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Intellectuals, Socialism, and Dissent The East German Opposition and Its Legacy John C. Torpey |
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Asks why East German dissidents have been left out in the cold. Once the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the people of East Germany had little use for the dissident intellectuals who had helped bring it down. Intellectuals, Socialism, and Dissent offers a penetrating look into the circumstances of this fall from grace, unique among the former Communist states. John Torpey traces the dissident intellectuals' fate to the peculiar situation of the East German regime, which sought to build "socialism in a quarter of a country" on the anti-fascist foundations of Communist opposition to Nazism. He shows how the regime's unusual history and subnational status helped sustain the East German intelligentsia's conviction that socialism could be reformed and humane—that there was a "third way" between Soviet-style socialism and the capitalism that took root in West Germany. How the pursuit of this third way both supported and undermined the regime, and both galvanized and alienated the East German people, becomes clear in Torpey's nuanced analysis. His book makes a powerful contribution to our understanding of the politics of intellectuals during one of the most painful chapters in modern German history. "Thorough and insightful" —German Studies Review "Intellectuals, Socialism, and Dissent provides readers with a vivid account of the East German opposition from the time of the Soviet occupation and military administration after the end of the Nazi regime to the formal creation of the German Democratic Republic and to its collapse and unification with the Federal Republic. It also discusses the early transition years after the unification, through 1992. This book offers a detailed account of intellectuals and oppositional groups in the GDR, and it offers valuable interpretations." —Contemporary Sociology "Comprehensive, coherent, accessible. Anyone who wants to grasp the role of the East German intellectuals in the history of the GDR before, during, and after the fall of 1989 will find this book very much worth reading." —German Studies Review "His book details the tumultuous events of 1989 and their aftermath while making an outstanding contribution to the ongoing debate on the meaning of 1989, the legacies of Leninism, and the complex relationship between intellectuals and state socialism. Vividly written, informative, and superbly documented, this book gives us first-rate interpretations of not only the past, but also Germany's future." —American Political Science Review "This book provides a convincing account of the unique formation of the intelligentsia in communist societies and makes appropriate and enlightening use of theory throughout. Torpey succeeds in explaining the role intellectuals played in the collapse of the GDR and provides a valuable historical account of the making of a socialist intelligentsia." —American Journal of Sociology "Well-written and stimulating history of East German intellectuals. Torpey's refreshing analysis of East German intellectuals and their uncomfortable relationship with the communist party constitutes an important contribution to the literature on the GDR and its demise." —Theory and Society John C. Torpey is currently a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence. 320 pages | 5 7/8 x 9 | 1995 |
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