Tailoring truth
Subtitle: politicizing the past and negotiating memory in East Germany, 1945-1990
By: Jon Berndt Olsen
Series: Studies in contemporary European history -- volume 15
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Published: 2015
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 262
ISBN-13: 9781782385714; 9781782385721
Subjects: Collective memory; History; Memorialization; Historiography; Historical museums; Political culture; Social control; Politics and government; Social conditions; Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands
Description: "By looking at state-sponsored memory projects, such as memorials, commemorations, and historical museums, this book reveals that the East German communist regime obsessively monitored and attempted to control public representations of the past to legitimize its rule. It demonstrates that the regime's approach to memory politics was not stagnant, but rather evolved over time to meet different demands and potential threats to its legitimacy. Ultimately the party found it increasingly difficult to control the public portrayal of the past, and some dissidents were able to turn the party's memory politics against the state to challenge its claims of moral authority"--Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 238-253) and index.
Table of contents: title: Mobilizing memory in the Soviet occupation zone; title: The politics of state memory; title: Emotional bonds; title: Broadening the historical roots of the state narrative; title: The erosion of state memory culture in the GDR.