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Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990.
In 1990, a country disappeared. For the previous forty-one years, East Germany had existed in Western minds as more of a metaphor than a place, more of a grey communist blur than a land of real people with friends and families, workplaces and homes. As Germany once again became a single state, the history of the GDR was simplified and politicized. It was nothing but Stasi spies and central planning, nothing but a wall in Berlin.
In Beyond the Wall, acclaimed historian Katja Hoyer looks past these outdated conceptions and toward a more comprehensive history, one that acknowledges border guards, secret police and brutal repression, as well as comprehensive welfare, unprecedented gender equality and the deconstruction of class privilege. There were those who were silenced, she argues, and also those who felt they had been given a voice for the first time. Both deserve to be heard today.
Based on first-hand accounts and extensive new research, Hoyer presents the history of the GDR as never before -as a kaleidoscope of perspectives, experiences and stories. From the ashes of the Second World War to the fall of the USSR, this is the definitive story of the other Germany, the one beyond the Wall.
In Beyond the Wall, acclaimed historian Katja Hoyer looks past these outdated conceptions and toward a more comprehensive history, one that acknowledges border guards, secret police and brutal repression, as well as comprehensive welfare, unprecedented gender equality and the deconstruction of class privilege. There were those who were silenced, she argues, and also those who felt they had been given a voice for the first time. Both deserve to be heard today.
Based on first-hand accounts and extensive new research, Hoyer presents the history of the GDR as never before -as a kaleidoscope of perspectives, experiences and stories. From the ashes of the Second World War to the fall of the USSR, this is the definitive story of the other Germany, the one beyond the Wall.
476 pages, Paperback
First published April 6, 2023
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March 7, 2025
“Perhaps the wounds of separation, of identities lost and gained, were too raw to be examined during the immediate post-reunification era when it seemed preferable to allow them to scab over. Now, it is time to dare to take a new look at the [German Democratic Republic]. Those who do so with open eyes will find a world of color, not one of black and white. There was oppression and brutality, yes, and there was opportunity and belonging. Most East German communities experienced all of this. There were tears and anger, and there was laughter and pride. The citizens of the GDR lived, loved, worked and grew old. They went on holidays, made jokes about their politicians and raised their children. Their story deserves a place in the German narrative…”
- Katja Hoyer, Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany
When I think of East Germany – formally the German Democratic Republic, or GDR – it is not in terms of a country, but as an offshoot of the Cold War; not as a place where people lived, but as half of an arena in which capitalism and communism competed as two sides of the same German coin. In my imagination, it has always been less a nation-state and more a Soviet colony, a gray, dour place of brutalist buildings, the unlovely lines of Trabant automobiles, and Stasi agents infiltrated into every level of society. Even though I traveled through East Germany shortly after the GDR’s fall, it is still hard to get over the symbolic power of the concrete, barbed wire, and guard towers of the Berlin Wall, which separated East and West Berlin for just under thirty years.
In Beyond the Wall, Katja Hoyer tries to move past the stereotypes that have dogged the GDR, and to seriously explore its contours as a mostly-functioning country. If at times she seems to engage in a little bit of East German boosterism, she succeeds in proving that the GDR is more than a vanished relic of post-World War II superpower tensions.
For many people – for forty-one years – it was home.
***
At first glance, Beyond the Wall looks like a standard history. It is told chronologically, starting in 1918, with German communists fleeing to the Soviet Union, and ending in 1990, with the GDR’s dissolution. Each chapter covers a discrete chunk of time, so that we move methodically down the timeline. The chapters are further broken down into subtopics.
While the linear narrative is conventional, Hoyer’s focus is not. Most history is told from the top down. Beyond the Wall is more of a people’s history, showing events from the bottom up. To that end, this is not a book about the Cold War, or how various world leaders such as Kennedy, Khruschev, and Reagan saw the East-West German divide as the preeminent hill to die on. Furthermore, this is not comprehensive or all-encompassing, nor could it be at only 423 pages of text. Instead, Hoyer is quite selective, and sometimes idiosyncratic, about what she wants to talk about.
With that said, we certainly spend a great deal of time with Walter Ulbricht and Erich Honecker, the two principal leaders of the GDR in its abbreviated lifetime. In doing so, we get a sense of their vision of a socialist utopia, and also the concessions they were willing to make on things such as pop music and blue jeans. We also meet Erich Mielke, head of the dreaded Ministry of State Security, whose reputation for invading the lives of others still endures. And of course, we learn a lot about the Berlin Wall, thrown up in 1961 to stop easterners from fleeing west.
For the most part, though, Beyond the Wall isn’t really about the GDR, but its citizens.
***
Beyond the Wall started slowly for me. Its first two chapters especially – covering the long leadup to the formation of the GDR – are not well-suited to Hoyer’s style of filtering big events through individual experiences. Once the GDR is up and running, though, Beyond the Wall finds its rhythm.
Making good on her promise of a holistic look at the GDR, Hoyer delves into the social, cultural, and economic aspects of life on the “wrong” side of the Wall. There are fascinating discussions about car manufacturing, housing, coffee shortages, educational opportunities, doped-up East German athletes, and the reliance on care packages sent from the West.
As I acknowledged up top, I had a pretty narrow view on East Germany before picking this up, despite the fact that I was born into a world in which it was still chugging along. Frankly, most of what I knew – or thought I knew – came from the films of Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Thus, it was revealing to witness the experiences of the GDR’s normal, everyday people, and to get their well-earned perspectives. What often shines through is the ordinary satisfaction of those lives.
***
The GDR is well within living memory, meaning that it is a sensitive area for many who still walk the earth. Beyond the Wall has been criticized by some – especially those brutalized by the Stasi – for bright-siding the GDR. I can understand the critique, as Hoyer dwells far more on the positives than the negatives. She is, for instance, bullish on the GDR’s welfare system, its gender equality, and the way it offered opportunities to people irrespective of class. Hoyer further notes that the vast majority of people did not end up in the hands of State Security, even if its presence always lurked. It is also worth stating that all governing systems are imperfect to some degree, which is an inevitable function of humans exercising power over other humans.
I don’t have the background to judge whether or not Hoyer is sufficiently critical. All I can say is that she gives you enough evidence to draw your own conclusions. At the end of the day, the GDR worked in its fashion, despite getting the short end of the geographical stick. To use the analogy of a house, it might be said that the GDR had a low ceiling but a relatively stable floor. There were tradeoffs, but such is life.
Nevertheless, the GDR’s leaders found it necessary to make economic compromises that Marx and Lenin would’ve abhorred (such as Intershop, where folks could buy West German goods for hard currency). Meanwhile, millions of people fled to the West, necessitating the building of a wall to keep people in. In addition, the government maintained an unending fear of its own people. None of this speaks highly of the GDR’s belief in its own product.
***
One of Hoyer’s stated reasons in writing Beyond the Wall is to push back against the subsummation of the East German experience. While we generally speak of German “reunification,” Katja describes a sense among East Germans that they were absorbed into the “real” Germany, with a concomitant negation of their own lived realities. She makes the case for the reintegration of the GDR into Germany history, not out of nostalgia or a desire to return, but because it did in fact exist. Indeed, while the German Democratic Republic may be gone, its people are still very much here.
- Katja Hoyer, Beyond the Wall: A History of East Germany
When I think of East Germany – formally the German Democratic Republic, or GDR – it is not in terms of a country, but as an offshoot of the Cold War; not as a place where people lived, but as half of an arena in which capitalism and communism competed as two sides of the same German coin. In my imagination, it has always been less a nation-state and more a Soviet colony, a gray, dour place of brutalist buildings, the unlovely lines of Trabant automobiles, and Stasi agents infiltrated into every level of society. Even though I traveled through East Germany shortly after the GDR’s fall, it is still hard to get over the symbolic power of the concrete, barbed wire, and guard towers of the Berlin Wall, which separated East and West Berlin for just under thirty years.
In Beyond the Wall, Katja Hoyer tries to move past the stereotypes that have dogged the GDR, and to seriously explore its contours as a mostly-functioning country. If at times she seems to engage in a little bit of East German boosterism, she succeeds in proving that the GDR is more than a vanished relic of post-World War II superpower tensions.
For many people – for forty-one years – it was home.
***
At first glance, Beyond the Wall looks like a standard history. It is told chronologically, starting in 1918, with German communists fleeing to the Soviet Union, and ending in 1990, with the GDR’s dissolution. Each chapter covers a discrete chunk of time, so that we move methodically down the timeline. The chapters are further broken down into subtopics.
While the linear narrative is conventional, Hoyer’s focus is not. Most history is told from the top down. Beyond the Wall is more of a people’s history, showing events from the bottom up. To that end, this is not a book about the Cold War, or how various world leaders such as Kennedy, Khruschev, and Reagan saw the East-West German divide as the preeminent hill to die on. Furthermore, this is not comprehensive or all-encompassing, nor could it be at only 423 pages of text. Instead, Hoyer is quite selective, and sometimes idiosyncratic, about what she wants to talk about.
With that said, we certainly spend a great deal of time with Walter Ulbricht and Erich Honecker, the two principal leaders of the GDR in its abbreviated lifetime. In doing so, we get a sense of their vision of a socialist utopia, and also the concessions they were willing to make on things such as pop music and blue jeans. We also meet Erich Mielke, head of the dreaded Ministry of State Security, whose reputation for invading the lives of others still endures. And of course, we learn a lot about the Berlin Wall, thrown up in 1961 to stop easterners from fleeing west.
For the most part, though, Beyond the Wall isn’t really about the GDR, but its citizens.
***
Beyond the Wall started slowly for me. Its first two chapters especially – covering the long leadup to the formation of the GDR – are not well-suited to Hoyer’s style of filtering big events through individual experiences. Once the GDR is up and running, though, Beyond the Wall finds its rhythm.
Making good on her promise of a holistic look at the GDR, Hoyer delves into the social, cultural, and economic aspects of life on the “wrong” side of the Wall. There are fascinating discussions about car manufacturing, housing, coffee shortages, educational opportunities, doped-up East German athletes, and the reliance on care packages sent from the West.
As I acknowledged up top, I had a pretty narrow view on East Germany before picking this up, despite the fact that I was born into a world in which it was still chugging along. Frankly, most of what I knew – or thought I knew – came from the films of Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck. Thus, it was revealing to witness the experiences of the GDR’s normal, everyday people, and to get their well-earned perspectives. What often shines through is the ordinary satisfaction of those lives.
***
The GDR is well within living memory, meaning that it is a sensitive area for many who still walk the earth. Beyond the Wall has been criticized by some – especially those brutalized by the Stasi – for bright-siding the GDR. I can understand the critique, as Hoyer dwells far more on the positives than the negatives. She is, for instance, bullish on the GDR’s welfare system, its gender equality, and the way it offered opportunities to people irrespective of class. Hoyer further notes that the vast majority of people did not end up in the hands of State Security, even if its presence always lurked. It is also worth stating that all governing systems are imperfect to some degree, which is an inevitable function of humans exercising power over other humans.
I don’t have the background to judge whether or not Hoyer is sufficiently critical. All I can say is that she gives you enough evidence to draw your own conclusions. At the end of the day, the GDR worked in its fashion, despite getting the short end of the geographical stick. To use the analogy of a house, it might be said that the GDR had a low ceiling but a relatively stable floor. There were tradeoffs, but such is life.
Nevertheless, the GDR’s leaders found it necessary to make economic compromises that Marx and Lenin would’ve abhorred (such as Intershop, where folks could buy West German goods for hard currency). Meanwhile, millions of people fled to the West, necessitating the building of a wall to keep people in. In addition, the government maintained an unending fear of its own people. None of this speaks highly of the GDR’s belief in its own product.
***
One of Hoyer’s stated reasons in writing Beyond the Wall is to push back against the subsummation of the East German experience. While we generally speak of German “reunification,” Katja describes a sense among East Germans that they were absorbed into the “real” Germany, with a concomitant negation of their own lived realities. She makes the case for the reintegration of the GDR into Germany history, not out of nostalgia or a desire to return, but because it did in fact exist. Indeed, while the German Democratic Republic may be gone, its people are still very much here.
May 21, 2023
The acclaim for this in Britain astounds me. It is, at best, a competent popular history – but groundbreaking scholarship this emphatically is not.
To those familiar with East German history, little will be new. Hoyer rehashes all the surface-level events and GDR trivia without injecting substance. The incisive authorial reflections that are to be found in other history books I’ve read are conspicuously absent here. The narrative unfolds in simplistic, caricatured fashion. There is also a certain immaturity to the writing. Stalin is said several times to be Walter Ulbricht’s ‘hero’. Cliches abound. Hoyer takes every opportunity that presents itself to say ‘literally’ after a metaphor.
Most irritating to me were the novelistic intros that start many of the copious sub-chapters. ‘Regina Faustmann was fairly happy with how things had turned out. The sixteen year old girl…’ Seven pages later: ‘Anneliese Fleischer, a fourteen year old girl, was sent home from school. When she arrived...’ Five pages later: ‘Heinz Just was frustrated. Day in and day out, the seventeen year old boy dragged himself to his dead end job…’ Five pages later: Gerlinde Bohnisch-Metzmacher, a seventeen year old schoolgirl, walked through the historic Bachstrasse…’ And on it goes. I found it exhausting being introduced to a new ‘character’ so frequently, who is then quickly jettisoned. Worse is that they don’t achieve what I imagine Hoyer intends which is to ground the story in real life people. Instead, by dramatising their lives and only sporadically quoting them directly, they may as well be fictitious.
Given the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the book in the UK, it will come as a surprise to many people that the reaction has been the exact opposite in Germany, where her scholarship and perceived leniency towards the GDR have been panned. Some of the reviews have been genuinely vitriolic. It should be no surprise that I’m largely in agreement on the first criticism but I think it is an overreaction to consider this overwhelmingly critical book sympathetic.
Many German critics seem to resent any account of the GDR that is not unremittingly negative. This seems to be rooted in a political context that fears persistent attempts at rehabilitating the memory of the GDR, connected with post-unification resentment and a lurch to the right in the former GDR states. It seems to be a truism in Germany that you can’t separate the good (or merely neutral) of East Germany from the bad - everything was rooted in the same inhumane dictatorship. To me as an outsider that is obviously reductive and certainly does not deserve to crowd out other interpretations. Hoyer’s explicit intention is to dignify East Germany - for good or bad the cradle of many Germans’ formative years, including Angela Merkel’s - with a history that recognises it as a state and society that cannot be simply dismissed as an abomination. She does this not by sugar-coating but by giving a cohesive account of the political and social history that leaves one in no doubt that this is not a country that should be mourned.
German reviewers have also identified worryingly many factual inaccuracies. For example, Hoyer gets Angela Merkel’s age wrong in the very first sentence of the book. These combined with the immature writing style and a meagre bibliography serve to undermine the pretensions to scholarship.
I think much of the praise for the book in the UK comes from the popular understanding of the GDR being so crude and cliche-ridden. The notion that East Germans went on holidays in the wider Easter Bloc, had birthdays, weddings and dinner parties like anyone else, and were often proud of their country is to them a revelation. If it adds nuance to that simplistic account, it will have served a purpose. And, given the debate that it has sparked in Germany, it may also come to pass that this not-very-good book precipitates a realignment of how Germany views the country that it engulfed thirty years ago.
To those familiar with East German history, little will be new. Hoyer rehashes all the surface-level events and GDR trivia without injecting substance. The incisive authorial reflections that are to be found in other history books I’ve read are conspicuously absent here. The narrative unfolds in simplistic, caricatured fashion. There is also a certain immaturity to the writing. Stalin is said several times to be Walter Ulbricht’s ‘hero’. Cliches abound. Hoyer takes every opportunity that presents itself to say ‘literally’ after a metaphor.
