Review by Choice Review
Glaessner (Humboldt Univ., Berlin) offers a succinct retelling of the drama that unfolded in the last years of the German Democratic Republic and manages to encapsulate much of the intricate process during several tumultuous years. He first recounts 30 years of "Deutschlandpolitik" a policy that never foresaw a sudden collapse of the communist East and notes that a democratic solution to reemerging cleavages in Germany and all of Europe still has to be found. In Chapters 2, 3, and 4, Glaessner takes the reader through structural defects of "real socialism"; the 1988-89 collapse accelerated by Hungary's border opening and rigged elections of May 1989; and the last gasp of the GDR during 1990. Glaessner's summary of the 1989-90 rebirth of political pluralism is useful (Chapters 5 and 6). Most important, however, Glaessner devotes Chapters 7 and 8 to the difficult transition that lies ahead one rooted in an independent political culture that had evolved in the former GDR. Repercussions of a distinct political culture are now seen in what the author refers to as "GDR nostalgia." More recently, violence against "asylum seekers" gives added credence to his thesis. Good bibliography of German sources and a lengthy documentary appendix. A worthwhile book for advanced students and professionals who want to look further into the GDR's demise. D. N. Nelson; Old Dominion University
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
