Anatomy of a Dictatorship: Inside the GDR, 1949-1989 [Paperback]

Mary Fulbrook (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 21, 1998 | ISBN-10: 0198207204 | ISBN-13: 978-0198207207

Founded on the ruins of Hitler's defeated Third Reich, and lacking any intrinsic legitimacy, the German Democratic Republic nevertheless became the most stable and successful state in the Soviet bloc. Yet in the "gentle revolution" of 1989 it collapsed with startling speed. How can this extraordinary story of political stability followed by sudden implosion be explained?

With the opening of the East German archives, it is at last possible to look inside the apparently impregnable dictatorship. Mary Fulbrook provides a compelling interpretation of structures of power and patterns of popular opinion within the GDR. This absorbing study explores the ways in which the tentacles of the all-pervading state captured East German society in the grip of Stasi, party, and mass organizations, and analyzes the emergence in the 1980s of oppositional cultures under the ambivalent shelter of a Protestant Church which had come to terms with the communist state.

In combining careful archival research with broader theoretical and historical interpretation, Anatomy of a Dictatorship makes a major contribution to debates on recent German history and the character of contemporary Germany.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is one of the best-written and most accessible books on the GDR."--German Studies Review

"...Readers are richly compensated by the creative insights Fulbrook teases out in her comparative analysis of the exercise of power, popular acquiescence, and opposition in the different phases of the regime. This sophisticated, elegantly written book deserves the widest audience from specialists to general readers."--HISTORY

"...Fulbrook's broadly interpretative approach demonstrates real sophistication in analyzing patterns of domination, complicity, and dissent over the four decades of the GDR's existence as a separate German state."--Political Science Quarterly

"[Fullbrook's] study is a welcome addition to the growing body of literature on the former GDR, especially since it is among the first books written in English that make use of new archival sources. Her account is noteworthy as much for its balanced judgment as for its secure grounding in primary and secondary sources...a highly valuable book."--American Political Science Review

About the Author

Mary Fulbrook is Professor of German History at University College, London.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 21, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198207204
• ISBN-13: 978-0198207207
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #841,180 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best English-language account of the GDR, August 23, 1998

By 

nessanders (Oxford, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anatomy of a Dictatorship: Inside the GDR, 1949-1989 (Hardcover)

Mary Fulbrook has done an excellent job in writing a concise analysis of the GDR in plain English. The book is very well researched and Professor Fulbrook has a clear and compassionate understanding of her subject. Her thesis that the GDR can be best classified as a dictatorship is convincing and well argued.

I am myself researching the role of the Protestant Church in the GDR, and was pleased to find a chapter in Fulbrook's book devoted to this subject. Western scholars have a record of embarassing themselves (out of ignorance) on topics such as this, but Fulbrook does an outstanding job.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best recent English-language account of the GDR, August 21, 1998

By 

nessanders (Oxford, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anatomy of a Dictatorship: Inside the GDR, 1949-1989 (Hardcover)

Mary Fulbrook has done an excellent job in succinctly analysing the political system of the GDR, arguing that the former East Germany state is best classified as a "dictatorship". Her writing is easily understood by non-specialists and her compassion and attention to detail heightens the reader's interest in this fascinating subject. The book is excellently researched, with Professor Fulbrook combing the now open East German State and Party archives to present new material alongside her central thesis. Her insightful chapter on the role of the Church is especially welcome, since this subject has long been recognised by German scholars as of central importance, but is too often neglected or misunderstood by non-Germans academics. "Anatomy" is clearly the best book to recently appear on the "first socialist state on German soil".

8 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Tedious tale of a totalitarian state, November 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Anatomy of a Dictatorship: Inside the GDR, 1949-1989 (Hardcover)

Mary Fulbrook's review of the former East German state misses the point totally. It is too longwinded, bogged down in detail and fails to underline the major key principle, that the GDR was loved by over half of its population despite what the Western media would have us believe. Having spoken to former East German citizens, the book seems to be too concerned with the origins of the Soviet satellite state and doesn't address the issue that most East Germans were content with their state. In all, I found the book overpriced, badly researched and most disappointing.