Most irritating to me were the novelistic intros that start many of the copious sub-chapters. ‘Regina Faustmann was fairly happy with how things had turned out. The sixteen year old girl…’ Seven pages later: ‘Anneliese Fleischer, a fourteen year old girl, was sent home from school. When she arrived...’ Five pages later: ‘Heinz Just was frustrated. Day in and day out, the seventeen year old boy dragged himself to his dead end job…’ Five pages later: Gerlinde Bohnisch-Metzmacher, a seventeen year old schoolgirl, walked through the historic Bachstrasse…’ And on it goes. I found it exhausting being introduced to a new ‘character’ so frequently, who is then quickly jettisoned. Worse is that they don’t achieve what I imagine Hoyer intends which is to ground the story in real life people. Instead, by dramatising their lives and only sporadically quoting them directly, they may as well be fictitious.
Given the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the book in the UK, it will come as a surprise to many people that the reaction has been the exact opposite in Germany, where her scholarship and perceived leniency towards the GDR have been panned. Some of the reviews have been genuinely vitriolic. It should be no surprise that I’m largely in agreement on the first criticism but I think it is an overreaction to consider this overwhelmingly critical book sympathetic.
Many German critics seem to resent any account of the GDR that is not unremittingly negative. This seems to be rooted in a political context that fears persistent attempts at rehabilitating the memory of the GDR, connected with post-unification resentment and a lurch to the right in the former GDR states. It seems to be a truism in Germany that you can’t separate the good (or merely neutral) of East Germany from the bad - everything was rooted in the same inhumane dictatorship. To me as an outsider that is obviously reductive and certainly does not deserve to crowd out other interpretations. Hoyer’s explicit intention is to dignify East Germany - for good or bad the cradle of many Germans’ formative years, including Angela Merkel’s - with a history that recognises it as a state and society that cannot be simply dismissed as an abomination. She does this not by sugar-coating but by giving a cohesive account of the political and social history that leaves one in no doubt that this is not a country that should be mourned.
German reviewers have also identified worryingly many factual inaccuracies. For example, Hoyer gets Angela Merkel’s age wrong in the very first sentence of the book. These combined with the immature writing style and a meagre bibliography serve to undermine the pretensions to scholarship.
I think much of the praise for the book in the UK comes from the popular understanding of the GDR being so crude and cliche-ridden. The notion that East Germans went on holidays in the wider Easter Bloc, had birthdays, weddings and dinner parties like anyone else, and were often proud of their country is to them a revelation. If it adds nuance to that simplistic account, it will have served a purpose. And, given the debate that it has sparked in Germany, it may also come to pass that this not-very-good book precipitates a realignment of how Germany views the country that it engulfed thirty years ago.
March 4, 2025
A comfortable dictatorship
Why did the East Germans drink so much more beer than the West Germans? In 1988, they drank 142 litres of beer a year, double the intake of the average West German. Was it to forget their worries, which came with living in the German Democratic Republic?
No says Katja Hoyer, the high beer consumption can be attributed to the fact that East Germans simply had fewer worries. In her book "Beyond The Wall," East German-born historian Katja Hoyer challenges the prevailing narrative that portrays life in the GDR as overwhelmingly negative and oppressive. Instead, she argues that many East Germans enjoyed a relatively stable and comfortable life with fewer concerns compared to Westerners. Her book offers a new perspective by delving into the lives of ordinary people, aiming to depoliticize the past and provide a more balanced view of history.
However, the question of the Stasi remained a recurring thought as I read the book. The German Democratic Republic, with its all-pervasive Stasi and political oppression, instilled fear and earned East Germany the reputation of being one of the most severe authoritarian surveillance states. Those familiar with the book Stasiland by Anna Funder will understand the gravity of this.
Hoyer however, wants to demonstrate that not everything in the GDR was dismal, dreary, and corrupt as the image in the media wants us to believe. She illustrates this through interviews with various GDR citizens, Each chapter typically starts with the introduction of a new citizen, serving as a gateway to the chapter's content. From a young girl presenting flowers at Wilhelm Pieck's acceptance speech, to a young school girl and a factory worker, Hoyer tries to paint a real-life picture on daily life in the various times of the GDR.
Unfortunately, these everyday voices from life in the GDR don't have a lasting impact, as many of them are introduced at the beginning of a chapter but then quickly fade from the narrative. As a reader, I was left wondering about their fate. Did their life circumstances change? Did they become happier or unhappier as they got older? The abrupt dismissal of these witnesses leaves you questioning the purpose of introducing them in the first place. Despite this limitation, it could still be an interesting approach to telling history from the grassroots.
But alas, the author only lets people speak who kept the state functioning. System critics have no voice in this narrative. Hoyer - in my eyes - presents a one-sided and potentially biased perspective of the historical events and the experiences of people in East Germany. A book that promises "a new history of the GDR" in its subtitle raises expectations. But I found the omission of extensive coverage on the Stasi a limitation, The Stasi, after all, was an organization that included harassment, shoot-to-kill orders and its influence on everyday life in East Germany was pervasive and created an atmosphere of fear, mistrust, and self-censorship. A balanced historical account should consider multiple perspectives to offer a more nuanced and accurate depiction of the past. But Hoyer completely fails to provide a comprehensive understanding of the repression of the GDR regime affected the daily lives of its citizens.
Hoyer's narrative ultimately portrays the old story of a dictatorship that was, in her view, relatively comfortable for many. For those who experienced the regime's oppression, this perspective falls short of capturing the full truth.
Trabi World in Berlin
(Photo credit: Images George Rex | Source)
Why did the East Germans drink so much more beer than the West Germans? In 1988, they drank 142 litres of beer a year, double the intake of the average West German. Was it to forget their worries, which came with living in the German Democratic Republic?
No says Katja Hoyer, the high beer consumption can be attributed to the fact that East Germans simply had fewer worries. In her book "Beyond The Wall," East German-born historian Katja Hoyer challenges the prevailing narrative that portrays life in the GDR as overwhelmingly negative and oppressive. Instead, she argues that many East Germans enjoyed a relatively stable and comfortable life with fewer concerns compared to Westerners. Her book offers a new perspective by delving into the lives of ordinary people, aiming to depoliticize the past and provide a more balanced view of history.
However, the question of the Stasi remained a recurring thought as I read the book. The German Democratic Republic, with its all-pervasive Stasi and political oppression, instilled fear and earned East Germany the reputation of being one of the most severe authoritarian surveillance states. Those familiar with the book Stasiland by Anna Funder will understand the gravity of this.
Hoyer however, wants to demonstrate that not everything in the GDR was dismal, dreary, and corrupt as the image in the media wants us to believe. She illustrates this through interviews with various GDR citizens, Each chapter typically starts with the introduction of a new citizen, serving as a gateway to the chapter's content. From a young girl presenting flowers at Wilhelm Pieck's acceptance speech, to a young school girl and a factory worker, Hoyer tries to paint a real-life picture on daily life in the various times of the GDR.
Unfortunately, these everyday voices from life in the GDR don't have a lasting impact, as many of them are introduced at the beginning of a chapter but then quickly fade from the narrative. As a reader, I was left wondering about their fate. Did their life circumstances change? Did they become happier or unhappier as they got older? The abrupt dismissal of these witnesses leaves you questioning the purpose of introducing them in the first place. Despite this limitation, it could still be an interesting approach to telling history from the grassroots.
But alas, the author only lets people speak who kept the state functioning. System critics have no voice in this narrative. Hoyer - in my eyes - presents a one-sided and potentially biased perspective of the historical events and the experiences of people in East Germany. A book that promises "a new history of the GDR" in its subtitle raises expectations. But I found the omission of extensive coverage on the Stasi a limitation, The Stasi, after all, was an organization that included harassment, shoot-to-kill orders and its influence on everyday life in East Germany was pervasive and created an atmosphere of fear, mistrust, and self-censorship. A balanced historical account should consider multiple perspectives to offer a more nuanced and accurate depiction of the past. But Hoyer completely fails to provide a comprehensive understanding of the repression of the GDR regime affected the daily lives of its citizens.
Hoyer's narrative ultimately portrays the old story of a dictatorship that was, in her view, relatively comfortable for many. For those who experienced the regime's oppression, this perspective falls short of capturing the full truth.
Trabi World in Berlin
(Photo credit: Images George Rex | Source)
August 29, 2023
This book has been getting a good reception from critics and fits well with the emerging revisionist history of socialist Eastern Europe from authors like Kristen Ghodsee, Lea Ypi, Gal Kirn etc.
As implied by the title, the purpose of the book is to take a wider look at the history of the German Democratic Republic, beyond the usual focus on the border regime and security apparatus. That's not to say that the Berlin Wall and Stasi don't feature in the history, but they are set in a less hysterical context which also includes a broader discussion on the political system, welfare state, home and family life, foreign relations, and popular culture.
A great strength of the book is its use of anecdotes and personal stories to illustrate the diversity of life in the DDR - salvaging the lives of the citizens of the former DDR from the dustbin of history into which their former state has been unceremoniously dumped. Beyond the Wall is a satisfying synthesis of social history with political and diplomatic history and, as such, reads well; shifting between different conceptual lenses in a way that it feels dynamic and exciting throughout.
For me, the weakness of Beyond the Wall is its unambitious theoretical framework. Hoyer's basic argument is that the DDR was, like the FDR, a legitimate response to Germany's traumatic experience with fascism and defeat. Aside from its hugely disadvantaged territorial and economic starting point, what ultimately held the DDR back was the obsessive paranoia of its leadership. Paranoia, according to Hoyer, was baked so deeply into the political system that even the most necessary reform processes were stifled before they could take full effect. I think Hoyer's argument works as far as it goes (who can doubt the Eastern European communist parties were paranoid to the core?!), but it's limited.
I would also have liked to have read a deeper dive into mechanics of the economic planning system (e.g. Farm to Factory: A Reinterpretation of the Soviet Industrial Revolution or Red Plenty), as well as a bit more about how marxist political theory interacted with real events to produce political decisions, beyond the aforementioned paranoia (e.g. Partisan Ruptures: Self-Management, Market Reform and the Spectre of Socialist Yugoslavia or The Tailor of Ulm: A History of Communism). While Hoyer details many positive aspects of life in the socialist system (women's emancipation, working class social mobility, social security, etc), she seems to obfuscate the systemic reasons for these outcomes for fear of telling too much of a positive story. Hoyer's argument is very careful to maintain that a bad system produced some good outcomes, not the other way around. This feels less a result of the author's own convictions, and more like an intellectual prophylactic against the inevitable right wing backlash to a book like this.
Missing also was a real exposition of the sheer brutality of the privatisation process which followed the annexation of the DDR by the FDR, something Hoyer alludes too in her epilogue, but draws back from really opening up on. Again, it feels as though Hoyer is too afraid to make her full argument out in the open, because of the potential backlash. (read Stasi State or Socialist Paradise?: The German Democratic Republic and What Became of It).
Despite these slight criticisms, I still enjoyed the book immensely and would certainly recommend it. Hoyer walks a fine line between conforming to liberal expectations of history, while carefully and cleverly transgressing them to paint a more sympathetic picture of the DDR than many readers will be used to. From a socialist perspective, a more full throated defence of the DDR might have been more satisfying, but the strength of Beyond the Wall is that it opens a mainstream gateway into a reinterpretation of the state socialist project in Europe. In that respect, Beyond the Wall gently (oh so gently) asks as many questions as it answers.
As implied by the title, the purpose of the book is to take a wider look at the history of the German Democratic Republic, beyond the usual focus on the border regime and security apparatus. That's not to say that the Berlin Wall and Stasi don't feature in the history, but they are set in a less hysterical context which also includes a broader discussion on the political system, welfare state, home and family life, foreign relations, and popular culture.
A great strength of the book is its use of anecdotes and personal stories to illustrate the diversity of life in the DDR - salvaging the lives of the citizens of the former DDR from the dustbin of history into which their former state has been unceremoniously dumped. Beyond the Wall is a satisfying synthesis of social history with political and diplomatic history and, as such, reads well; shifting between different conceptual lenses in a way that it feels dynamic and exciting throughout.
For me, the weakness of Beyond the Wall is its unambitious theoretical framework. Hoyer's basic argument is that the DDR was, like the FDR, a legitimate response to Germany's traumatic experience with fascism and defeat. Aside from its hugely disadvantaged territorial and economic starting point, what ultimately held the DDR back was the obsessive paranoia of its leadership. Paranoia, according to Hoyer, was baked so deeply into the political system that even the most necessary reform processes were stifled before they could take full effect. I think Hoyer's argument works as far as it goes (who can doubt the Eastern European communist parties were paranoid to the core?!), but it's limited.
I would also have liked to have read a deeper dive into mechanics of the economic planning system (e.g. Farm to Factory: A Reinterpretation of the Soviet Industrial Revolution or Red Plenty), as well as a bit more about how marxist political theory interacted with real events to produce political decisions, beyond the aforementioned paranoia (e.g. Partisan Ruptures: Self-Management, Market Reform and the Spectre of Socialist Yugoslavia or The Tailor of Ulm: A History of Communism). While Hoyer details many positive aspects of life in the socialist system (women's emancipation, working class social mobility, social security, etc), she seems to obfuscate the systemic reasons for these outcomes for fear of telling too much of a positive story. Hoyer's argument is very careful to maintain that a bad system produced some good outcomes, not the other way around. This feels less a result of the author's own convictions, and more like an intellectual prophylactic against the inevitable right wing backlash to a book like this.
Missing also was a real exposition of the sheer brutality of the privatisation process which followed the annexation of the DDR by the FDR, something Hoyer alludes too in her epilogue, but draws back from really opening up on. Again, it feels as though Hoyer is too afraid to make her full argument out in the open, because of the potential backlash. (read Stasi State or Socialist Paradise?: The German Democratic Republic and What Became of It).
Despite these slight criticisms, I still enjoyed the book immensely and would certainly recommend it. Hoyer walks a fine line between conforming to liberal expectations of history, while carefully and cleverly transgressing them to paint a more sympathetic picture of the DDR than many readers will be used to. From a socialist perspective, a more full throated defence of the DDR might have been more satisfying, but the strength of Beyond the Wall is that it opens a mainstream gateway into a reinterpretation of the state socialist project in Europe. In that respect, Beyond the Wall gently (oh so gently) asks as many questions as it answers.
May 10, 2023
A brilliantly written and researched piece of work. You really get a comprehensive insight and understanding of what life was like in the GDR. And there are many surprises. Such as how high living standards were (comparatively, within the Communist sphere), how content much of the population was and how hard the authorities tried to meet the consumer demands of the people (especially in regards to American jeans!). My only criticism is the way Hoyer occasionally underplays the more sinister aspects of the regime. Yes, the horrors and mass surveillance of the Stasi are mentioned. But not as much as you'd expect. Especially given how all-pervading we now know it to have been. And however much joy sporting success brought to the inhabitants of the GDR, the levels of cheating and - in Olympic sports at least - the amount of physical suffering it caused, shouldn't be forgotten. Hoyer covers it, but - like with the Stasi - not in any great detail. Nevertheless, a superb book, and (especially given that English is not her first language) a superb read.
May 22, 2023
"Diesseits der Mauer" von Katja Hoyer ist eines der interessantesten Sachbücher der letzten Monate. Es beschreibt die Geschichte der DDR. Neben der Zeit von 1949 bis 1990 behandelt es auch die Zeit vor der Gründung der DDR und die Zeit nach der sogenannten "Wiedervereinigung". Ich bin Jahrgang 1969. Ich bin im Westen Deutschlands aufgewachsen. Die Zeit seit den 80er-Jahren habe ich über Tageszeitungen, Magazine und Fernsehen mitbekommen. Das Internet gab es noch nicht. In der Schule kam das Thema DDR nur am Rande vor. Eine Ausnahme war die obligatorische Klassenfahrt nach Berlin (in der siebten Klasse). Hier war auch ein Tag im Osten der Stadt eingeplant. Mir ist eigentümlicherweise nur dieses schöne Lenin-Denkmal, welches wir für unsere Fototapete fotografiert haben, in Erinnerung geblieben. Und die Einweisung der Lehrer ("wenn ihr mit Bürgern sprecht, sagt nicht Ost-Berlin, sondern Berlin Hauptstadt der DDR", die Bürger waren ob unserer Ansprache arg verwundert). Über die DDR sagte das alles wenig aus.
