Captive University: The Sovietization of East German, Czech, and Polish Higher Education, 1945-1956 (Paperback)

by John Connelly (Author) "Before World War II, the basic goal of Soviet and East Central European universities was the same: to train specialists who would be useful in..." (more)
Key Phrases: rok akademicki, conspiratorial education, old professoriate, East German, Central Committee, Soviet Union (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
[A] superb comparative study.

German History

A first-rate, pioneering, and enduring study.

Central European History

Well researched and . . . convincing.

Journal of Modern History

[An] extremely well researched and documented text. . . . A great piece of scholarship.

Slavic Review

A landmark of comparative higher-educational history . . . a truly remarkable piece of work.

History of Education Quarterly

Product Description
This comparative history of the higher education systems in Poland, East Germany, and the Czech lands reveals an unexpected diversity within East European stalinism. With information gleaned from archives in each of these places, John Connelly offers a valuable case study showing how totalitarian states adapt their policies to the contours of the societies they rule.

The Communist dictum that universities be purged of "bourgeois elements" was accomplished most fully in East Germany, where more and more students came from worker and peasant backgrounds. But the Polish Party kept potentially disloyal professors on the job in the futile hope that they would train a new intelligentsia, and Czech stalinists failed to make worker and peasant students a majority at Czech universities.

Connelly accounts for these differences by exploring the prestalinist heritage of these countries, and particularly their experiences in World War II. The failure of Polish and Czech leaders to transform their universities became particularly evident during the crises of 1968 and 1989, when university students spearheaded reform movements. In East Germany, by contrast, universities remained true to the state to the end, and students were notably absent from the revolution of 1989.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (November 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807848654
• ISBN-13: 978-0807848654
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: No customer reviews yet. Be the first.
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,379,407 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)