Friendly enemies
Subtitle: Britain and the GDR, 1949/1990
By: Stefan Berger and Norman LaPorte.
Contributors: Laporte, Norman.
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 386
ISBN-13: 9781845456979
Subjects: Cold War; Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- Germany (East); Germany (East) -- Foreign relations -- Great Britain
Description: "During the Cold War, Britain had an astonishing number of contacts and connections with one of the Soviet Bloc's most hard-line regimes: the German Democratic Republic. The left wing of the British Labour Party and the Trade Unions often had closer ties with communist East Germany than the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). There were strong connections between the East German and British churches, women's movements, and peace movements; influential conservative politicians and the Communist leadership in the GDR had working relationships; and lucrative contracts existed between business leaders in Britain and their counterparts in East Germany. Based on their extensive knowledge of the documentary sources, the authors provide the first comprehensive study of Anglo-East German relations in this surprisingly under-researched field. They examine the complex motivations underlying different political groups' engagement with the GDR, and offer new and interesting insights into British political culture during the Cold War."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Negotiating the emergence of two Germanys; title: British/GDR relations in the context of the evolution of the post-war political order, 1945/1955; title: From sovereignty to recognition, 1955/1973; title: Normalisation of relations and new beginnings, 1973/1979; title: From the second cold War to the collapse of the GDR, 1979/1990; title: Conclusion: Britain and the GDR 1949/1990.