Das Buch von Frau Hoyer war für mich eine gute Gelegenheit, Bildungslücken auf eine unterhaltsame und trotzdem ernsthafte Art und Weise zu schließen. Es beschreibt die politischen Entwicklungen. Einiges kennt man bereits, anderes ist zumindest für mich neu. In die großen Themen ist das Leben "normaler" Bürger eingeflochten. Das hilft ein Gefühl für das Leben in der DDR zu bekommen. Dieser Ansatz hat auch zu Kritik geführt. Es wäre eine Verherrlichung des Systems. Die Autorin würde ein Land beschreiben, in dem man auch heute noch leben wollen würde. Das ist Unsinn. Die Repressalien werden ebenso ausführlich geschildert. Es ist kein Buch von einer Historikerin für andere Historikerinnen und Historiker. Es ist ein Buch für das allgemeine interessierte Publikum. Für Menschen wie mich, die im Westen aufgewachsen sind und sich bisher nie die Mühe gemacht haben, sich mit der Forschung zum Osten auseinanderzusetzen. Oder für Menschen, die nach dem Ende der DDR geboren worden sind. Das Buch ist informativ und lehrreich ohne belehrend zu sein.
Katja Hoyer ist Jahrgang 1985. Sie lebt mittlerweile in London und forscht dort am King’s College. Vielleicht benötigt ein derartiges Buch den Blick von außen mit dem Wissen von innen.
Das Buch von Frau Hoyer war für mich eine gute Gelegenheit, Bildungslücken auf eine unterhaltsame und trotzdem ernsthafte Art und Weise zu schließen. Es beschreibt die politischen Entwicklungen. Einiges kennt man bereits, anderes ist zumindest für mich neu. In die großen Themen ist das Leben "normaler" Bürger eingeflochten. Das hilft ein Gefühl für das Leben in der DDR zu bekommen. Dieser Ansatz hat auch zu Kritik geführt. Es wäre eine Verherrlichung des Systems. Die Autorin würde ein Land beschreiben, in dem man auch heute noch leben wollen würde. Das ist Unsinn. Die Repressalien werden ebenso ausführlich geschildert. Es ist kein Buch von einer Historikerin für andere Historikerinnen und Historiker. Es ist ein Buch für das allgemeine interessierte Publikum. Für Menschen wie mich, die im Westen aufgewachsen sind und sich bisher nie die Mühe gemacht haben, sich mit der Forschung zum Osten auseinanderzusetzen. Oder für Menschen, die nach dem Ende der DDR geboren worden sind. Das Buch ist informativ und lehrreich ohne belehrend zu sein.
Katja Hoyer ist Jahrgang 1985. Sie lebt mittlerweile in London und forscht dort am King’s College. Vielleicht benötigt ein derartiges Buch den Blick von außen mit dem Wissen von innen.
January 4, 2026
An excellent record of a state that was once almost at the centre of world affairs but which now exists only in memory and history books.
The GDR managed to last 41 years during the worst of the Cold War and a divided Europe. This book takes you through its lifespan and uncovers the good, bad and the ugly. From Stasi repression to the life of University students and factory workers everything is covered.
This author writes really well, i was never bored or confused by the in-depth narrative. I would happily read anything else she writes.
The GDR managed to last 41 years during the worst of the Cold War and a divided Europe. This book takes you through its lifespan and uncovers the good, bad and the ugly. From Stasi repression to the life of University students and factory workers everything is covered.
This author writes really well, i was never bored or confused by the in-depth narrative. I would happily read anything else she writes.
May 23, 2023
Rating this book was a bit of a headache, for reasons I will get into shortly. Ultimately, I decided on a 3/5 since any more would be tacit approval of the current state of historiographical discourse regarding East Germany.
What does that have to do with this particular book? Well, the main impression I got while going through the first half of Beyond the Wall was that Hoyer was utterly terrified by the possibility of being perceived as too sympathetic to the "Stasiland" state. The irony of an author forced to self-censor her GDR book because of potential career-endangering backlash is kind of hilarious, but I digress.
To allay these fears, she devotes way too many pages of this 400-page book to set the record straight on how communism is bad, Stalin is bad, everyone was paranoid, etc. The usual spiel. Easily the weakest part of the book, it's riddled with and conjecture and weird misuse of sources that I wasn't sure whether to attribute to sloppiness or malice. Unfortunately, it's the type of thing you could only know if you happen to have read the cited source itself. Just cross-reference the Dimitrov quote about Stalin and you'll see what I mean.
The second half of the book feels more confident since Hoyer is actually able to tell us about everything she researched, having gotten the disclaimers out of the way. From the Vietnam coffee scheme to Honecker's interesting relationship with Kohl, there are some great stories in this book. And to give credit where credit is due, Hoyer gives a great account of Stallin's role in the formation of the GDR. Leaning on the work of historians like Loth, she gives the topic much more nuance than I'd expect from an entry-level work like this.
Ultimately, I feel this book could have been so much more if the author was less concerned with staving off criticism and focused her attention on what she set out to do in the first place - peel back the layers of cold war mythology to show what life looked like beyond the wall. And looking at the "controversy" surrounding the book in Germany, where various intellectual pygmies are panning it for not covering the eeevil Stasi in enough detail, the self-censorship seems to have been for naught. Such a shame.
What does that have to do with this particular book? Well, the main impression I got while going through the first half of Beyond the Wall was that Hoyer was utterly terrified by the possibility of being perceived as too sympathetic to the "Stasiland" state. The irony of an author forced to self-censor her GDR book because of potential career-endangering backlash is kind of hilarious, but I digress.
To allay these fears, she devotes way too many pages of this 400-page book to set the record straight on how communism is bad, Stalin is bad, everyone was paranoid, etc. The usual spiel. Easily the weakest part of the book, it's riddled with and conjecture and weird misuse of sources that I wasn't sure whether to attribute to sloppiness or malice. Unfortunately, it's the type of thing you could only know if you happen to have read the cited source itself. Just cross-reference the Dimitrov quote about Stalin and you'll see what I mean.
The second half of the book feels more confident since Hoyer is actually able to tell us about everything she researched, having gotten the disclaimers out of the way. From the Vietnam coffee scheme to Honecker's interesting relationship with Kohl, there are some great stories in this book. And to give credit where credit is due, Hoyer gives a great account of Stallin's role in the formation of the GDR. Leaning on the work of historians like Loth, she gives the topic much more nuance than I'd expect from an entry-level work like this.
Ultimately, I feel this book could have been so much more if the author was less concerned with staving off criticism and focused her attention on what she set out to do in the first place - peel back the layers of cold war mythology to show what life looked like beyond the wall. And looking at the "controversy" surrounding the book in Germany, where various intellectual pygmies are panning it for not covering the eeevil Stasi in enough detail, the self-censorship seems to have been for naught. Such a shame.
August 7, 2023
this new history of the German Democratic Republic has made a big swath of the German press boil with rage: "it whitewashes the evil Stalinist dictatorship," etc. Well, I've read it, and it struck me as a fairly standard Western view of the East. The author even claims that Stalin was responsible for the division of Germany, despite acknowledging that Stalin desired to see a united, capitalist, neutral Germany. It was the the imperialist Allies, with their plan to create a militarized West German bulwark, who divided the country.
The unspeakable sin that this book commits is that the author interviewed a broad cross section of people who lived in the GDR. And while they complain about repression, surveillance, and shortages, they also point out that some elements of life in Ostdeutschland were nicer than today in late capitalism. To name a few: there were no restrictions on abortion, there was free childcare, and everyone got housing, education, health care, and jobs.
Today the German state pays far-right "historians" to tell us that East Germany was *at least* as bad as fascism. This book breaks all of their taboos, by acknowledging that citizens of the GDR were not miserable every second of their lives, and in fact have some pleasant memories. Recently, I have read a number of autobiographies from the GDR — Günter Stillmann, Markus Wolf, Victor Grossman — but I think this was actually my first complete history of the GDR from beginning to end. I learned a lot about the transition from Ulbricht to Honecker, about how the entire East German leadership ended up living in a walled-off village, and stuff like that.
This is an easy read for beginners. It would have been important to include more about East German support for anti-colonial movements in Africa. The author makes no attempt at all to define what the GDR was (socialism or something else) and therefore there's nothing to debate about from a Marxist perspective. I hope to write a review soon so I'll leave it at that.
The unspeakable sin that this book commits is that the author interviewed a broad cross section of people who lived in the GDR. And while they complain about repression, surveillance, and shortages, they also point out that some elements of life in Ostdeutschland were nicer than today in late capitalism. To name a few: there were no restrictions on abortion, there was free childcare, and everyone got housing, education, health care, and jobs.
Today the German state pays far-right "historians" to tell us that East Germany was *at least* as bad as fascism. This book breaks all of their taboos, by acknowledging that citizens of the GDR were not miserable every second of their lives, and in fact have some pleasant memories. Recently, I have read a number of autobiographies from the GDR — Günter Stillmann, Markus Wolf, Victor Grossman — but I think this was actually my first complete history of the GDR from beginning to end. I learned a lot about the transition from Ulbricht to Honecker, about how the entire East German leadership ended up living in a walled-off village, and stuff like that.
This is an easy read for beginners. It would have been important to include more about East German support for anti-colonial movements in Africa. The author makes no attempt at all to define what the GDR was (socialism or something else) and therefore there's nothing to debate about from a Marxist perspective. I hope to write a review soon so I'll leave it at that.
September 17, 2023
highly recommended
Reads like a thriller and social history together - too bad there is nothing like that for Czechoslovakia 1948 - 1989
Reads like a thriller and social history together - too bad there is nothing like that for Czechoslovakia 1948 - 1989
June 5, 2023
Als „Diesseits der Mauer. Eine neue Geschichte der DDR“ der britisch-deutschen Historikerin Katja Hoyer vor rund einem Monat erschien, waren die Feuilletons voll mit aufgeregten Debattenbeiträgen zum Buch. Somit konnte auch ich mich der Durchsicht dieses 550-Seiten-Starken Buches nicht verwehren.
In „Diesseits der Mauer“ präsentiert uns Katja Hoyer einen geschichtlichen Abriss der DDR, beginnend mit den Jahren des Moskauer Exils ihrer Gründerväter und -mütter, bis hin zur Deutschen Wiedervereinigung. Unterteilt ist das Buch in viele kleine, gut konsumierbaren Unterkapiteln, die einem ein schnelles Durchlesen ermöglichen. Der Untertitel „Eine neue Geschichte der DDR“ ist zwar etwas dick aufgetragen, fördert das Buch doch dafür insgesamt zu wenig Neues zu tage. Jedoch ist die Erzählweise in dem Sinne neu, da es die DDR-Geschichte zumeist anhand der Biografien einzelner, „normaler“ DDR-Bürger wiedergibt. Dieser Ansatz ist für ein breites Publikum gewiss nicht ungeeignet, wird der klassische Historiker-Schreibstil doch oftmals als zu trocken empfunden. Insofern würde ich annehmen, hat das Buch auch deswegen eine breite, nicht zwingend deutsche Leserschaft gefunden.
Doch dieser erzählerische Ansatz, der auf von Hoyer geführten Interviews mit ehemaligen DDR-Bürgern und auf anderen biografischen Quellen basiert, hat auch seine Nachteile. Sie ermöglicht zwar eine alltagsnahe Darstellung der DDR-Geschichte, öffnet damit Nostalgie und historischen Verklärungen aber Tür und Tor. Das liegt auch an der fragwürdigen Umsetzung dieses Ansatzes. Denn Hoyer will speziell jenen Menschen eine Stimme geben, die „den Staat funktionieren ließen“ – also letztlich dem systemtreuen Teil der DDR-Bevölkerung – und ordnet diese Stimmen selten kritisch ein. Erschwerend kommt hinzu, dass systemkritische Personen und ihre Schicksale demgegenüber zumeist nur am Rande thematisiert werden. Hierdurch kommt die DDR in Hoyers Gesamtschau gar nicht mal so schlecht weg.
Keine Frage, die Verbrechen der SED-Diktatur werden von Hoyer benannt und auch angemessen dargestellt, egal ob es sich um Bespitzlungen der Stasi, Folter in Gefängnissen oder die Militarisierung der DDR-Gesellschaft handelt. Man kann ihr nicht vorzuwerfen, dass sie diese Punkte unterschlägt. Jedoch ist Hoyer gleichermaßen darum bemüht, die positiven Seiten der DDR herauszustellen, die DDR also „zustimmungsfähiger“ (Kocka) zu machen. Doch wenn günstiger Wohnraum und flächendeckende Kindertagesstätten dafür herhalten müssen, fehlende Kunstfreiheit, Ausreise-Verbote, Schießbefehle an der Mauer, mediale Gleichschaltung und sonstiges Unrecht aufzuwiegen, so wie Hoyer es impliziert, dann wird hierdurch der diktatorische Charakter des DDR-Regimes relativiert. Ich habe zwar grundsätzlich kein Problem damit, wenn auch positive Aspekte der DDR beim Namen genannt werden, so wie das beispielsweise Steffen Mau in „Lütten Klein“ gelungen ist. Doch diese sollten immer vor dem Hintergrund der Diktatur und seiner Verbrechen verstanden und eingeordnet werden. Hierauf verzichtet Hoyer zumeist, weswegen die in „Diesseits der Mauer“ forcierte Ausgewogenheit eher zu einem false balancing gerinnt.
Neben diesen geschichtspolitischen Unannehmlichkeiten ist noch ein anderer Kritikpunkt zu nennen, nämlich dem Fehlen einer systemischen Analyse der DDR. Hoyer vermeidet es, die auch von ihr diagnostizierten Defizite der DDR, wie fehlende Kunstfreiheit, Einparteiendiktatur der SED, Mauerbau etc. systemisch zu erklären. Im Hinblick auf die fehlende wirtschaftliche Innovationskraft und Effizienz der DDR wird das beispielsweise schön deutlich. So führt Hoyer die wirtschaftliche Rückständigkeit der DDR im Wesentlichen auf die hohen Reparationszahlungen in Richtung Moskau zurück, welche die BRD so nicht abzuleisten hatte. Das ist sicherlich nicht komplett falsch, führt aber am Kern der Ursache vorbei. Denn die DDR war als Bestandteil des real existierenden Sozialismus bestimmten wirtschaftlichen Rahmenbedingungen und wirtschaftspolitischen Dogmen unterworfen, deren Effekte wie fehlende Anreizstrukturen, fehlendes unternehmerisches Denken etc. maßgeblich zur eigenen ökonomischen Rückständigkeit beitrugen. Diese Vorgehensweise ist für „Diesseits der Mauer“ leider symptomatisch. Strukturelle Defizite werden von ihr nicht systemisch, sondern zumeist individuell gedeutet. Ein systemischer Blick aber hätte zu Tage fördern können, dass jene Defizite der DDR, die auch Hoyer nicht bestreitet, weniger mit Fehlentscheidung der SED-Führungsriege etc. zu tun haben, sondern viel mehr dem System des real existierenden Sozialismus an sich. Dadurch dass diese Analysetiefe fehlt, verbleibt „Diesseits der Mauer“ an entscheidenden Stellen oftmals auf einem recht oberflächlichen Niveau.
