Suchergebnisse

Since the tumultuous events of 1989/1990, writers, cultural practitioners and academics have responded to, reconstructed and reflected upon the process and enduring impact of German reunification. This bilingual volume provides a nuanced understanding of the literature and culture of the GDR and its legacy today. It explores a broad range of genres, combines perspectives on both lesser-known and more established writers, and juxtaposes academic articles with the personal reflections of those who directly experienced and engaged with the GDR from within or beyond its borders. Whether creative practitioners or academics, contributors consider the broader literary and intellectual contexts and traditions shaping GDR literature and culture in a way that broadens and enriches our understanding of reunification and its legacy

From 1961 to 1989, 350 people attempting to cross the border from East Germany to West Germany were killed while making the crossing. With the opening of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and German reunification a year later, German courts began to address whether the border guards, their officers, or political leadership of the former East Germany should be tried for these deaths. If East Germany no longer existed, could West German laws be applied to these cases? This project examines this issue by examining trials that were conducted in the 1990s and the legal sources that examine this issue. Based on my research I argue that the trials, which were hastily organized, mistakenly went after the border guards instead of those that gave them.

International audience ; Bilan de la transition économique dans le domaine de la collecte et du retraitement des ordures en ex-RDA. Comment on passe d'un système de collecte à participation collective dans un contexte de pénurie à un système qui doit faire face à l'arrivée de la société de consommation. L'hypocrisie d'une RFA qui exporte beaucoup de déchets à l'Est.

International audience ; Bilan de la transition économique dans le domaine de la collecte et du retraitement des ordures en ex-RDA. Comment on passe d'un système de collecte à participation collective dans un contexte de pénurie à un système qui doit faire face à l'arrivée de la société de consommation. L'hypocrisie d'une RFA qui exporte beaucoup de déchets à l'Est.

International audience ; Bilan de la transition économique dans le domaine de la collecte et du retraitement des ordures en ex-RDA. Comment on passe d'un système de collecte à participation collective dans un contexte de pénurie à un système qui doit faire face à l'arrivée de la société de consommation. L'hypocrisie d'une RFA qui exporte beaucoup de déchets à l'Est.

International audience ; Bilan de la transition économique dans le domaine de la collecte et du retraitement des ordures en ex-RDA. Comment on passe d'un système de collecte à participation collective dans un contexte de pénurie à un système qui doit faire face à l'arrivée de la société de consommation. L'hypocrisie d'une RFA qui exporte beaucoup de déchets à l'Est.

"East Germany's 20th anniversary of a fully democratic representation in 2010 gives reason to reflect the democratization process again. Democratization was without doubt never contested by politicians with their political roots in the Opposition groups. Nevertheless, in the early 1990s and even later on, there was still a considerable minority among East German MNPs and MSPs with a comparatively strong affiliation to the former communist system (though not necessarily member of one of SED's successor parties). The German Parliamentary Survey (first wave, 2003) contains data of 140 of those 'survivors' out of 635 MNPs, MSPs and MEPs with an East German background. This contribution, first, reconsiders political representation in the GDR. Second, the social profile of delegates in the Bundestag and the State parliaments with their political roots in the SED and the bloc parties will be compared with that of those electees who appeared in the political arena in 1989/90 and later. Third, the adherence of former GDR delegates to democratic values will be discussed, likewise mirrored in the German Parliamentary Survey, by asking delegates how they rate statements like: 'Democracy persists only in the case of a strong leadership that is able to curtail partial interests.' and other." (author's abstract)

