Working in East Germany Normality in a Socialist Dictatorship 1961-79 [Hardcover]

Working in East Germany explores economic tendencies, political relationships and social situations that combined to create a specific socio-political habitat in East Germany after the building of the Berlin Wall. Conditions were peculiar to say the least, especially if compared to Western standards. Nevertheless, the majority of the population perceived their lives as part of a 'socialist normality' that most East Germans adjusted to successfully. This book writes the people back into the history of East Germany.Introduction: Life in a Socialist Dictatorship Economic Politics and Company Culture Transformatorenwerk Berlin: Success and Failure Berliner Gl?hlampenwerk: Working and Living Conditions Erd?lverarbeitungswerk Schwedt: Privileged within a Shortage Economy Halbleiterwerk Frankfurt/Oder: Falling Behind the Times Chemiefaserwerk Premnitz: Creating a Home for Thousands Conflicts and Solutions Conclusion: Normality in the GDR

This readable, well-researched account demonstrates how grassroots interests could influence elite policy makers in a socialist dictatorship... Recommended. - CHOICE

JEANNETTE MADAR?SZ was born in the German Democratic Republic and moved to Hamburg in September 1989. After reading History at St. Edmund's College, Cambridge, she completed her doctoral thesis in 2002. She has published extensively on the history of East Germany and is currently working as a Research Fellow at the German Department of University College London.