Insofern sehe ich in „Diesseits der Mauer“ vor allem eine vertane Chance. Ein an sich interessante Buch-Idee, nämlich die DDR-Geschichte aus der Perspektive des Alltagslebens ihrer Bürger nachzuerzählen, scheitert tragisch an der fehlenden geschichtspolitischen Redlichkeit und der ausbleibenden Bereitschaft zur analytischen Tiefe ihrer Autorin
Review bei Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtGbo6eAz0m/
In „Diesseits der Mauer“ präsentiert uns Katja Hoyer einen geschichtlichen Abriss der DDR, beginnend mit den Jahren des Moskauer Exils ihrer Gründerväter und -mütter, bis hin zur Deutschen Wiedervereinigung. Unterteilt ist das Buch in viele kleine, gut konsumierbaren Unterkapiteln, die einem ein schnelles Durchlesen ermöglichen. Der Untertitel „Eine neue Geschichte der DDR“ ist zwar etwas dick aufgetragen, fördert das Buch doch dafür insgesamt zu wenig Neues zu tage. Jedoch ist die Erzählweise in dem Sinne neu, da es die DDR-Geschichte zumeist anhand der Biografien einzelner, „normaler“ DDR-Bürger wiedergibt. Dieser Ansatz ist für ein breites Publikum gewiss nicht ungeeignet, wird der klassische Historiker-Schreibstil doch oftmals als zu trocken empfunden. Insofern würde ich annehmen, hat das Buch auch deswegen eine breite, nicht zwingend deutsche Leserschaft gefunden.
Doch dieser erzählerische Ansatz, der auf von Hoyer geführten Interviews mit ehemaligen DDR-Bürgern und auf anderen biografischen Quellen basiert, hat auch seine Nachteile. Sie ermöglicht zwar eine alltagsnahe Darstellung der DDR-Geschichte, öffnet damit Nostalgie und historischen Verklärungen aber Tür und Tor. Das liegt auch an der fragwürdigen Umsetzung dieses Ansatzes. Denn Hoyer will speziell jenen Menschen eine Stimme geben, die „den Staat funktionieren ließen“ – also letztlich dem systemtreuen Teil der DDR-Bevölkerung – und ordnet diese Stimmen selten kritisch ein. Erschwerend kommt hinzu, dass systemkritische Personen und ihre Schicksale demgegenüber zumeist nur am Rande thematisiert werden. Hierdurch kommt die DDR in Hoyers Gesamtschau gar nicht mal so schlecht weg.
Keine Frage, die Verbrechen der SED-Diktatur werden von Hoyer benannt und auch angemessen dargestellt, egal ob es sich um Bespitzlungen der Stasi, Folter in Gefängnissen oder die Militarisierung der DDR-Gesellschaft handelt. Man kann ihr nicht vorzuwerfen, dass sie diese Punkte unterschlägt. Jedoch ist Hoyer gleichermaßen darum bemüht, die positiven Seiten der DDR herauszustellen, die DDR also „zustimmungsfähiger“ (Kocka) zu machen. Doch wenn günstiger Wohnraum und flächendeckende Kindertagesstätten dafür herhalten müssen, fehlende Kunstfreiheit, Ausreise-Verbote, Schießbefehle an der Mauer, mediale Gleichschaltung und sonstiges Unrecht aufzuwiegen, so wie Hoyer es impliziert, dann wird hierdurch der diktatorische Charakter des DDR-Regimes relativiert. Ich habe zwar grundsätzlich kein Problem damit, wenn auch positive Aspekte der DDR beim Namen genannt werden, so wie das beispielsweise Steffen Mau in „Lütten Klein“ gelungen ist. Doch diese sollten immer vor dem Hintergrund der Diktatur und seiner Verbrechen verstanden und eingeordnet werden. Hierauf verzichtet Hoyer zumeist, weswegen die in „Diesseits der Mauer“ forcierte Ausgewogenheit eher zu einem false balancing gerinnt.
Neben diesen geschichtspolitischen Unannehmlichkeiten ist noch ein anderer Kritikpunkt zu nennen, nämlich dem Fehlen einer systemischen Analyse der DDR. Hoyer vermeidet es, die auch von ihr diagnostizierten Defizite der DDR, wie fehlende Kunstfreiheit, Einparteiendiktatur der SED, Mauerbau etc. systemisch zu erklären. Im Hinblick auf die fehlende wirtschaftliche Innovationskraft und Effizienz der DDR wird das beispielsweise schön deutlich. So führt Hoyer die wirtschaftliche Rückständigkeit der DDR im Wesentlichen auf die hohen Reparationszahlungen in Richtung Moskau zurück, welche die BRD so nicht abzuleisten hatte. Das ist sicherlich nicht komplett falsch, führt aber am Kern der Ursache vorbei. Denn die DDR war als Bestandteil des real existierenden Sozialismus bestimmten wirtschaftlichen Rahmenbedingungen und wirtschaftspolitischen Dogmen unterworfen, deren Effekte wie fehlende Anreizstrukturen, fehlendes unternehmerisches Denken etc. maßgeblich zur eigenen ökonomischen Rückständigkeit beitrugen. Diese Vorgehensweise ist für „Diesseits der Mauer“ leider symptomatisch. Strukturelle Defizite werden von ihr nicht systemisch, sondern zumeist individuell gedeutet. Ein systemischer Blick aber hätte zu Tage fördern können, dass jene Defizite der DDR, die auch Hoyer nicht bestreitet, weniger mit Fehlentscheidung der SED-Führungsriege etc. zu tun haben, sondern viel mehr dem System des real existierenden Sozialismus an sich. Dadurch dass diese Analysetiefe fehlt, verbleibt „Diesseits der Mauer“ an entscheidenden Stellen oftmals auf einem recht oberflächlichen Niveau.
Insofern sehe ich in „Diesseits der Mauer“ vor allem eine vertane Chance. Ein an sich interessante Buch-Idee, nämlich die DDR-Geschichte aus der Perspektive des Alltagslebens ihrer Bürger nachzuerzählen, scheitert tragisch an der fehlenden geschichtspolitischen Redlichkeit und der ausbleibenden Bereitschaft zur analytischen Tiefe ihrer Autorin
Review bei Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtGbo6eAz0m/
March 1, 2025
Growing up during the Cold War, the two things I knew about East Germany was how they shot people trying to cross the Berlin Wall, and how this country with a small population excelled at the Olympic Games, beaten in the medals table only by Russia and the USA, and sometimes even beating them. Later of course, we found out this was down to doping.
This book takes a detailed look at the GDR - German ‘Democratic’ Republic as it was called. Most of it is interesting, some of it overly long and dull.
It turns out, contrary to my previous understanding, that Stalin never wanted it to exist. He wanted a united but neutral Germany. Only once West Germany declared statehood did he relent and allow the East to do likewise.
The country never achieved the wealth of its western neighbour but it wasn’t a level playing field. The USA pumped in millions into West Germany and creditor nations forgave its debt.
Russia demanded reparations from the GDR and dismantled most of its industry and shipped it to Russia. So the reasonable standard of living the East achieved by the 1970s was its own economic miracle. And by the 1980s each household the author says had a fridge, washing machine and TV, and half of all families had a car.
But we all know possessions don’t bring happiness. And perhaps what the GDR achieved were the work life balance with a lot of time for friends and family, and not having our worries of losing our jobs and paying the rent. Housing, child care, food etc were all heavily subsidised, which finally proved an economic burden the state couldn’t finance. And of course the trade off for these things was highly restricted personal freedom and the Stasi spying on you.
The author praises how the GDR had the highest levels of female employment in the world thanks to abundant child care and a high level of equality so that people from working class backgrounds were just as easily able to go to university as those from wealthier backgrounds. I would argue the Scandinavian model which gives everyone excellent healthcare and education and lets no one live in abject poverty is much better because it is achieved without sacrificing freedom.
There is a short chapter at the end about what has happened since reunification. Many in the former GDR miss the job security and state provision they once had, and although thirty years have now passed a big gulf remains between the east and west of Germany. This is reflected in politics where in Germany’s recent election the far right ADF won in the east but was soundly rejected in the west.
The author's peers have given ecstatic reviews for this book. I would say that’s hype, and while good, I wouldn’t consider it to be excellent.
This book takes a detailed look at the GDR - German ‘Democratic’ Republic as it was called. Most of it is interesting, some of it overly long and dull.
It turns out, contrary to my previous understanding, that Stalin never wanted it to exist. He wanted a united but neutral Germany. Only once West Germany declared statehood did he relent and allow the East to do likewise.
The country never achieved the wealth of its western neighbour but it wasn’t a level playing field. The USA pumped in millions into West Germany and creditor nations forgave its debt.
Russia demanded reparations from the GDR and dismantled most of its industry and shipped it to Russia. So the reasonable standard of living the East achieved by the 1970s was its own economic miracle. And by the 1980s each household the author says had a fridge, washing machine and TV, and half of all families had a car.
But we all know possessions don’t bring happiness. And perhaps what the GDR achieved were the work life balance with a lot of time for friends and family, and not having our worries of losing our jobs and paying the rent. Housing, child care, food etc were all heavily subsidised, which finally proved an economic burden the state couldn’t finance. And of course the trade off for these things was highly restricted personal freedom and the Stasi spying on you.
The author praises how the GDR had the highest levels of female employment in the world thanks to abundant child care and a high level of equality so that people from working class backgrounds were just as easily able to go to university as those from wealthier backgrounds. I would argue the Scandinavian model which gives everyone excellent healthcare and education and lets no one live in abject poverty is much better because it is achieved without sacrificing freedom.
There is a short chapter at the end about what has happened since reunification. Many in the former GDR miss the job security and state provision they once had, and although thirty years have now passed a big gulf remains between the east and west of Germany. This is reflected in politics where in Germany’s recent election the far right ADF won in the east but was soundly rejected in the west.
The author's peers have given ecstatic reviews for this book. I would say that’s hype, and while good, I wouldn’t consider it to be excellent.
March 1, 2025
“Summing up the mission to rebuild a government in Berlin, Ulbricht told his disciples, ‘It has to look democratic, but we must have everything in our hands’.” p49
East Germany… 1949 - 1990. Katja Hoyer has done an absolutely amazing job at chronicling the birth and demise of East Germany, the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The detail and depth of her research is quite astounding as she brings to bear the background, underpinnings, insecurities, influences and ultimately the psyche of a nation birthed out of the horrors of World War 2.
My own family emigrated to Australia in the 1860s, from Brandenburg, and I’ve often wondered what life may have been like if they’d stayed in Germany, finding themselves in the East, wondering what was enclosing around them. Perhaps that has fueled my interest in understanding East Germany and in particular gaining insight into life in a city divided by a wall. I was fortunate enough to visit Berlin in 2017 and to see first hand the Berlin Wall memorial, the Checkpoint Charlie area and touch the remnants of the actual wall. Sobering and a solid reminder of this era of German and indeed European history.
Hoyer is very measured in her treatment of the subject matter in Beyond the Wall. Information is factual, objective and draws on insights and experiences of East Germans at the time. The GDR is not framed as anything but what it actually was in reality, a society birthed from the ground up, clearly under the influence of the Soviet Union, an attempt to build a socialist country true to the values of this political philosophy. Humanity tends to get in the way of this in many ways.
I really like the way Hoyer presents East Germany in this detailed account. It is not portrayed as ‘the other’ as such, but is real and human, filled with human stories. This is not an essay that suggests the West is the better political ideology, this is an account of the struggles of a fledgling nation, borne under some fairly extreme circumstances with hopes and dreams, just like any community. So often I feel that the East is the other, the regime that needed quelling. Of course, I do not have any first hand experience so cannot make any claims to know anything. This is simply my feeling and Hoyer sensitively weaves a non fictional account in a respectful and fulsome way. I respect that.
For those born and raised under the regime, life post reunification hasn’t necessarily been easy and it may take another few generations for the after effects of the division that defined Germany to be completely erased, and even then…
A most informative and intriguing account of a nation no longer with us. 5 stars.
East Germany… 1949 - 1990. Katja Hoyer has done an absolutely amazing job at chronicling the birth and demise of East Germany, the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The detail and depth of her research is quite astounding as she brings to bear the background, underpinnings, insecurities, influences and ultimately the psyche of a nation birthed out of the horrors of World War 2.
My own family emigrated to Australia in the 1860s, from Brandenburg, and I’ve often wondered what life may have been like if they’d stayed in Germany, finding themselves in the East, wondering what was enclosing around them. Perhaps that has fueled my interest in understanding East Germany and in particular gaining insight into life in a city divided by a wall. I was fortunate enough to visit Berlin in 2017 and to see first hand the Berlin Wall memorial, the Checkpoint Charlie area and touch the remnants of the actual wall. Sobering and a solid reminder of this era of German and indeed European history.
Hoyer is very measured in her treatment of the subject matter in Beyond the Wall. Information is factual, objective and draws on insights and experiences of East Germans at the time. The GDR is not framed as anything but what it actually was in reality, a society birthed from the ground up, clearly under the influence of the Soviet Union, an attempt to build a socialist country true to the values of this political philosophy. Humanity tends to get in the way of this in many ways.
I really like the way Hoyer presents East Germany in this detailed account. It is not portrayed as ‘the other’ as such, but is real and human, filled with human stories. This is not an essay that suggests the West is the better political ideology, this is an account of the struggles of a fledgling nation, borne under some fairly extreme circumstances with hopes and dreams, just like any community. So often I feel that the East is the other, the regime that needed quelling. Of course, I do not have any first hand experience so cannot make any claims to know anything. This is simply my feeling and Hoyer sensitively weaves a non fictional account in a respectful and fulsome way. I respect that.
For those born and raised under the regime, life post reunification hasn’t necessarily been easy and it may take another few generations for the after effects of the division that defined Germany to be completely erased, and even then…
A most informative and intriguing account of a nation no longer with us. 5 stars.
April 7, 2024
I loved reading Anna Funder's Stasiland. It's the kind of book you have to re-read, just to appreciate the atmospheric fallout of a big idea gone wrong; i.e. post-Soviet socialism in Germany. I was left thinking the whole project of the GDR was a disaster. But Katja Hoyer's history of the German Deomocratic Republic creates a greatly nuanced, complex and enlightening picture of a country and people that, in the end, simply wanted an alternative to the relentless greed and ruthless competitiveness of capitalism. What a journey... This was so readable and so unendingly interesting. I've been picking at it for weeks and kept finding myself fully engaged at every read.
February 28, 2026
Review
One of few English-language narrative history of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), from its roots in the post-WWII settlement through to its collapse with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Its strengths are vivid storytelling and broad thematic coverage; its main limits stem from interpretive choices that some specialists argue could under represent aspects of repression.
This opening chapter traces the pre-history of the GDR by following German communists during the Weimar Republic, the Nazi era and exile in the Soviet Union. Many German communists who fled Hitler’s repression ended up caught in Stalin’s purges in the 1930s, with thousands executed, imprisoned or shipped to gulags. Hoyer uses these origins to explain both the ideological fervour and deep paranoia of the future GDR leadership, especially figures like Walter Ulbricht who survived exile and would later lead East Germany.
After WWII, the eastern zone of Germany lay in physical and social ruin. This chapter describes the Soviet occupation’s dual process of extracting reparations and reconstructing basic infrastructure. Soviet policy dismantled factories and railroads for reparations, contributing to economic hardship. Meanwhile, returning communist exiles, backed by the Red Army, began building the administrative architecture for a new socialist state — setting the stage for the GDR’s official creation in 1949.
The Birth Pangs (1949–1952) section covers the formal founding of the GDR and its early struggles. The Socialist Unity Party (SED) consolidates power, confronting opposition, reorganising the economy (nationalisation, land reform) and attempting to stabilise society. The state’s foundation is shaky: resources are scarce, skilled workers are leaving for the West, and social tensions run high. Hoyer highlights how early policies shaped not only the state’s political form but everyday life for citizens trying to rebuild after war.
In the Building Socialism (1952–1961) phase, the GDR undertakes systematic socialist transformation: collectivised agriculture, expanded state industry, ideological education and bureaucratic consolidation. Resistance — economic and social — emerges, culminating in the June 1953 uprising by workers protesting conditions. The Soviet Red Army’s intervention reinforces authoritarian control while deepening citizens’ scepticism of political reforms.
The building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 marks a symbolic and practical turning point. With borders sealed, mass emigration stops, and the GDR leadership can focus on internal institution-building rather than population loss. Hoyer discusses both the physical construction of new cities, housing estates and infrastructure (“brick by brick”) and the intensification of state control over social and economic life.