Seit der deutschen Wiedervereinigung steht die Stadt Berlin im Fokus einer Kampagne, die die Identität von Berlin neu definiert und die allgemeine Darstellung der Stadt positiv zu beeinflussen versucht. Das weit verbreitete Stadtbild beinhaltet jedoch nicht immer die Vielfältigkeit von sozialen und urbanen Akteuren. Oftmals wird Berlin als eine elitäre Stadt dargestellt, soziale Spannungen werden nicht betrachtet und können sich durch die einseitige Darstellung sogar verstärken. Diese Arbeit vergleicht die verschiedenen Darstellungen der Stadt, die von lokalen politischen Akteuren, der Tourismusbranche und von sozialen Bürgerbewegungen propagiert werden. Sie werden in der Arbeit ausgiebig erläutert und bewertet. Ein abschließender Vergleich legt die unterschiedlichen Darstellungen und Gemeinsamkeiten der verschiedenen Akteure dar. Neben der historischen Analyse mit Einbezug des Wandels der Stadt, werden Aspekte und Themen wie Kommerzialisierung, Bürgerbeteiligung, Multikulturalismus und Subkulturen behandelt. Darüber hinaus werden im Rahmen dieser Arbeit Fragen und Probleme des Urbanismus und der Gestaltung des Stadtbildes durch einen bildlichen Ansatz mit Einbezug der verschiedenen Konstellationen analysiert. Der Ansatz beruht auf der Idee des "dialektischen Bildes" von Walter Benjamin aus seinem 'Passagen-Werk'. Die Auswertung ergibt, dass die öffentliche Darstellung der Stadt von lokalen politischen Akteuren und der Tourismusbranche viele Gemeinsamkeiten aufweisen, während die Darstellung der Bewohner deutlich davon abweicht. Dieser Kontrast spiegelt eine große Unzufriedenheit von Teilen der Bevölkerung mit der offiziellen Darstellung der Stadt, welche sich auf einen post-industriellen, ökonomischen Ansatz stützt. ; Since German Reunification the city of Berlin has been the object of a carefully designed campaign to reinvent its identity and to promote its image. The propagated city image does not always include the wide variety of social and urban expressions, and frequently compels an elitist vision of the city that, far from alleviating emerging social tensions, reinforces them. This research offers a comparative analysis of the city image produced by the local government, and the imagery produced by other actors involved in urban processes. To this end, a collection of images representing the city of Berlin was integrated, with materials produced by three main sectors: the local government, the tourism industry and a variety of social movements. The collected images are described and analyzed with the aim of knowing the assumptions they comprise, and are afterwards compared against each other to find similarities and differences between the city visions of their producers. Topics like historical memory, urban change, commercialization, public participation, subcultural expressions and multiculturalism arose from this comparison. In addition, the dissertation proposes a visual approach for the analysis of issues linked to urbanism and the construction of city image. Such approach is inspired in the idea of "dialectical image", described by Walter Benjamin in his unfinished 'Arcades Project', and consists in putting together a set of chosen pictures in small groups or "constellations" that make evident their similarities and differences. The research shows that the image prompted by the local government and by the tourist industry are alike, while there are significant divergences between the official image and the representations of citizens. These divergences seem to reflect a deep dissatisfaction of some sectors of the population with the official city model, based on assumptions of a post-industrial economy.

We report differences in political rhetoric within former East- and West-German journalists' editorials written during the 7 years immediately following reunification. Whereas the former evoked frames inconsistently and disproportionately conveyed citizens' possibilities during the 1994–1995 provincial, national, and European election period; the latter framed their rhetoric consistently and did so in overwhelmingly political terms. From these findings, we draw inferences on citizens' mutual interpretations within authoritarian societies (what is permitted) versus functioning democracies (what is legal), suggesting that only the latter affords the basis for the social construction of democracy.

We report differences in political rhetoric within former East- and West-German journalists' editorials written during the 7 years immediately following reunification. Whereas the former evoked frames inconsistently and disproportionately conveyed citizens' possibilities during the 1994-1995 provincial, national, and European election period; the latter framed their rhetoric consistently and did so in overwhelmingly political terms. From these findings, we draw inferences on citizens' mutual interpretations within authoritarian societies (what is permitted) versus functioning democracies (what is legal), suggesting that only the latter affords the basis for the social construction of democracy.

East Germany's 20th anniversary of a fully democratic representation in 2010 gives reason to reflect the democratization process again. Democratization was without doubt never contested by politicians with their political roots in the Opposition groups. Nevertheless, in the early 1990s and even later on, there was still a considerable minority among East German MNPs and MSPs with a comparatively strong affiliation to the former communist system (though not necessarily member of one of SED's successor parties). The German Parliamentary Survey (first wave, 2003) contains data of 140 of those 'survivors' out of 635 MNPs, MSPs and MEPs with an East German background. This contribution, first, reconsiders political representation in the GDR. Second, the social profile of delegates in the Bundestag and the State parliaments with their political roots in the SED and the bloc parties will be compared with that of those electees who appeared in the political arena in 1989/90 and later. Third, the adherence of former GDR delegates to democratic values will be discussed, likewise mirrored in the German Parliamentary Survey, by asking delegates how they rate statements like: 'Democracy persists only in the case of a strong leadership that is able to curtail partial interests.' and other.

Among the questions being asked about the future of industry in the former East Germany are: what economic reorganization will cost; how much unemployment will be encountered; & how social initiatives for cooperative worker retraining & establishment of new enterprises should be constructed. Many barriers exist for positive resolution of these problems, & if they cannot be overcome quickly, development will cease, & then reverse. It is argued that this downward spiral is being driven by two primary phenomena: (1) the labor force is being coerced, without consultation or negotiation, to accept the current disciplinary strategy in industry; & (2) the hard reorganization measures now being implemented conflict with long-standing informal working life & social structures. Successful transition to a free market industrial economy will require the cooperation of the workers, which can be obtained only by enlisting their support. If this is not accomplished, outmigration will leave the former East Germany desolate. J. W. Stanton

Discusses from an industrial sociological perspective, the question of how the barriers to adaptive reform came to exist and how in recent months this has resulted in a downward spiral. Analyzes the production structures at the macrolevel of the economy as a whole, and the microrelations of production and manpower management. (SJK)