The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949 [Hardcover]

Norman M. Naimark (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0674784057 | ISBN-13: 978-0674784055 | Publication Date: August 11, 1995

In 1945, when the Red Army marched in, eastern Germany was not "occupied" but "liberated." This, until the recent collapse of the Soviet Bloc, is what passed for history in the German Democratic Republic. Now, making use of newly opened archives in Russia and Germany, Norman Naimark reveals what happened during the Soviet occupation of eastern Germany from 1945 through 1949. His book offers a comprehensive look at Soviet policies in the occupied zone and their practical consequences for Germans and Russians alike--and, ultimately, for postwar Europe.

In rich and lucid detail, Naimark captures the mood and the daily reality of the occupation, the chaos and contradictions of a period marked by rape and repression, the plundering of factories, the exploitation of German science, and the rise of the East German police state. Never have these practices and their place in the overall Soviet strategy, particularly the political development of the zone, received such thorough treatment. Here we have our first clear view of how the Russians regarded the postwar settlement and the German question, how they made policy on issues from reparations to technology transfer to the acquisition of uranium, how they justified their goals, how they met them or failed, and how they changed eastern Germany in the process. The Russians in Germany also takes us deep into the politics of culture as Naimark explores the ways in which Soviet officers used film, theater, and education to foster the Bolshevization of the zone.

Unique in its broad, comparative approach to the Soviet military government in Germany, this book fills in a missing--and ultimately fascinating--chapter in the history of modern Europe.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Naimark, director of Stanford University's Center for Russian and East European Studies, has based his study of the creation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) on extensive archival research in the files of both Western and Eastern bloc countries. Focusing on the 1945-49 period, he discusses, among many other topics, Soviet planning for the conquered territory of Germany, problems arising from rape and looting by occupying Soviet troops, and the role of German scientists in Soviet weapons programs. Naimark's work is an important study of nation-building in the Eastern bloc and will also be of interest to students of German politics, history, and reunification. However, any future opening of currently sealed Russian archives may cause a reassessment of parts of the story. Until that time, this is likely to be the standard text on the early years of the GDR. Recommended for political science and history collections.?Stanley Planton, Quinn Lib, Ohio Univ.
Chillicothe
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

[A] masterly analysis of the Soviet occupation between the end of the war and the emergence of two German states...[A] startlingly original book. (Daniel Johnson New York Times Book Review )

The best study of the making of Communist East Germany, based on remarkable archival research and invaluable for anyone seeking to understand the psychological as well as the political origins of the German Democratic Republic. (Tony Judt New York Review of Books )

An outstanding analysis of the ruthless Stalinization of East Germany in the early postwar years, and of its economic and scientific exploitation. Using newly released East German and Soviet archives, [Naimark] gives us a complete picture of what has been called Stalin's "march to the west." (Amos Perlmutter Wall Street Journal )

[A] remarkable historical treatment...[This] is a quite splendid work of erudition, style and humanity, which replaces all earlier writing in English on the subject...Using primarily the German and the Russian sources, Naimark sets new levels of archival research and raises many issues for historians to debate in years to come...It is unlikely...that his overall study of these few crucial years will be superseded for a good while to come. In particular, he has set the scene for a fuller understanding of the regime and society which followed the occupation. (Jonathan Osmond Times Higher Education Supplement )

What makes this book superior to anything that has been written about the Soviets in early postwar Germany...is its comprehensiveness. It contains important chapters on reparations and economic transformation, the use of German scientists, culture and education, and the construction of an Orwellian police state. Finally, there is a lengthy and daunting chapter on "Soviet Soldiers, German Women, and the Problem of Rape," For many years, this remained a taboo subject, and when Naimark began his research, it took some courage to venture into this field...This excellent study of the encounter between Russians and Germans after the defeat of Nazism contains a wealth of insights for all historians of postwar Europe. (V. R. Berghahn American Historical Review )

[Norman Naimark] has produced a richly textured and important story, delving into subjects usually ignored in the longer narratives of postwar eastern Germany, including the sensitive issue of Red Army rape during the period of conquest and early occupation, the seizure of scientific materials and talent, and the organization of popular culture. From my perspective, Naimark's perspective and conclusions are both sensitive and sensible...This book represents one of the first important results of multiarchival work that draws on records so unattainable until recently but so critical to historical reconstruction. The Soviet archives will never finally resolve issues of historical intention and responsibility, any more than American archives, but they are the basis for informed inference and argumentation. Naimark uses them precisely in that scholarly spirit. The Russians in Germany will remain one of the exemplary contributions to the unfolding post-1989 historiography of Europe under communism. (Charles S. Maier Journal of Modern History )

Naimark's work is an important study of nation-building in the Eastern bloc and will also be of interest to students of German politics, history, and reunification...This is likely to be the standard text on the early years of GDR. (Library Journal )

Naimark has produced a brilliant history of the first four years of what was to become the German Democratic Republic...Highly recommended. (Choice )

When the Berlin Wall blocking access to East German and USSR archives came tumbling down, historians had the grand opportunity to discover what had transpired in its ominous shadows. This study shows the wondrous potential for revolutionizing Cold War history. (Edward N. Peterson German Studies Review )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 608 pages
• Publisher: Belknap Press (August 11, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674784057
• ISBN-13: 978-0674784055
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,356,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Colossal Treatment of the "Other" Zone of Occupation!, July 26, 2005

By 

Gregory Canellis "Student of military history... (Tuckerton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949 (Paperback)