Under Erich Honecker’s leadership (from 1971), the GDR pursues ambitious economic and social planning. The “miracle” refers to efforts to modernise industry and deliver consumer-oriented outcomes under central planning. While the GDR achieves some success — high employment, widespread childcare and social stability — economic structural problems persist, and dependency on Soviet supplies, credit and foreign trade grows.
In the final phase, the GDR faces internal and external pressures for change: Soviet perestroika and glasnost, popular protest movements, and the unintended consequences of reform attempts. The state’s insistence that “everything takes its socialist course” rings hollow as mass demonstrations, flight to the West via neighbouring Eastern bloc countries, and political paralysis culminate in the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the GDR. Hoyer depicts these years as a rapid unraveling of a once-resilient political project.
Notes
NKVD Order 00439 by N. Yezhov, 25 July 1937: "I order from 29 July of this year arrest of all German nationals who work in military factories or in factories which produce defence goods or goods for the railway system or have been dismissed from any of these sectors". (p. 17)
NKVD Order 000439 started the so-called German Operation in which a total of 55,005 people would be arrested. Of those, 41,898 would be shot and 13,107 receive long sentences. (p. 19)
The NKVD had an easier solution for the prisoner Erwin Joris. As a German national, he was sentenced to deportation. (p. 20)
Stalin purges were so far reaching that only one quarter of German exiles in Russia survived them. Of the nine German members of the politburo of the KPD who had gone into exile in the Soviet Union only two were still alive at the end of the war: Wilhelm Pieck and Walter Ulbricht. (p. 31)
Operation Osoaviakhim was a coordinated round-up of key workers all across the Soviet Zone, On the night of 22 October 1946, over 2,000 German physicists, chemists, engineers and scientists woke up to knocks on their door and were asked to pack immediately. (p. 67)
On 24 June 1948, the Soviets blocked all land and water traffic to and from West Berlin. (p. 73)
In total, 60 per cent of ongoing East German production was taken out of the young state's efforts to get on its feeet between 1945 and 1953. (p.117)
Between 1961 and 1989, 140 people would loose their lives in desperate attempts to cross the border. (p. 185)
By 1989, the GDR would 'sell' 33,755 people to the West and the average 'price' per person more thatndoubled from DM 40,000 to DM 95,847. (p. 278).
In GDR, more often than not, male university students paid the price for their education in three years of militry service. Many marriages between East German graduates tended to have three-years age gap between husband and wife. (p. 315)
To further uphold and intensify alertness, there was a dense network of sirens set up across the republic - in schools, factories and public buildings. While West Germany had this too, there the sirens were only tested twice a year, once in March and once in September. On the other side of the German border they were tested every Wednesday at 1 p.m. - a regular reminder that the threat was constant even if the country seemed to be at peace. (p. 318)
Young Angela Merkel, fascinated with the political unrest in Poland, travelled there three times in 1980 and 1981, twice officially through the FDJ's travel agency Jugendtourist. She also used the opportunity to visit her mother's birthplace of Danzig (now Gdansk), by the Baltic Sea. (p367)
One of few English-language narrative history of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), from its roots in the post-WWII settlement through to its collapse with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Its strengths are vivid storytelling and broad thematic coverage; its main limits stem from interpretive choices that some specialists argue could under represent aspects of repression.
This opening chapter traces the pre-history of the GDR by following German communists during the Weimar Republic, the Nazi era and exile in the Soviet Union. Many German communists who fled Hitler’s repression ended up caught in Stalin’s purges in the 1930s, with thousands executed, imprisoned or shipped to gulags. Hoyer uses these origins to explain both the ideological fervour and deep paranoia of the future GDR leadership, especially figures like Walter Ulbricht who survived exile and would later lead East Germany.
After WWII, the eastern zone of Germany lay in physical and social ruin. This chapter describes the Soviet occupation’s dual process of extracting reparations and reconstructing basic infrastructure. Soviet policy dismantled factories and railroads for reparations, contributing to economic hardship. Meanwhile, returning communist exiles, backed by the Red Army, began building the administrative architecture for a new socialist state — setting the stage for the GDR’s official creation in 1949.
The Birth Pangs (1949–1952) section covers the formal founding of the GDR and its early struggles. The Socialist Unity Party (SED) consolidates power, confronting opposition, reorganising the economy (nationalisation, land reform) and attempting to stabilise society. The state’s foundation is shaky: resources are scarce, skilled workers are leaving for the West, and social tensions run high. Hoyer highlights how early policies shaped not only the state’s political form but everyday life for citizens trying to rebuild after war.
In the Building Socialism (1952–1961) phase, the GDR undertakes systematic socialist transformation: collectivised agriculture, expanded state industry, ideological education and bureaucratic consolidation. Resistance — economic and social — emerges, culminating in the June 1953 uprising by workers protesting conditions. The Soviet Red Army’s intervention reinforces authoritarian control while deepening citizens’ scepticism of political reforms.
The building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 marks a symbolic and practical turning point. With borders sealed, mass emigration stops, and the GDR leadership can focus on internal institution-building rather than population loss. Hoyer discusses both the physical construction of new cities, housing estates and infrastructure (“brick by brick”) and the intensification of state control over social and economic life.
Under Erich Honecker’s leadership (from 1971), the GDR pursues ambitious economic and social planning. The “miracle” refers to efforts to modernise industry and deliver consumer-oriented outcomes under central planning. While the GDR achieves some success — high employment, widespread childcare and social stability — economic structural problems persist, and dependency on Soviet supplies, credit and foreign trade grows.
In the final phase, the GDR faces internal and external pressures for change: Soviet perestroika and glasnost, popular protest movements, and the unintended consequences of reform attempts. The state’s insistence that “everything takes its socialist course” rings hollow as mass demonstrations, flight to the West via neighbouring Eastern bloc countries, and political paralysis culminate in the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the GDR. Hoyer depicts these years as a rapid unraveling of a once-resilient political project.
Notes
NKVD Order 00439 by N. Yezhov, 25 July 1937: "I order from 29 July of this year arrest of all German nationals who work in military factories or in factories which produce defence goods or goods for the railway system or have been dismissed from any of these sectors". (p. 17)
NKVD Order 000439 started the so-called German Operation in which a total of 55,005 people would be arrested. Of those, 41,898 would be shot and 13,107 receive long sentences. (p. 19)
The NKVD had an easier solution for the prisoner Erwin Joris. As a German national, he was sentenced to deportation. (p. 20)
Stalin purges were so far reaching that only one quarter of German exiles in Russia survived them. Of the nine German members of the politburo of the KPD who had gone into exile in the Soviet Union only two were still alive at the end of the war: Wilhelm Pieck and Walter Ulbricht. (p. 31)
Operation Osoaviakhim was a coordinated round-up of key workers all across the Soviet Zone, On the night of 22 October 1946, over 2,000 German physicists, chemists, engineers and scientists woke up to knocks on their door and were asked to pack immediately. (p. 67)
On 24 June 1948, the Soviets blocked all land and water traffic to and from West Berlin. (p. 73)
In total, 60 per cent of ongoing East German production was taken out of the young state's efforts to get on its feeet between 1945 and 1953. (p.117)
Between 1961 and 1989, 140 people would loose their lives in desperate attempts to cross the border. (p. 185)
By 1989, the GDR would 'sell' 33,755 people to the West and the average 'price' per person more thatndoubled from DM 40,000 to DM 95,847. (p. 278).
In GDR, more often than not, male university students paid the price for their education in three years of militry service. Many marriages between East German graduates tended to have three-years age gap between husband and wife. (p. 315)
To further uphold and intensify alertness, there was a dense network of sirens set up across the republic - in schools, factories and public buildings. While West Germany had this too, there the sirens were only tested twice a year, once in March and once in September. On the other side of the German border they were tested every Wednesday at 1 p.m. - a regular reminder that the threat was constant even if the country seemed to be at peace. (p. 318)
Young Angela Merkel, fascinated with the political unrest in Poland, travelled there three times in 1980 and 1981, twice officially through the FDJ's travel agency Jugendtourist. She also used the opportunity to visit her mother's birthplace of Danzig (now Gdansk), by the Baltic Sea. (p367)
June 22, 2023
Katja Hoyer begins her book with a strong narrative, highlighting an important moment in modern German history. On 3 October 2021, Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel stepped down after almost 20 years held the position. In her remarks, she emphasised that her experience growing up in East Germany was not only “lost years”, as the common narrative about her life often describes. Her political career is often counted only in the period following the fall of the Berlin Wall, ignoring her formative years in East Germany that shaped the person she is today.
Beyond the Wall really goes beyond the Wall, offering a comprehensive and meticulously researched exploration of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), as well as shedding light on the multifaceted aspects of its history, society, and political landscape. With a nuanced analysis and a wealth of primary sources, Hoyer presents a valuable contribution to the literature on the GDR, providing us with a deeper understanding of this complex and tumultuous period. Hoyer's work stands out for its thoroughness and attention to detail. She skillfully navigates the chronology of the GDR, from its establishment in 1949 to its dissolution in 1990, and examines key political events, economic policies, and social dynamics. By drawing on an extensive range of primary sources, including archival documents, oral histories, and contemporary media, Hoyer paints a vivid and comprehensive picture of life in the GDR.
One strength of Beyond the Wall lies in its exploration of the GDR's political structure and the mechanisms of control employed by the regime. Hoyer delves into the role of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) and its leadership, spanning from the time of Gruppe Ulbricht returning to the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany all the way to Honecker’s era, in shaping and maintaining the GDR's socialist system. She does not only begin the GDR’s history from 1949 alone, but goes all the way back to the experience of the German communists exiled in Moscow during the Nazi era, who experienced double persecution back at home (due to their commitments as socialists) and in the Soviet Union (during the Stalin’s purges). This experience would be instrumental for Walter Ulbricht and the German communist apparatus in shaping the political system in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany and later in the post-war GDR. Hoyer also provides insights into the everyday lives of East Germans, delving into topics such as education, healthcare, housing, and consumer culture. She examines the ways in which the GDR sought to cultivate a sense of collective identity and loyalty to the state, exploring initiatives such as youth organisations and socialist cultural events. Additionally, Hoyer illuminates the economic challenges faced by the GDR, including the stagnation of its planned economy and the restrictions on travel and trade.
Comparing Beyond the Wall with Mary Fulbrook's The People's State: East German Society from Hitler to Honecker and much more popular Anna Funder's Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall reveals the complementary nature of these works. While Fulbrook's book provides a comprehensive analysis of the GDR's socio-political structures and state-society relations, Funder's work offers a more personal and emotionally charged perspective through personal testimonies of people involved with the Stasi–the GDR’s state security apparatus. Hoyer's Beyond the Wall bridges the gap by offering a broader exploration of the GDR's history, encompassing political, social, and economic dimensions. One notable aspect of Hoyer's work is her inclusion of diverse voices and perspectives. She highlights the range of experiences and attitudes within East German society, acknowledging that not all individuals held the same view of the GDR. This nuanced approach allows readers to appreciate the complexities of living under a totalitarian regime and avoids oversimplification.
Beyond the Wall also delves into the profound impact of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent reunification of Germany. Hoyer explores the mixed emotions experienced by East Germans during this period of profound change, including the loss of familiar structures and the challenges of transitioning to a market-based economy. She also reflects on the lasting legacy of the GDR and its impact on Germany's political and social landscape in the present day. I read from Hoyer's experience discussing the book in Germany that the German edition of Beyond the Wall stirred emotions in German readers, despite the fact that the 30-year gap between the German reunification and the present moment may provide relatively enough time to assess the process with more objectivity.
‘The country my mother left behind was a country she believed in; a country we kept alive till her last breath; a country that never existed in that form,’ goes the narrative of the protagonist Alex Kerner at the end of the 2003 film Good Bye Lenin! which describes the German reunification process. Notwithstanding the exaggerated fictional premise of the film, the longing for a country that suddenly disappeared overnight and the need to reassess the German reunification process and discuss it again is emphasised throughout this book, a process that Katja Hoyer describes would entail involving ‘accepting that East and West Germans lived very different realities in the formative postwar decades, and that these are all part of the national story’.
Katja Hoyer’s latest book is a meticulously researched and nuanced exploration of the GDR. Its thorough analysis of the political, social, and economic dimensions of the GDR provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of this complex period in German history. The discourse helps form a more objective and multifaceted perspective on the GDR and its lasting significance. Hoyer's inclusion of diverse voices and her attention to detail make this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the intricacies of life in the GDR, which is not as black and white as often describes in most mainstream sources and brings us to rethink the essence of German reunification.
Beyond the Wall really goes beyond the Wall, offering a comprehensive and meticulously researched exploration of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), as well as shedding light on the multifaceted aspects of its history, society, and political landscape. With a nuanced analysis and a wealth of primary sources, Hoyer presents a valuable contribution to the literature on the GDR, providing us with a deeper understanding of this complex and tumultuous period. Hoyer's work stands out for its thoroughness and attention to detail. She skillfully navigates the chronology of the GDR, from its establishment in 1949 to its dissolution in 1990, and examines key political events, economic policies, and social dynamics. By drawing on an extensive range of primary sources, including archival documents, oral histories, and contemporary media, Hoyer paints a vivid and comprehensive picture of life in the GDR.
One strength of Beyond the Wall lies in its exploration of the GDR's political structure and the mechanisms of control employed by the regime. Hoyer delves into the role of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) and its leadership, spanning from the time of Gruppe Ulbricht returning to the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany all the way to Honecker’s era, in shaping and maintaining the GDR's socialist system. She does not only begin the GDR’s history from 1949 alone, but goes all the way back to the experience of the German communists exiled in Moscow during the Nazi era, who experienced double persecution back at home (due to their commitments as socialists) and in the Soviet Union (during the Stalin’s purges). This experience would be instrumental for Walter Ulbricht and the German communist apparatus in shaping the political system in the Soviet Occupation Zone of Germany and later in the post-war GDR. Hoyer also provides insights into the everyday lives of East Germans, delving into topics such as education, healthcare, housing, and consumer culture. She examines the ways in which the GDR sought to cultivate a sense of collective identity and loyalty to the state, exploring initiatives such as youth organisations and socialist cultural events. Additionally, Hoyer illuminates the economic challenges faced by the GDR, including the stagnation of its planned economy and the restrictions on travel and trade.
Comparing Beyond the Wall with Mary Fulbrook's The People's State: East German Society from Hitler to Honecker and much more popular Anna Funder's Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall reveals the complementary nature of these works. While Fulbrook's book provides a comprehensive analysis of the GDR's socio-political structures and state-society relations, Funder's work offers a more personal and emotionally charged perspective through personal testimonies of people involved with the Stasi–the GDR’s state security apparatus. Hoyer's Beyond the Wall bridges the gap by offering a broader exploration of the GDR's history, encompassing political, social, and economic dimensions. One notable aspect of Hoyer's work is her inclusion of diverse voices and perspectives. She highlights the range of experiences and attitudes within East German society, acknowledging that not all individuals held the same view of the GDR. This nuanced approach allows readers to appreciate the complexities of living under a totalitarian regime and avoids oversimplification.
Beyond the Wall also delves into the profound impact of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent reunification of Germany. Hoyer explores the mixed emotions experienced by East Germans during this period of profound change, including the loss of familiar structures and the challenges of transitioning to a market-based economy. She also reflects on the lasting legacy of the GDR and its impact on Germany's political and social landscape in the present day. I read from Hoyer's experience discussing the book in Germany that the German edition of Beyond the Wall stirred emotions in German readers, despite the fact that the 30-year gap between the German reunification and the present moment may provide relatively enough time to assess the process with more objectivity.
‘The country my mother left behind was a country she believed in; a country we kept alive till her last breath; a country that never existed in that form,’ goes the narrative of the protagonist Alex Kerner at the end of the 2003 film Good Bye Lenin! which describes the German reunification process. Notwithstanding the exaggerated fictional premise of the film, the longing for a country that suddenly disappeared overnight and the need to reassess the German reunification process and discuss it again is emphasised throughout this book, a process that Katja Hoyer describes would entail involving ‘accepting that East and West Germans lived very different realities in the formative postwar decades, and that these are all part of the national story’.
