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Gemeinsame Publikation von fünf führenden Einrichtungen der Raumforschung in Deutschland. Das Jahrbuch soll zur Information und Diskussion über Fragen der Raumentwicklung, Raumplanung und Regionalpolitik, der Strukturpolitik auf EU-Ebene sowie zur nachhaltigen Stadt- und Raumentwicklung beitragen (Quelle: IRB)

"The book explores the relationship between the shrinking process and architecture and urban design practices. Starting from a journey in former East Germany, six different scenes are explored in which plans, projects, and policies have dealt with shrinkage since the 1990s. The book is a sequence of scenes that reveals the main characteristics, dynamics, narratives, reasons, and ambiguities of the shrinking cities' transformations in the face of a long transition. The first scene concerns the demolition and transformation of social mass housing in Leinefelde - Worbis. The second scene deals with the temporary appropriation of abandoned buildings in Halle-Neustadt. The third scene, observed in Leipzig, shows the results of green space projects in urban voids. The scene of the fourth situation observes the extraordinary efforts to renaturize a mining territory in the Lausitz region. The fifth scene takes us to Hoyerswerda, where emigration and aging process required a reduction and demolition in housing stock and social infrastructures. The border city of Görlitz the sixth and last scene, deals with the repopulation policies that aim to attract retirees from the West"--

East German science fiction enabled its authors to create a subversive space in another time and place. One of the country's most popular genres, it outlined futures that often went beyond the party's official version. Many utopian stories provided a corrective vision, intended to preserve and improve upon East German communism. This study is an introduction to East German science fiction. The book begins with a chapter on German science fiction before 1949. It then spans the entire existence of the country (1949-1990) and outlines key topics essential to understanding the genre: popular literature, socialist realism, censorship, fandom, and international science fiction. An in-depth discussion addresses notions of high and low literature, elements of the fantastic and utopia as critical narrative strategies, ideology and realism in East German literature, gender, and the relation between literature and science. Through a close textual analysis of three science fiction novels, the author expands East German literary history to include science fiction as a valuable source for developing a multi-faceted understanding of the country's short history. Finally, an epilogue notes new titles and developments since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

There has been a long tradition of thinking on Civic Education in Western Germany, mainly after World War II. Aims and means have been discussed thoroughly, experiences in teaching politics (the most common name for the school subject) have been reported on. After the (re-)union of the two Germanies in 1990, Western concepts were brought to and adopted by Eastern Germany. Transformation of civic education (politische Bildung) faces the problem that the democratic system is open to conflicts and competition and does not lead and direct the citizen in an authoritative manner. Democracy asks for different abilities on the side of its citizens than an authoritarian system does. Research data show the difficulties of learning for democracy.

Policy on transport infrastructure in Germany will come under increasing pressure thanks to considerable changes in basic conditions. Demographic change, shifts in economic and regional structures, continued social individualization, and the chronic budget crisis in the public sphere are forcing a readjustment of government action. At root, the impact of the changes in demographics and economic structures touches on what Germans themselves think their postwar democracy stands for. Highly consensual underlying assumptions about Germany as a model are being shaken. The doctrine that development of infrastructure is tantamount to growth and prosperity no longer holds. The experience in eastern Germany shows that more and better infrastructure does not automatically lead to more growth. Moreover, uniform government regulation is hitting limits. If the differences between boom regions and depopulated zones remain as large as they are, then it makes no sense to have the same regulatory maze apply to both cases. In transportation policy, that shift would mean recasting the legal foundations of public transport.

The roots of the east's continuing alienation lie in the enforced, prolonged isolation that its society endured during most of the cold war.

State, society, and minority groups in the GDR / Mike Dennis and Norman LaPorte -- Between Torah and sickle : Jews in East Germany, 1945-1990 / Mike Dennis -- Jehovah's Witnesses : from persecution to survival / Mike Dennis -- Asian and African workers in the niches of society / Mike Dennis -- Football fans, hooligans, and the state / Mike Dennis -- Sub-cultures : punks, goths, and heavy metallers / Mike Dennis and Norman LaPorte -- Skinheads and right extremism in an anti-fascist state / Norman LaPorte -- Conclusion : minorities, present and past / Mike Dennis

This book examines Soviet Foreign Policy towards East Germany in the late 1980s. By focusing on the complex interaction between domestic political thought and developments in the international system, the author illustrates the hierarchical relationship between the GDR and the USSR and offers different perspectives for understanding Soviet foreign policy. The books demonstrates that shifts in Soviet policy towards the GDR stemmed, on the one hand, from the international level, in that Soviet security was legitimated by the existence of two full-fledged German states, and, on the other, may be best explained in terms of ideas and Gorbachev's new political philosophy.

An incisive new study of dissent and protest in the German Democratic Republic, focusing on the upheaval of 1989-1990. The author, an active participant both in the 'Citizens' Movement' and in the street protests of that year, draws upon a vast array of sources including interviews, documents from the archives of the old regime and the Citizens' Movement and his own diary entries, to explore the causes and processes of the East German revolution. The book is at once a lucid and vibrant narrative history and a pioneering contribution to research in this field.

Mass movements in the GDR's early years -- The June 1953 uprising -- Labour heritage and collective action, 1945-53 -- Infra-political resistance and social movements, 1954-88 -- Techniques of domination, arts of resistance -- Helsinki and Bohemia: emigration and youth rebellion -- 'Politics in the bell jar': socio-ethical movements in the 1980s -- The formation of political opposition -- The revolution of 1989 -- The summer crisis -- The autumn uprising -- Intellectuals and workers