletarian internationalism: the politics of solidarity 78

Rooted in the present? Pride in the achievements of the GDR 87

3 October 1989-October 1990: the rise and fall of a GDR identity 117

Reform and renewal: education and youth work during the Wende 120

Hope of a reformed socialism: 9 October-9 November 1989 124

From socialism to scepticism: 9 November 1989-18 March 1990 127

The GDR becomes history: 18 March-3 October 1990 138

4 Civic loyalties in the wake of unification 147

Societal change and education in the absence of the blue shirt 148

The double burden of overcoming the past: historical consciousness in united Germany 152

Military loyalties in the absence of the enemy 167

International allegiances in a new world order 176

United yet divided? Social, economic and political trends since the Wende 184

5 Conclusion: death of the GDR - rebirth of an eastern identity? 220.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [234]-245) and index.

ISBN:

9780719074110

0719074118

OCLC:

148904682