Katja Hoyer’s latest book is a meticulously researched and nuanced exploration of the GDR. Its thorough analysis of the political, social, and economic dimensions of the GDR provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of this complex period in German history. The discourse helps form a more objective and multifaceted perspective on the GDR and its lasting significance. Hoyer's inclusion of diverse voices and her attention to detail make this book a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the intricacies of life in the GDR, which is not as black and white as often describes in most mainstream sources and brings us to rethink the essence of German reunification.
June 20, 2023
Leider muss ich sagen, dass ich den Kritikern recht geben muss: das ist ein sehr einseitig geratenes, die DDR verklärendes Buch.
Ich hätte das Buch gerne gemocht, denn es hat ein paar sehr positive Seiten: es behandelt die DDR als deutsche, nicht als nur ostdeutsche Geschichte. Es behandelt den gesamten relevanten Zeitraum, von 1945 bis 1990. Es ist sehr leicht lesbar und flüssig geschrieben. Es stellt die Menschen, ihre Erfahrungen, Erwartungen und Einschätzungen in den Mittelpunkt. Zugegeben, vor allem Menschen, die es sich in der DDR eingerichtet hatten oder an den Sozialismus glaubten - richtige Opfer der DDR, die dieses System zugrunde gerichtet hatte, kommen fast nicht zu Wort.
Was ich auch interessant fand, war wie die DDR in ihrer Anfangsphase (und später auch) um ihre Eigenständigkeit auch gegenüber der UdSSR pochte. Lange hält sich Hoyer mit der Frage auf, ob Stalin wirklich einen "eigenen" deutschen Staat wollte, oder ob er ihn eher widerwillig in Kauf nahm, nachdem sein Plan, die Westbindung von Westdeutschland zu verhindern, gescheitert war.
Das alles ist sehr spannend und gut erzählt, aber mit der Zeit fand ich die Erzählung immer einseitiger und nerviger. Krass fand ich, dass sie sich mit den Entwicklungen in den anderen sozialistischen Staaten fast überhaupt nicht beschäftigt hat, obwohl gerade der Herbst 1989 unvorstellbar ist ohne die Entwicklungen vor allem in Polen und Ungarn. Generell schreibt sie über die Solidarność nur im Kontext von "sozialen Unruhen" - als ob sie nur ausgebrochen wären, weil die Polen es nicht geschafft hätten, einen ähnlich gut funktionierenden sozialistischen Staat aufzubauen - vom Streben der Polen nach nationaler und individueller Freiheit keine Rede. Und es liest sich über lange Passagen so, als ob die Führung der DDR wirklich aufrichtig und ständig nur ein besseres Deutschland hätte aufbauen wollen - die wird erwähnt, aber es wird der Eindruck erweckt, dass es fast nur diejenigen betraf, die irgendwie sowieso nicht zufrieden gestellt werden konnten. Ich fand das dann doch zu krass.
Das sollte also nicht das einzige Buch sein, das ihr über die DDR lest.
Ich hätte das Buch gerne gemocht, denn es hat ein paar sehr positive Seiten: es behandelt die DDR als deutsche, nicht als nur ostdeutsche Geschichte. Es behandelt den gesamten relevanten Zeitraum, von 1945 bis 1990. Es ist sehr leicht lesbar und flüssig geschrieben. Es stellt die Menschen, ihre Erfahrungen, Erwartungen und Einschätzungen in den Mittelpunkt. Zugegeben, vor allem Menschen, die es sich in der DDR eingerichtet hatten oder an den Sozialismus glaubten - richtige Opfer der DDR, die dieses System zugrunde gerichtet hatte, kommen fast nicht zu Wort.
Was ich auch interessant fand, war wie die DDR in ihrer Anfangsphase (und später auch) um ihre Eigenständigkeit auch gegenüber der UdSSR pochte. Lange hält sich Hoyer mit der Frage auf, ob Stalin wirklich einen "eigenen" deutschen Staat wollte, oder ob er ihn eher widerwillig in Kauf nahm, nachdem sein Plan, die Westbindung von Westdeutschland zu verhindern, gescheitert war.
Das alles ist sehr spannend und gut erzählt, aber mit der Zeit fand ich die Erzählung immer einseitiger und nerviger. Krass fand ich, dass sie sich mit den Entwicklungen in den anderen sozialistischen Staaten fast überhaupt nicht beschäftigt hat, obwohl gerade der Herbst 1989 unvorstellbar ist ohne die Entwicklungen vor allem in Polen und Ungarn. Generell schreibt sie über die Solidarność nur im Kontext von "sozialen Unruhen" - als ob sie nur ausgebrochen wären, weil die Polen es nicht geschafft hätten, einen ähnlich gut funktionierenden sozialistischen Staat aufzubauen - vom Streben der Polen nach nationaler und individueller Freiheit keine Rede. Und es liest sich über lange Passagen so, als ob die Führung der DDR wirklich aufrichtig und ständig nur ein besseres Deutschland hätte aufbauen wollen - die wird erwähnt, aber es wird der Eindruck erweckt, dass es fast nur diejenigen betraf, die irgendwie sowieso nicht zufrieden gestellt werden konnten. Ich fand das dann doch zu krass.
Das sollte also nicht das einzige Buch sein, das ihr über die DDR lest.
July 16, 2024
Li porque estou a pesquisar sobre o assunto. Foi muito útil.
May 5, 2024
35 years later, the subject of East Germany is still a contentious subject. Growing up in the west, I have been inundated with many stories and anecdotes, both in conversation and the classroom, around what life was actually like in the DDR. As someone who was born and raised in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War this period of history has always been of interest to me, focusing mainly on the division of Germany due to my family history.
I remember doing a semester paper on the Berlin Wall in high school and since then I have taken a casual interest in the subject of East Germany, as well as many other former Iron Curtain cultures. It seems now is the best time to reevaluate this subject as we are a few decades removed but there are still many people who lived in these countries during their existence who are still alive and with us today. Especially with the wealth of knowledge available on the internet, it is a perfect time to learn about this subject. When I saw this book had been published I eagerly awaited my chance to read it. While there is a lot I liked about this book, I will say I am a bit conflicted on its overall presentation.
This book exists as a retaliation to the way that the history of East Germany has been covered, mainly by westerners, in the wake of reunification. At this point images of the wall, those trying to escape, and the persistent surveillance from the Stasi are quite clear in the minds of anyone when you mention East Germany but surely there is more to a nation that existed for over 40 years than just that?
Katja Hoyer sets out to provide a deeper look at the DDR and more of the social, day to day experiences. This is probably the greatest value of this book. There are many accounts by those who lived and worked in the DDR about what life was like. While not deep discussions, these recounts offer an interesting and relatable view of daily life.
Growing up, I would hear many stories from my mother and her siblings of their experiences visiting family in Germany. Most of their time was spent in West Germany but they would on occasion visit East Germany to experience what it was like to peek behind the iron curtain.
Back in 2020, my Grandmother passed away and our family was tasked with cleaning out her house. Born in Pommern in 1930, she had a tumultuous childhood to put it lightly. She was a refugee who found herself in the devastated post war East Germany, eventually making her way west and on to the US in 1952. She always kept in touch with friends and after reunification would visit her childhood village.
While cleaning out her house I found a multitude of 20th century currencies. A personal interest of mine, I took specific notice of what I found. Of course I found many BRD Deutsche Marks, which I had seen around since I was a kid but I also came across DDR Marks. I realized how I had never seen these before and just how different they were. Their bills showcasing women scientists and their coins made of cheap light weight aluminum. I mentioned this to my aunt who recounted how “crap” their money was. I’ve found that many socialist countries don’t put the same amount of effort into the structural durability of their currencies as capitalist ones.
This comment from my aunt wasn’t a one off. I’ve heard many descriptions of how drab and dismal life in East Germany seemed. Of course these accounts are coming from people whose understanding of society was the US and West Germany, two of the most successful capitalist societies of the mid to late 20th century so it must have seemed like a truly harsh contrast.
Beyond The Wall offers the statement that East Germany was always doomed to fail. That many short term solutions were utilized to keep things running, making it a miracle it lasted as long as it did. Many other reviewers seem to think Hoyer is being too sympathetic but this book is actually quite anti Soviet if anything. I think, at least for the earlier parts, she does a great job of offering a balanced assessment of the pros and cons of East German society.
I found the descriptions of the early years to be really good at showcasing the post war rebuilding struggle and how that differed from the experiences of West Germany. Hoyer offers a lot of insight into how the Soviet supervision differed from the west and how that stunted growth in the DDR. There was a lot of excitement around rebuilding a new nation, like in the west, but also how the limited options of the East lead to exodus of many of its citizens.
Where I really took issue with this book was how Hoyer handles the downfall. The 1980s really feel condensed and limited in their overview in comparison to the other decades. This period of East German history is probably the most well known by the general public, which is probably why she felt less of a need to discuss it but considering this book is a reaction to that previously held conception of the DDR it felt like a huge misstep. The events of the final years of East Germany feel like they are rushed through and overall don’t offer much in terms of a rebuttal.
Most egregious of all is probably Hoyer’s limited discussion on the Stasi. She gives a good overview of the Berlin Wall, how it came to be and how it influenced the lives of those who lived within its vicinity but when it comes to the Stasi she really doesn’t offer a good explanation of who they were and what they did in society. There is mention of them all throughout the book but no real explanation on how they came to be or the real influence they had on stunting and stagnating East German culture.
The kind of person who is going to be on the opposite side of understanding East Germany will immediately mention the Stasi as to why the DDR was an evil, authoritarian society with no redeeming qualities, to have a weak understanding of them portrayed here in this book is a huge failure for her argument in portraying the good in East German society.
For my personal expectations, I was hoping to get a better understanding of the middle years of the DDR; as that is the era I am least familiar with. While I learned a lot of new stuff from this book I also found much of it to be rather surface level, basic subjects about East Germany. If you are interested in the history of the DDR you will already be familiar with the doping scandals and coffee shortages.
One of my favorite subjects of East German society is the architecture. Like many communist bloc nations, fabricated apartments are a staple of any major town. Halle-Neustadt is a personal favorite use case of mine. There is one page dedicated to Halle-Neustadt, describing both the optimism in its inception and its problems in actuality. I get that city planning is not the most important or most interesting of subjects when it comes to the history of East Germany but given that the policies and personnel are gone the last thing to stand as a relic of this time period are the buildings.
I really just wish this book was more of what it could have been. It has a lot of great information and perspectives in it that I think anyone interested in the history of East Germany definitely should still read but in terms of this being the definitive or all encompassing history of East Germany it is sorely lacking; making it no better than those demonizing accounts.
I remember doing a semester paper on the Berlin Wall in high school and since then I have taken a casual interest in the subject of East Germany, as well as many other former Iron Curtain cultures. It seems now is the best time to reevaluate this subject as we are a few decades removed but there are still many people who lived in these countries during their existence who are still alive and with us today. Especially with the wealth of knowledge available on the internet, it is a perfect time to learn about this subject. When I saw this book had been published I eagerly awaited my chance to read it. While there is a lot I liked about this book, I will say I am a bit conflicted on its overall presentation.
This book exists as a retaliation to the way that the history of East Germany has been covered, mainly by westerners, in the wake of reunification. At this point images of the wall, those trying to escape, and the persistent surveillance from the Stasi are quite clear in the minds of anyone when you mention East Germany but surely there is more to a nation that existed for over 40 years than just that?
Katja Hoyer sets out to provide a deeper look at the DDR and more of the social, day to day experiences. This is probably the greatest value of this book. There are many accounts by those who lived and worked in the DDR about what life was like. While not deep discussions, these recounts offer an interesting and relatable view of daily life.
Growing up, I would hear many stories from my mother and her siblings of their experiences visiting family in Germany. Most of their time was spent in West Germany but they would on occasion visit East Germany to experience what it was like to peek behind the iron curtain.
Back in 2020, my Grandmother passed away and our family was tasked with cleaning out her house. Born in Pommern in 1930, she had a tumultuous childhood to put it lightly. She was a refugee who found herself in the devastated post war East Germany, eventually making her way west and on to the US in 1952. She always kept in touch with friends and after reunification would visit her childhood village.
While cleaning out her house I found a multitude of 20th century currencies. A personal interest of mine, I took specific notice of what I found. Of course I found many BRD Deutsche Marks, which I had seen around since I was a kid but I also came across DDR Marks. I realized how I had never seen these before and just how different they were. Their bills showcasing women scientists and their coins made of cheap light weight aluminum. I mentioned this to my aunt who recounted how “crap” their money was. I’ve found that many socialist countries don’t put the same amount of effort into the structural durability of their currencies as capitalist ones.
This comment from my aunt wasn’t a one off. I’ve heard many descriptions of how drab and dismal life in East Germany seemed. Of course these accounts are coming from people whose understanding of society was the US and West Germany, two of the most successful capitalist societies of the mid to late 20th century so it must have seemed like a truly harsh contrast.
Beyond The Wall offers the statement that East Germany was always doomed to fail. That many short term solutions were utilized to keep things running, making it a miracle it lasted as long as it did. Many other reviewers seem to think Hoyer is being too sympathetic but this book is actually quite anti Soviet if anything. I think, at least for the earlier parts, she does a great job of offering a balanced assessment of the pros and cons of East German society.
I found the descriptions of the early years to be really good at showcasing the post war rebuilding struggle and how that differed from the experiences of West Germany. Hoyer offers a lot of insight into how the Soviet supervision differed from the west and how that stunted growth in the DDR. There was a lot of excitement around rebuilding a new nation, like in the west, but also how the limited options of the East lead to exodus of many of its citizens.
Where I really took issue with this book was how Hoyer handles the downfall. The 1980s really feel condensed and limited in their overview in comparison to the other decades. This period of East German history is probably the most well known by the general public, which is probably why she felt less of a need to discuss it but considering this book is a reaction to that previously held conception of the DDR it felt like a huge misstep. The events of the final years of East Germany feel like they are rushed through and overall don’t offer much in terms of a rebuttal.
Most egregious of all is probably Hoyer’s limited discussion on the Stasi. She gives a good overview of the Berlin Wall, how it came to be and how it influenced the lives of those who lived within its vicinity but when it comes to the Stasi she really doesn’t offer a good explanation of who they were and what they did in society. There is mention of them all throughout the book but no real explanation on how they came to be or the real influence they had on stunting and stagnating East German culture.
The kind of person who is going to be on the opposite side of understanding East Germany will immediately mention the Stasi as to why the DDR was an evil, authoritarian society with no redeeming qualities, to have a weak understanding of them portrayed here in this book is a huge failure for her argument in portraying the good in East German society.
For my personal expectations, I was hoping to get a better understanding of the middle years of the DDR; as that is the era I am least familiar with. While I learned a lot of new stuff from this book I also found much of it to be rather surface level, basic subjects about East Germany. If you are interested in the history of the DDR you will already be familiar with the doping scandals and coffee shortages.
One of my favorite subjects of East German society is the architecture. Like many communist bloc nations, fabricated apartments are a staple of any major town. Halle-Neustadt is a personal favorite use case of mine. There is one page dedicated to Halle-Neustadt, describing both the optimism in its inception and its problems in actuality. I get that city planning is not the most important or most interesting of subjects when it comes to the history of East Germany but given that the policies and personnel are gone the last thing to stand as a relic of this time period are the buildings.
I really just wish this book was more of what it could have been. It has a lot of great information and perspectives in it that I think anyone interested in the history of East Germany definitely should still read but in terms of this being the definitive or all encompassing history of East Germany it is sorely lacking; making it no better than those demonizing accounts.
March 18, 2025
Füllt alle Bildungslücken.
