Judging the Past in Unified Germany [Paperback]

This 2001 book examines how government of unified Germany has dealt with former government of Communist East Germany.This book deals with the controversial steps the government of unified Germany has taken to deal with the crimes and human-rights abuses of the former government of Communist East Germany. Although the theme of how democracies deal with the rights abuses of former dictators has received much international publicity in recent years, this is one of the first comprehensive studies on any one country's experiences with the challenge. Because of the author's extensive acquaintance with German policy makers and because of his diverse subject matter, this readable book will be of interest to both generalists and specialists in the fields of political science, history, law, sociology, and philosophy, as well as students of German politics and history.This book deals with the controversial steps the government of unified Germany has taken to deal with the crimes and human-rights abuses of the former government of Communist East Germany. Although the theme of how democracies deal with the rights abuses of former dictators has received much international publicity in recent years, this is one of the first comprehensive studies on any one country's experiences with the challenge. Because of the author's extensive acquaintance with German policy makers and because of his diverse subject matter, this readable book will be of interest to both generalists and specialists in the fields of political science, history, law, sociology, and philosophy, as well as students of German politics and history.In recent years, no modern democracy has taken more aggressive steps to come to terms with a legacy of dictatorship than has the Federal Republic of Germany with the crimes and injustices of Communist East Germany. In this book, A. James McAdams provides a comprehensive and engaging examination of the four most prominent instances of this policy: criminal trials for the killÃS