Norman M. Naimark, Robert and Florence McDonnell Professor of East European Studies at Stanford University, has written an admirable treatment of a rarely touched topic: the Soviet occupation of Germany from 1945 to the creation of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1949. Naimark draws from a wealth of freshly released Russian archival material, and newly tapped GDR sources. The result is a thematically arranged work that argues the Soviet regime failed in its governing policies in the occupational zone of Germany as well as, failing to win the hearts and minds of the East German people. Naimark combines a smooth blend of social and political history along with an engaging narrative to develop his argument. Chapter One chronicles the fledgling attempts of the Russians to administer the newly "liberated" territories. He describes the role the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SVAG) played in administrating the region, and providing for the cultural and educational welfare of the Red Army troops. The chapter concludes with the transformation from a military government to a puppet run by the "Moscow" Germans (Socialist Unity Part of Germany, SED) under the control of figurehead Walter Ulbricht.                 The author wastes no time in switching gears. Chapter two describes the wholesale rape of German women, and plunder of towns and villages that reached epidemic proportions. This is by far the most disturbing section of the book in spite of Naimark's gallant efforts at objectivity. The author suggests it was this barbaric behavior more than any other contributing factors that caused the bitter relationship and eventual demise of the GDR. What was once a potential worthy ally and friend, of the Soviet Union, he argues, eventually became a burden of resentment and hatred. The author stresses in this chapter that the abuse and rape of German women continued well into 1947 and there were still significant rapes occurring in 1949. This was not a crime committed solely by war-weary frontline soldiers seeking reprisals and intent on taking revenge on the civilian populous. Rather, it occurred at all levels of the military. Officers as well as rank and file became perpetrators. Literally, German females from age eight to eighty became victims. Oftentimes the crime was committed in full view of family members, particularity husbands. Naimark weighs all the factors for this heinous behavior. Obvious reasons such as lack of control by military authorities and alcoholism are examined. In a few instances, officers and even a NKVD agent were shot when they tried to intervene in an attack of a German woman. Naimark admits Soviet documents are still scarce, and Joseph Stalin's reaction to the behavior of his troops is not well known. He suggests, however, that Stalin turned a blind ear and contributed the reports to mere Western propaganda. A counter-propaganda campaigned was launched by their Socialist Germen brethren proclaiming in the German press that German women were blamed for the spread of venereal disease among the Soviet military. Naimark considers some social and psychological determinates as well. Turning to a true gender study, Naimark explores the emotional and psychological effects this behavior had on German men. After the war, German women out-numbered the male population as most of the marriage aged men were either killed or maimed in the six-years of war. What able-bodied German men returned, quickly reclaimed the jobs the women held. As a result, German women were regulated to bucket brigades clearing the rubble from the leveled German cities. Divorce and abortion quickly rose throughout German society, the former, claims Naimark was a result of the emotional blow the abuse of German women had on the male population. In short, the Russians were delivering another form of total war, an emotional and psychotically blow to already vanquished German males that felt obligated by nature to defend their womenfolk, but helpless in its execution. These examples support Naimark's contentions, that this scar on society became a lasting legacy that permeated East Germany until its collapse in 1989. Placing the rape chapter and its social consequences near the beginning of the book creates an emotional impact that dominates the remaining chapters. Economically and politically, Naimark argues that the Soviet regime had no long-term goals for the establishment of the East German state. The author points out that the only model the Soviets had to utilize was that of the New Economic Policy (NEP) and collectivization. Major land distributions and the plundering of what was left of German industry had a detrimental affect of the German economy. The author ties in a chapter on Soviet policy making decisions and examines such institutions as Colonel Sergei Tiul'panov's Propaganda Administration. Naimark asserts that Marxist/Leninist ideology alone does not make for a successful Soviet block state in spite of the temptation the new archives presents to reexamine the rhetoric of the top Soviet leaders. A chapter on culture and education rounds out the work. The thematic approach makes for a slight unevenness, as each lengthy chapter could be an independent publication in its own right, particularly the upsetting topic of rape and plunder. Naimark utilizes an impressive array of Soviet and East German sources throughout. He also gleans from western archival material, particularly that of the Hoover Institute. Secondary sources in English seem to be lacking, however, perhaps reflecting the deficiency of English language scholarship on this much over-looked subject. The author admits that more material is yet to be revealed making this, like several other revisionists work within the realm of Soviet studies, an avenue to build upon through yet further revisions. Aside from these slight distractions, this work is a welcome addition to the birth of the Cold War period.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensible for Understanding the GDR, August 7, 2001

By 

H. Campbell (houston, texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949 (Paperback)

This book is required reading for anyone interested in the ex-East Germany. From the very beginning, Naimark shows how the Moscow Germans (Ulbricht, et al) were apologists for everything and anything the Soviets did to their conquered German "friends." This more than anything else painted the Communists and their "United Front" Party, the SED, as little more than stooges for the hated Russians. Thus, the GDR leadership had no legitimacy in the eyes of the average worker. Naimark's study also describes how complete Sovietization was in the arts and education, though he only peripherally describes the Lutheran Church's involvement in the social transformation being wrought. This is curious, since it was the Church that provided a haven for dissent in the future years, but Naimark clearly had to prioritize his subjects of focus. This is a "must-have" for anyone interested in the Cold War, the GDR and the Soviet Union.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No praise is too high for this masterful study, March 9, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Russians in Germany: A History of the Soviet Zone of Occupation, 1945-1949 (Hardcover)

This is a quite outstanding piece of research into a subject that was once all but closed off to scholars, thanks to East German and Soviet secrecy. The author seems familiar with all the available source material in German and Russian and as a result writes with complete authority. Among his conclusions are that even the East German Communists found it hard to accept some of the sheer brutality and bullying of the Soviet occupiers. At the same time, the Soviet authorities were not too impressed with the East German comrades' plans to accelerate the imposition of a Soviet-type political and economic system. Meanwhile, rape and rapacity on the part of the occupiers proceeded apace. A remarkable work that leaves a lasting impression.