Besonders gut gefallen hat mir, dass das Buch noch zu Zeiten des ersten Weltkriegs beginnt und schildert, wie sich der Kommunismus über die Zeit entwickelte und deutsche Kommunisten zwei Weltkriege überstanden - die Überbleibsel (Ulbricht etc.) gründeten schließlich die DDR.
Zudem beschäftigt sich das Buch auch mit unterschiedlichen Theorien aus den Geschichtswissenschaften, sodass die DDR aus allen Blickwinkeln beleuchtet wird.
Besonders gut gefallen hat mir, dass das Buch noch zu Zeiten des ersten Weltkriegs beginnt und schildert, wie sich der Kommunismus über die Zeit entwickelte und deutsche Kommunisten zwei Weltkriege überstanden - die Überbleibsel (Ulbricht etc.) gründeten schließlich die DDR.
Zudem beschäftigt sich das Buch auch mit unterschiedlichen Theorien aus den Geschichtswissenschaften, sodass die DDR aus allen Blickwinkeln beleuchtet wird.
June 7, 2025
“Yes, and” is probably the best way to summarize what this book is about. Hoyer’s argument is, in essence, that histories of the GDR often focus on its terrifying repressive and security apparatus and the scarcities/shortages faced by everyday people under a profoundly undemocratic government, that this is very real, but *also* that people also lived more or less ‘normal’ lives under the system, and more than a few genuinely supported it not just tacitly but directly because they believed in it.
Because the book’s focus is on normalcy rather than on repression, it has been accused of apologia for the GDR. I genuinely do not think that a good faith reading of this book, with its constant references to repression, surveillance, and incompetence, all under a system that was in hoyer’s telling dependent on cheap Soviet fuel in order to function, can be read as a defense of the regime. Instead, I think the author is talking about the negatives but not solely focusing on them, because coverage of the GDR has focused on this side of things so exclusively. This book does not strike me as a propagandistic product of ostalgie; the system clearly did not work, the repression was real and at times deadly, the surveillance state was paranoid and omnipresent, etc. Hoyer instead invites us to think of why so many either supported or tacitly accepted the regime. While this complicates easier narratives of the people vs their undemocratic rulers, I think it’s essential for understanding why any longstanding regime survives in power.
With all that said, there are plenty of good faith criticisms of the book that I think are fair. The references to what the majority or a sizable minority of the population thought, without reliable polling, is a standout example. Another is the attribution of the GDR’s supercharged police state as rooted in paranoia (which is doubtless partly true) rather than framing it in the systemic nature of the Soviet model. There’s also various errata in the book on issues of low to middling importance.
I don’t think this should be the only thing you read on the GDR. I don’t think Hoyer assumes you’re coming to the book with zero background either. Instead she invites you to complicate your more simplistic narrative about the GDR, and imho in that she succeeded.
Because the book’s focus is on normalcy rather than on repression, it has been accused of apologia for the GDR. I genuinely do not think that a good faith reading of this book, with its constant references to repression, surveillance, and incompetence, all under a system that was in hoyer’s telling dependent on cheap Soviet fuel in order to function, can be read as a defense of the regime. Instead, I think the author is talking about the negatives but not solely focusing on them, because coverage of the GDR has focused on this side of things so exclusively. This book does not strike me as a propagandistic product of ostalgie; the system clearly did not work, the repression was real and at times deadly, the surveillance state was paranoid and omnipresent, etc. Hoyer instead invites us to think of why so many either supported or tacitly accepted the regime. While this complicates easier narratives of the people vs their undemocratic rulers, I think it’s essential for understanding why any longstanding regime survives in power.
With all that said, there are plenty of good faith criticisms of the book that I think are fair. The references to what the majority or a sizable minority of the population thought, without reliable polling, is a standout example. Another is the attribution of the GDR’s supercharged police state as rooted in paranoia (which is doubtless partly true) rather than framing it in the systemic nature of the Soviet model. There’s also various errata in the book on issues of low to middling importance.
I don’t think this should be the only thing you read on the GDR. I don’t think Hoyer assumes you’re coming to the book with zero background either. Instead she invites you to complicate your more simplistic narrative about the GDR, and imho in that she succeeded.
September 16, 2023
This is a fascinating history of the DDR, with perspectives that were new to me despite having read a lot about the country’s history. The author focuses often on the personalities and personal experiences of both the powerful and ordinary citizens to show why they acted as they did. I particularly appreciated the more nuanced view of how ordinary citizens felt about their country, the difference in social welfare policies between the DDR and West Germany, and why reunification wasn’t a wholly positive step for East Germans.
The audiobook narrator is a standout; an Englishman who pronounces German names and other words very well.
The audiobook narrator is a standout; an Englishman who pronounces German names and other words very well.
January 9, 2024
As someone who was in middle school when the Berlin Wall fell, I have a very distinct memory of hearing that news. But realized I really don’t know anything about the country beyond that it existed and was socialist. So this book was so educational to start. But what I loved the most is how the author introduced new topics/sections with a specific personal story of how that bit of history affected an individual. And her analysis of what has come after reunification in 1990 was really thought provoking. I’m really glad I read this book!
January 20, 2024
"Consensual reunification does not mean that life in East Germany deserves to be forgotten or filed away as irrelevant history..."
Beyond the Wall was a fairly well-put-together book, but not without a pretty sizeable and glaring flaw. More below. As the title implies, it covers the Communist German Democratic Republic (GDR) from the end of WW2, up until its demise in 1990. I have read a few other books on post-WW2 East Germany, and this one dovetailed into that material.
Author Katja Hoyer is a German-British historian, journalist and writer.
Katja Hoyer:
Hoyer writes with a decent style that shouldn't have trouble holding the finicky reader's attention. Historical books are always hit or miss in terms of how readable they are, and my reviews are always heavily weighted towards how engaging the author's prose is.
This was a very long book, however; the PDF I have is 699 pages. The audio: 16 hr, 20 mins. I found the writing to be decently engaging at the start of the book, but then gradually losing energy as the book progressed.
The formatting of the book was also fairly well done. The book covers many individual case studies from history while tying them into the broader historical context. I like books formatted in this fashion and felt that it worked here, too.
As anyone who's read a bit about WW2 knows, April 25, 1945, is the day Soviet and American troops met at the Elbe Rive, as the Allies pushed eastwards, and Stalin's Red Army pushed to the West. Germany would eventually become separated under two very different political and economic systems. It remained this way until the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
I've always found it fascinating that people who were avowed Fascist Nazis could effectively turn a full 180 on a dime, and become Communists virtually overnight. That people who fought and risked their lives fighting the existential threat to them that Communism was could change course and embrace this ideology is an interesting case study in social psychology. Ideology is a hell of a drug...
The preface talks about Angela Merkl's East German upbringing and life. She drops the quote at the start of this review in the books' preface, and it continues below:
She lays out the aim of the book in this bit of writing:
As the book gets going, she writes of the tragic fate of thousands of Russian WW2 POWs that the Germans sent back to Russia after the war:
In the previous books I have read about the GDR, life sounded unbearably miserable. We've all heard of the Stasi, The Wall, and the thousands of people who tried to defect. She drops this bit of writing, speaking to this:
...Which brings me around to my biggest criticism of this book: That a 700-page book about life in East Germany somehow managed to not cover the absolutely dystopian totalitarian juggernaut that The Ministry for State Security (aka The Stasi) became. An all-encompassing agency that placed a jackboot on the collective throats of all East Germans, the Stasi were legendary for the depth that their espionage, surveillance, and social control repressed their citizenship with. Why was this not written about here??
Over 1,300 people were killed by them. Some 250,000 people were held and interrogated on political grounds. Everyone in East German society lived under complete state surveillance, in the largest information-gathering machine assembled up until that time. I would highly recommend Anna Funder's 2003 book Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall, for a further look into the wholesale horror that unfolded under the Communist regime. For a summary, check out my review here, which contains many statistical quotes from the book.
Although the Stasi are briefly mentioned here and there throughout the book, the full story of how oppressive they became was not covered here. This would be like writing a 700-page book about the Third Reich, and not covering the Holocaust. A very questionable and glaring omission...
There is lots of other information presented here, and the writing is quite in-depth, minus a much-needed chapter on the Stasi. Some more of the material covered includes:
• German communists exiled to Russia.
• Mass rape by the advancing Red Army in WW2.
• The Berlin Wall; attempts to cross to West Berlin.
• Toy production and car ownership in GDR.
• Berlin's TV tower, The Fernsehturm Berlin.
• The GDR's Olympic athletes; AAS usage.
• Levis jeans in GDR.
• Politics in the GDR.
• Food shortages; coffee shortages.
• GDR's relationships with other Communist regimes: Cuba, Algeria, Mozambique, Vietnam, Mongolia, China, and North Korea.
• The heavily fortified East/West border.
• Purchasing foreign goods with Western German money.
• The fall of the Berlin Wall.
• Reunification.
********************
Beyond the Wall had its moments, but I am left questioning why a discussion of the Stasi was omitted from this book. A book on East Germany cannot be complete without detailing the all-encompassing horrors they inflicted upon their own citizens. Perhaps the author is a tankie, or has sympathies for the far-left? I'm not sure, although there were a few passages in here that seemed to hint as much. She's got a blurb in here that paints American Marxist revolutionary Angela Davis in a flattering light.
The book was fairly well done, for the most part, but, I'm taking off a few stars for this very suspicious omission.
2 stars.
Beyond the Wall was a fairly well-put-together book, but not without a pretty sizeable and glaring flaw. More below. As the title implies, it covers the Communist German Democratic Republic (GDR) from the end of WW2, up until its demise in 1990. I have read a few other books on post-WW2 East Germany, and this one dovetailed into that material.
Author Katja Hoyer is a German-British historian, journalist and writer.
Katja Hoyer:
Hoyer writes with a decent style that shouldn't have trouble holding the finicky reader's attention. Historical books are always hit or miss in terms of how readable they are, and my reviews are always heavily weighted towards how engaging the author's prose is.
This was a very long book, however; the PDF I have is 699 pages. The audio: 16 hr, 20 mins. I found the writing to be decently engaging at the start of the book, but then gradually losing energy as the book progressed.
The formatting of the book was also fairly well done. The book covers many individual case studies from history while tying them into the broader historical context. I like books formatted in this fashion and felt that it worked here, too.
As anyone who's read a bit about WW2 knows, April 25, 1945, is the day Soviet and American troops met at the Elbe Rive, as the Allies pushed eastwards, and Stalin's Red Army pushed to the West. Germany would eventually become separated under two very different political and economic systems. It remained this way until the eventual fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
I've always found it fascinating that people who were avowed Fascist Nazis could effectively turn a full 180 on a dime, and become Communists virtually overnight. That people who fought and risked their lives fighting the existential threat to them that Communism was could change course and embrace this ideology is an interesting case study in social psychology. Ideology is a hell of a drug...
The preface talks about Angela Merkl's East German upbringing and life. She drops the quote at the start of this review in the books' preface, and it continues below:
"...The ups and downs of the GDR as a political, social and economic experiment have left a mark on its former citizens, who have brought these experiences with them – and not as mere ‘ballast’. Millions of Germans alive today neither can nor want to deny that they once lived in the GDR. While the world that had shaped them fell with the Berlin Wall in 1989, their lives, experiences and memories were not razed with it. Yet the way much of the Western world saw it, the GDR had well and truly lost the Cold War on German soil, morally invalidating everything in it. When the German Democratic Republic vanished literally overnight on 3 October 1990, it lost the right to write its own history. Instead it had become history. And history is written by victors – East Germany’s is no exception."
She lays out the aim of the book in this bit of writing:
"This book traces the roots of the German Democratic Republic beyond its foundation to provide context for the circumstances out of which the country was born in 1949. I outline the developments that followed through all four decades rather than treating them as a static whole. In the 1950s, the infant republic was almost entirely preoccupied with stabilizing its foundations politically and economically. It did so both with and over the heads of its citizens, resulting in a decade that was marked by a can-do spirit as well as violent outbreaks of discontent."
As the book gets going, she writes of the tragic fate of thousands of Russian WW2 POWs that the Germans sent back to Russia after the war:
"...In a bitter twist of fate, those who had been incarcerated by the Nazis in early concentration camps in 1933 made it to the top of the list of suspicious individuals. In the eyes of Stalin and his henchmen, anyone who had escaped Hitler’s clutches must have given the Nazis something in return. Perhaps a promise to infiltrate the Soviet Union, get a job in a munitions factory and begin to organize systematic sabotage to prepare a German invasion."
In the previous books I have read about the GDR, life sounded unbearably miserable. We've all heard of the Stasi, The Wall, and the thousands of people who tried to defect. She drops this bit of writing, speaking to this:
"Now, it is time to dare to take a new look at the GDR. Those who do so with open eyes will find a world full of colour, not one of black and white. There was oppression and brutality, yes, and there was opportunity and belonging. Most East German communities experienced all of this. There were tears and anger, and there was laughter and pride. The citizens of the GDR lived, loved, worked and grew old. They went on holidays, made jokes about their politicians and raised their children. Their story deserves a place in the German narrative. It’s time to take a serious look at the other Germany, beyond the Wall..."
...Which brings me around to my biggest criticism of this book: That a 700-page book about life in East Germany somehow managed to not cover the absolutely dystopian totalitarian juggernaut that The Ministry for State Security (aka The Stasi) became. An all-encompassing agency that placed a jackboot on the collective throats of all East Germans, the Stasi were legendary for the depth that their espionage, surveillance, and social control repressed their citizenship with. Why was this not written about here??
Over 1,300 people were killed by them. Some 250,000 people were held and interrogated on political grounds. Everyone in East German society lived under complete state surveillance, in the largest information-gathering machine assembled up until that time. I would highly recommend Anna Funder's 2003 book Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall, for a further look into the wholesale horror that unfolded under the Communist regime. For a summary, check out my review here, which contains many statistical quotes from the book.
Although the Stasi are briefly mentioned here and there throughout the book, the full story of how oppressive they became was not covered here. This would be like writing a 700-page book about the Third Reich, and not covering the Holocaust. A very questionable and glaring omission...
There is lots of other information presented here, and the writing is quite in-depth, minus a much-needed chapter on the Stasi. Some more of the material covered includes:
• German communists exiled to Russia.
• Mass rape by the advancing Red Army in WW2.
• The Berlin Wall; attempts to cross to West Berlin.
• Toy production and car ownership in GDR.
• Berlin's TV tower, The Fernsehturm Berlin.
• The GDR's Olympic athletes; AAS usage.
• Levis jeans in GDR.
• Politics in the GDR.
• Food shortages; coffee shortages.
• GDR's relationships with other Communist regimes: Cuba, Algeria, Mozambique, Vietnam, Mongolia, China, and North Korea.
• The heavily fortified East/West border.
• Purchasing foreign goods with Western German money.
• The fall of the Berlin Wall.
• Reunification.
********************
Beyond the Wall had its moments, but I am left questioning why a discussion of the Stasi was omitted from this book. A book on East Germany cannot be complete without detailing the all-encompassing horrors they inflicted upon their own citizens. Perhaps the author is a tankie, or has sympathies for the far-left? I'm not sure, although there were a few passages in here that seemed to hint as much. She's got a blurb in here that paints American Marxist revolutionary Angela Davis in a flattering light.
The book was fairly well done, for the most part, but, I'm taking off a few stars for this very suspicious omission.
2 stars.
July 3, 2023
Die Idee, zu jedem der besprochenen historischen Ereignisse Zeitzeugen zu Wort kommen zu lassen (allerdings wird nicht zitiert, sondern die Autorin beschreibt selbst, was ihr erzählt wurde- Verzeichnis der Interviews im Anhang), überzeugt. Damit wird der trockene "Stoff" aufgelockert und es entsteht ein Geschichtsbild, das "nah am Menschen" bleibt, damit Interesse weckt und somit zur guten Lesbarkeit des Textes beiträgt. Das Verfahren hat einen zweiten Vorteil, der dem Buch allerdings auch als Nachteil ausgelegt werden kann. Während die präsentierten Fakten außer Frage stehen und meines Wissens nicht beanstandet werden, provoziert die mit den Zeitzeugenberichten verfolgte "Linie", die DDR als ein Land vorzustellen, in dem auch gelebt, geliebt und gearbeitet wurde, inklusive des Stolzes auf Qualifizierungs- oder Arbeitsleistungen, auf den ersten Trabbi usw., alle diejenigen, denen eine solche Nicht- Schwerz- Weiß- Darstellung absolut nicht in den Kram passt. Wie kann man nur positive Erinnerungen an die DDR (vereinseitigt als die "andere deutscher Diktatur") zulassen?
