Suchergebnisse

E. Honecker's regime, which came to power eight years ago, introduced a new cultural policy based on the principle that there would be mutual trust between the Party & writers, who would henceforth have wide liberties to police themselves instead of being disciplined by censors. The relationship collapsed with the crisis involving W. Biermann, whose explusion was publicly criticized by over one hundred East German wirters & artists in an unusual display of independence. The regime's problems with writers stem from the fact that a new generation has emerged which has lived its entire adult life in the socialist society & which has become aware of conflicts & inequities which, according to the official view, do not exist. Consequently, the new tendencies in East German literature have been realism & greater inwardness; both have been viewed with suspicion by the government. The ambiguities inherent in the government's new policy of introducing greater controls where relaxation was promised has left East German writers confused & demoralized. S. Karganovic.

Based on doctoral thesis--University of Toronto.

In 1983 two events focused international attention on East and West Germany. One was the collapse of talks on intermediate range missiles in Geneva and the consequent deployment of the missiles by NATO. The other was the 500th anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther. The Luther anniversary cast the spotlight particularly on communist East Germany, which revised its previously negative interpretation of Luther and not only marked his birth with elaborate festivities but also extended unprecedented assistance to the Lutheran church for its celebration. Yet, just as many wondered if inter-German detente would survive the I.N.F. deployment, so, too, many wondered at the nature of the church-state cooperation in the G.D.R., and if it would survive the Luther Year. The present analysis examines the character and direction of this churchstate relationship, using the Luther Year experience as evidence.