German History - 1945 - 1990, German History - Political Aspects, Communism by Region, General & Miscellaneous Political Theory, Socialist Parties & Movements, German History - 1990 - present, East Germany (German Democratic Republic) - History, Germany -
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Overview
Against the backdrop of one of the great transformations of our century, the sudden and unexpected fall of communism as a ruling system, Charles Maier recounts the history and demise of East Germany. Dissolution is his poignant, analytically provocative account of the decline and fall of the late German Democratic Republic. This book explains the powerful causes for the disintegration of German communism as it constructs the complex history of the GDR. Maier looks at the turning points in East Germany's forty-year history and at the mix of coercion and consent by which the regime functioned. He analyzes the GDR as it evolved from the purges of the 1950s to the peace movements and emerging youth culture of the 1980s, and then turns his attention to charges of Stasi collaboration that surfaced after 1989. In the context of describing the larger collapse of communism, Maier analyzes German elements that had counterparts throughout the Soviet bloc, including its systemic and eventually terminal economic crisis, corruption and privilege in the Socialist Unity Party SED, the influence of the Stasi and the plight of intellectuals and writers, and the slow loss of confidence on the part of the ruling elite. He then discusses the mass protests and the proliferation of dissident groups in 1989, the collapse of the ruling party, and the troubled aftermath of unification.Editorials
Melvin Croan
This broad-gauged yet sharply focused, cogently argued, and copiously documented study by Charles Maier exemplifies the writing of contemporary history at its best...Maier's balanced and nuanced study constitutes first-rate scholarship; it is also a good, if demanding, read.Β Political Science Quarterly
James J. Sheehan
Dissolution is the best available one-volume account of East Germany's decline and fall. Maier recounts the complex and exciting events of 1989-90 clearly and concisely.β New York Times Book Review
In this political history, Harvard historian Maier focuses primarily on East Germany's disintegration. But he is also concerned with the "historic transformation" of the end of communism in Eastern Europe, and the heart of the book is a detailed account of the events of 1989. Maier's research included personal observation, conversations, and extensive use of the newly opened East German archivesall reflected in a massive appendix of reference notes. This monumental study is dominated by the proud and melancholy character of the East Germans. In the wrapping of the Reichstag by the artist Christo in 1995, Maier saw both rebirth and forgiveness and hope for the future. A definitive work on the transition from communism; for academic libraries.Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, Pa.
New York Review of Books -
Charles Maier's account of the transition from socialism to democracy in Germany is vastly more informative and insightful than any of the innumerable analyses of post-Communist 'transition' now being published.Los Angeles Times Book Review -
A brilliant analysis of the process which he calls 'dissolution.' Maier believes, and shows, that Communism self-destructed.The Times Literary Supplement -
Charles Maier has composed an elegant essay, blending semi-philosophical speculations with personal memories of the 'dissolution' of East Germany. . . . His aim is to present the narrative of the last days of the GDR in as sweeping a framework as possible: not just of the general failure of Communism, but also as a reflection of a profound shift of late twentieth-century society, towards complexity. . . .Washington Post -
Maier strikes a much-needed blow against the growing Western German consensus that East Germany died a natural death.The New Leader -
We are fortunate that a scholar of Maier's scope has disentangled the mass of fact, fear and pretense surrounding this unprecedented event, and has given thought to its implications.The New York Times Book Review -
Dissolution is the best available one-volume account of East Germany's decline and fall. . . . Maier has written a historical synthesis of the economic crisis, popular unrest and diplomatic negotiations that disrupted and then destroyed East Germany and with staggering speed opened the way for its unification with the Federal Republic.London Review of Books -
Like someone digging crumpled pieces of paper out of the wastepaper basket and straightening them out to try and decipher their contents, Maier picks the GDR, or rather its last months, out of the rubbish bin of Communism.Financial Times -
A superb, subtly intelligent politico-historical analysis of the roles of Gorbachev's Soviet Union, East Germany, and West Germany (with the U.S. pulling the strings) in the demise of an era.
Nobel Prize Laureate, Financial Times -
A superb, subtly intelligent politico-historical analysis of the roles of Gorbachev's Soviet Union, East Germany, and West Germany (with the U.S. pulling the strings) in the demise of an era.A densely written scholarly analysis, the best I have read, of how and why the Communist regime in East Germany came apart and disappeared. . . . [Maier's] account of the decrepit East German economy is not likely to be surpassed. . . . [H]is account of the transition from socialism to democracy in Germany is vastly more informative and insightful than any of the innumerable analyses of post-Communist 'transition' now being published.
β Tony Judt
[Dissolution] is history in the full sense of the word. Maier does not just piece together the events leading to the breaching of the wall and the rush to reunification. He searches constantly for the meaning of this history. . . .
Charles S. Maier, the distinguished Harvard historian who witnessed events as they unfolded in Berlin in 1989 and 1990, has now answered the most fascinating question concerning the process of unification: How did the dissolution of the GDR come about? . . . Maier traces the dissolution of the GDR both in minute detail and with the wisdom acquired from long experience with the subject. His answer to the question of why it happened is clear: 'Communism self-destructed'. . . . Maier tells the story of the East German revolution with his characteristic blend of well-documented historiography and shrewd analysis.
β Ralf Dahrendorf
Maier strikes a much-needed blow against the growing Western German consensus that East Germany died a natural death.
β Marc Fisher
Like someone digging crumpled pieces of paper out of the wastepaper basket and straightening them out to try and decipher their contents, Maier picks the GDR, or rather its last months, out of the rubbish bin of Communism.
β Christoph Bertram
A superb, subtly intelligent politico-historical analysis of the roles of Gorbachev's Soviet Union, East Germany, and West Germany (with the U.S. pulling the strings) in the demise of an era.
β Nadine Gordimer [Nobel Prize Laureate]
A brilliant analysis of the process which he calls 'dissolution.' Maier believes, and shows, that Communism self-destructed.
β Ralf Dahrendorf
Charles Maier has composed an elegant essay, blending semi-philosophical speculations with personal memories of the 'dissolution' of East Germany. . . . His aim is to present the narrative of the last days of the GDR in as sweeping a framework as possible: not just of the general failure of Communism, but also as a reflection of a profound shift of late twentieth-century society, towards complexity. . . .
β Harold James
We are fortunate that a scholar of Maier's scope has disentangled the mass of fact, fear and pretense surrounding this unprecedented event, and has given thought to its implications.
β Richard C. Hottelet
Anybody wanting to know the real story of East Germany's flawed system and its anguished fall could do no better than read the volume by Charles Maier. . . .
Dissolution is the best available one-volume account of East Germany's decline and fall. . . . Maier has written a historical synthesis of the economic crisis, popular unrest and diplomatic negotiations that disrupted and then destroyed East Germany and with staggering speed opened the way for its unification with the Federal Republic.
β James J. Sheehan
Charles Maier's account of the transition from socialism to democracy in Germany is vastly more informative and insightful than any of the innumerable analyses of post-Communist 'transition' now being published.
β Tony Judt
Book Details
Published
June 11, 1997
Publisher
Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1997.
Pages
464
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780691078793