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Overview
On October 30, 1990, Germany was formally reunified through an extension of the legal, political, and economic structures of West Germany into the former German Democratic Republic. For East Germans this transformation has been a challenging process. Former values, orientations, and standards have been subject to severe scrutiny as reunification has affected virtually every area of life.
Staab analyzes the development from the divided to the unified Germany and asks to what extent East Germans have adopted a national identity in line with that of the West Germans. He examines such identity markers as attitudes toward territory, economics, ethnicity, mass culture, and civic-political activity. Identifying a significant range of commonalities, he also finds striking features of mutually exclusive areas working to prevent a shared national identity. Scholars and other researchers dealing with German politics and contemporary history, political sociology, and nationalism will be interested in this book.
Synopsis
Examines the difficulties of creating a singular German national identity after the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Booknews
Staab (European and German history, London School of Economics and Political Science) relies heavily on public opinion surveys in West Germany and post-1989 East Germany to analyze and measure the changing feelings, beliefs, and attitudes of the populations about who they are. He discusses territory, economics, citizenship, mass culture, and ethnicity. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.