Dieser empörte Aufschrei ignoriert bewusst die vielen Zeugnisse, die negative Erfahrungen thematisieren und übergeht den Anspruch der Autorin, zunächst einmal verstehen zu wollen und erst dann zu verurteilen, was nicht zu rechtfertigen war und ist. Von daher ist die Lektüre die ideale Ergänzung zu Oschmanns "Der Osten ist eine westdeutsche Erfindung", denn es zeigt sich in den Diskussionen um Hoyers Buch das von Oschmann ausdrücklich thematisierte Phänomen, dass eine nationalsozialistische Vergangenheit, die Mitgliedschaft in der NSDAP, der SS oder der NS- Richterschaft in Nachkriegswestdeutschland kein besonderer Grund zur Empörung waren und bis heute selbstverständlich zum "Geschichtsbild West" dazugehören, während die Skandalisierung der Mitgliedschaft in einer DDR- Partei oder Massenorganisation nach wie vor so üblich ist, dass viele Ostdeutsche meinen, sich ihres in der DDR gelebten Lebens schämen und sich rechtfertigen zu müssen, wo das Pendent in der NS- Zeit häufig mit einem Schulterzucken ("war eben so", "konnte man ja nichts machen" usw.) übergangen wird. In den SM wird zudem häufig kritisiert, dass Hoyer "Errungenschaften" der DDR herausstellt (Brechung des Bildungsprivilegs, Emanzipation und ausgebautes System der Kinderbetreuung, Leistungen im Sport usw.), die in der offiziellen Medien- Version nie ohne ein "Aber" vorkommen. Dieses "Aber" zerlegt Hoyer, indem sie Menschen zu Wort kommen lässt, die etwa ihre Emanzipationserfahrung positiv darstellen und zeigen, dass in der DDR schon vor 50 Jahren Männer die Kinderbetreuung übernahmen, um ihren Frauen eine Qualifizierung zu ermöglichen usw. Im Sport gab es Doping, der erste Fall wird ausführlich dokumentiert und das System wird kritisiert, aber es gab auch überlegene Leistungen in Bereichen, in denen nicht gedopt werden konnte. Gerade der Sport konnte so zur Identifikation der Bürger mit ihrem Staat beitragen.
Hoyers Leistung besteht darin, ganz an dieser "Linie" orientiert das langsame Hineinwachsen einer Generation der am Ende des Krieges oder in der DDR Geborenen in "ihren Staat" und die Bedingungen dafür unideologisch- einfühlsam darzustellen, nach den Kipp- Punkten zu suchen und gegen Ende auch minutiös nachzuzeichnen, wie und warum es zunehmend zur Entfremdung der Bürger von Partei und Staat kam. Es ist also alles da und wer dem Buch Einseitigkeit vorwirft, kann sich nur von seinem Negativ- Bild nicht lösen, das keine Gründe, sondern nur Meinungen kennt. So meint man eben im Westen Deutschlands zu wissen, dass die Konsumgüter schlecht und der Kaffee knapp waren, was stimmt. Aber die meisten fragen nicht nach den Gründen, was heute mit dazu beitragen mag, dass "der Ossi" allzu oft als ein bisschen dumm und einfältig, auf jeden Fall aber als "nicht leistungsfähig" erscheint. Wer interessiert sich schon dafür, was die DDR an einseitigen Reparationsleistungen an die Sowjetunion erbracht hat, was das Sanktionsregime mit der chronischen Materialknappheit zu tun hatte, oder dass es die DDR war, die mit ihrem (durchaus im Eigeninteresse, aber eben doch solidarisch betriebenen) Projekt, in Vietnam den Kaffee- Anbau zu etablieren, das Land zum drittgrößten Kaffee- Produzenten der Welt gemacht hat? Hoyer macht neben den subjektiven Ursachen und den Mängeln einer Kommando- Planwirtschaft, die dennoch Erfolge zeitigte, völlig zu Recht auf die schlechten Rahmenbedingungen aufmerksam, unter denen findige DDR- Bürger in den 70er Jahren dennoch einen im Weltmaßstab ansehnlichen Wohlstand und wissenschaftlich- technische Höchstleistungen erbrachten. Deutlich wird, dass diese - wesentlich dem fortschrittlichen Bildungssystem geschuldeten - menschlichen Ressourcen in den 80er Jahren ans Ende ihrer Möglichkeiten kamen. Ohne Anschluss an den Weltmarkt, den Honecker versuchte, die UdSSR allerdings hintertrieb, war keine wirtschaftliche Weiterentwicklung möglich, woran die DDR letztlich ganz objektiv gescheitert ist, obwohl sie von vielen ihrer Bürger/innen als "ihr Werk" anerkannt wurde, auf das sie auch stolz waren.
Damit ist das Buch eine Ostdeutsche aufbauende, den interessierten Westdeutschen womöglich mit einer anderen Sichtweise konfrontierende und bereichernde Lektüre, die überdies hervorragend geeignet ist, die jüngere Generation mit diesem Teil gesamtdeutscher (!) Geschichte vertraut zu machen. Dem Buch ist also eine zahlreiche Leserschaft zu wünschen und vielleicht wird ja auch aus den Diskussionen um das Für und Wider der These, man hätte auch in der DDR glücklich sein können, ein neues und in Teilen realistischeres Geschichtsbild der Zeit von 1945 bis 1990. Ich hoffe es und empfehle das Buch in diesem Sinne ganz uneingeschränkt zum Lesen, Erinnern und Nachdenken.
Dieser empörte Aufschrei ignoriert bewusst die vielen Zeugnisse, die negative Erfahrungen thematisieren und übergeht den Anspruch der Autorin, zunächst einmal verstehen zu wollen und erst dann zu verurteilen, was nicht zu rechtfertigen war und ist. Von daher ist die Lektüre die ideale Ergänzung zu Oschmanns "Der Osten ist eine westdeutsche Erfindung", denn es zeigt sich in den Diskussionen um Hoyers Buch das von Oschmann ausdrücklich thematisierte Phänomen, dass eine nationalsozialistische Vergangenheit, die Mitgliedschaft in der NSDAP, der SS oder der NS- Richterschaft in Nachkriegswestdeutschland kein besonderer Grund zur Empörung waren und bis heute selbstverständlich zum "Geschichtsbild West" dazugehören, während die Skandalisierung der Mitgliedschaft in einer DDR- Partei oder Massenorganisation nach wie vor so üblich ist, dass viele Ostdeutsche meinen, sich ihres in der DDR gelebten Lebens schämen und sich rechtfertigen zu müssen, wo das Pendent in der NS- Zeit häufig mit einem Schulterzucken ("war eben so", "konnte man ja nichts machen" usw.) übergangen wird. In den SM wird zudem häufig kritisiert, dass Hoyer "Errungenschaften" der DDR herausstellt (Brechung des Bildungsprivilegs, Emanzipation und ausgebautes System der Kinderbetreuung, Leistungen im Sport usw.), die in der offiziellen Medien- Version nie ohne ein "Aber" vorkommen. Dieses "Aber" zerlegt Hoyer, indem sie Menschen zu Wort kommen lässt, die etwa ihre Emanzipationserfahrung positiv darstellen und zeigen, dass in der DDR schon vor 50 Jahren Männer die Kinderbetreuung übernahmen, um ihren Frauen eine Qualifizierung zu ermöglichen usw. Im Sport gab es Doping, der erste Fall wird ausführlich dokumentiert und das System wird kritisiert, aber es gab auch überlegene Leistungen in Bereichen, in denen nicht gedopt werden konnte. Gerade der Sport konnte so zur Identifikation der Bürger mit ihrem Staat beitragen.
Hoyers Leistung besteht darin, ganz an dieser "Linie" orientiert das langsame Hineinwachsen einer Generation der am Ende des Krieges oder in der DDR Geborenen in "ihren Staat" und die Bedingungen dafür unideologisch- einfühlsam darzustellen, nach den Kipp- Punkten zu suchen und gegen Ende auch minutiös nachzuzeichnen, wie und warum es zunehmend zur Entfremdung der Bürger von Partei und Staat kam. Es ist also alles da und wer dem Buch Einseitigkeit vorwirft, kann sich nur von seinem Negativ- Bild nicht lösen, das keine Gründe, sondern nur Meinungen kennt. So meint man eben im Westen Deutschlands zu wissen, dass die Konsumgüter schlecht und der Kaffee knapp waren, was stimmt. Aber die meisten fragen nicht nach den Gründen, was heute mit dazu beitragen mag, dass "der Ossi" allzu oft als ein bisschen dumm und einfältig, auf jeden Fall aber als "nicht leistungsfähig" erscheint. Wer interessiert sich schon dafür, was die DDR an einseitigen Reparationsleistungen an die Sowjetunion erbracht hat, was das Sanktionsregime mit der chronischen Materialknappheit zu tun hatte, oder dass es die DDR war, die mit ihrem (durchaus im Eigeninteresse, aber eben doch solidarisch betriebenen) Projekt, in Vietnam den Kaffee- Anbau zu etablieren, das Land zum drittgrößten Kaffee- Produzenten der Welt gemacht hat? Hoyer macht neben den subjektiven Ursachen und den Mängeln einer Kommando- Planwirtschaft, die dennoch Erfolge zeitigte, völlig zu Recht auf die schlechten Rahmenbedingungen aufmerksam, unter denen findige DDR- Bürger in den 70er Jahren dennoch einen im Weltmaßstab ansehnlichen Wohlstand und wissenschaftlich- technische Höchstleistungen erbrachten. Deutlich wird, dass diese - wesentlich dem fortschrittlichen Bildungssystem geschuldeten - menschlichen Ressourcen in den 80er Jahren ans Ende ihrer Möglichkeiten kamen. Ohne Anschluss an den Weltmarkt, den Honecker versuchte, die UdSSR allerdings hintertrieb, war keine wirtschaftliche Weiterentwicklung möglich, woran die DDR letztlich ganz objektiv gescheitert ist, obwohl sie von vielen ihrer Bürger/innen als "ihr Werk" anerkannt wurde, auf das sie auch stolz waren.
Damit ist das Buch eine Ostdeutsche aufbauende, den interessierten Westdeutschen womöglich mit einer anderen Sichtweise konfrontierende und bereichernde Lektüre, die überdies hervorragend geeignet ist, die jüngere Generation mit diesem Teil gesamtdeutscher (!) Geschichte vertraut zu machen. Dem Buch ist also eine zahlreiche Leserschaft zu wünschen und vielleicht wird ja auch aus den Diskussionen um das Für und Wider der These, man hätte auch in der DDR glücklich sein können, ein neues und in Teilen realistischeres Geschichtsbild der Zeit von 1945 bis 1990. Ich hoffe es und empfehle das Buch in diesem Sinne ganz uneingeschränkt zum Lesen, Erinnern und Nachdenken.
September 29, 2024
Muurin takana on oikeastaan DDR:n elämäkerta, ja vielä laajennettu sellainen: se kertoo kronologisessa järjestyksessä sen, miksi DDR syntyi ja millainen sen vähän yli nelikymmenvuotinen elämä oli. DDR:n perusta valettiin jo ensimmäisessä maailmansodassa, mikä oli itselleni uutta, kun taas sen perustamisvaiheet toisessa maailmansodassa ja esimerkiksi Berliinin muurin tarina on kerrattu hyvin jo koulun historianopetuksessa. Sitä en ollut hahmottanut, että DDR tunnustettiin valtiona vasta 1970-luvulla. Valtion loppuvaiheet olivat jo omaa lapsuuttani/nuoruuttani.
Parasta tässä tuhdissa tietokirjassa onkin se, kuinka se kokoaa yksiin kansiin DDR:n kehityksen niin, että lukija saa siitä hyvä kokonaiskuvan. DDR:n kahden valtahahmon, Walter Ulbrichtin ja Erich Honeckerin ideologiat ja merkitys omalle maalleen tulevat myös hyvin esille. Kirjalle on kunniaksi myös se, että se ei keskity DDR:n tunnetuimpiin puoliin kuten Stasiin tai systemaattiseen dopingohjelmaan, vaan kuvaa laajemmin Saksan demokraattisen tasavallan ideologian vaikutuksia koko kansaan ja kertoo, miten ideologian suosio aaltoili vuosikymmenten kuluessa niin sisä- kuin ulkopoliittisista tekijöistä johtuen. Joskus suosion lisäämiseen riitti merkkifarkkujen subventointi.
Itselleni haastavinta oli kirjailijan tekemä valinta, jossa jokainen kappale alkoi jonkun henkilön omalla kokemuksella. Ymmärrän ajatuksen nivoa suuret tapahtumat osaksi arkipäivää, mutta mielestäni itse valtion tarina olisi kantanut kirjaa selkeämmin, ja olisin keskittynyt siihen. Henkilökokemukset olisivat hyvin voineet esiintyä tekstin lomassa muutoin kuin jakson avaajina. Joka tapauksessa kirja on hieno kokonaisuus ja suositeltavaa luettavaa kaikille Euroopan lähihistoriasta kiinnostuneille.
Parasta tässä tuhdissa tietokirjassa onkin se, kuinka se kokoaa yksiin kansiin DDR:n kehityksen niin, että lukija saa siitä hyvä kokonaiskuvan. DDR:n kahden valtahahmon, Walter Ulbrichtin ja Erich Honeckerin ideologiat ja merkitys omalle maalleen tulevat myös hyvin esille. Kirjalle on kunniaksi myös se, että se ei keskity DDR:n tunnetuimpiin puoliin kuten Stasiin tai systemaattiseen dopingohjelmaan, vaan kuvaa laajemmin Saksan demokraattisen tasavallan ideologian vaikutuksia koko kansaan ja kertoo, miten ideologian suosio aaltoili vuosikymmenten kuluessa niin sisä- kuin ulkopoliittisista tekijöistä johtuen. Joskus suosion lisäämiseen riitti merkkifarkkujen subventointi.
Itselleni haastavinta oli kirjailijan tekemä valinta, jossa jokainen kappale alkoi jonkun henkilön omalla kokemuksella. Ymmärrän ajatuksen nivoa suuret tapahtumat osaksi arkipäivää, mutta mielestäni itse valtion tarina olisi kantanut kirjaa selkeämmin, ja olisin keskittynyt siihen. Henkilökokemukset olisivat hyvin voineet esiintyä tekstin lomassa muutoin kuin jakson avaajina. Joka tapauksessa kirja on hieno kokonaisuus ja suositeltavaa luettavaa kaikille Euroopan lähihistoriasta kiinnostuneille.
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October 30, 2024Fantastic!! Loved the interviews with Germans about their daily mundane lives in the GDR. Lots of random Angela Merkel facts, lol
September 13, 2025
Genialna podróż i wnikliwie przeprowadzone badanie nad historią podzielonych Niemiec. Wstrząsająca, szczera, przesączona informacjami. Nie przedstawiona samymi faktami, niesie w sobie autentyczne historie obywateli NRD. To boli najbardziej - współczucie do blokad Niemców i całego bloku wschodniego. Kolejny tytuł który dokumentuje działanie Rosji, niepielęgnującej nawet terenów, które chce uznawać za swoje.
May 27, 2024
Four stars, as the book flowed well, and it was easy to keep reading. Katja writes well - clearly and briefly. Also, she focuses on the everyday life in East Germany, which makes it so much more enjoyable in comparison to, say, in depth overview of the political system of East Germany. Coming from Estonia, the book is almost a revelation. I have never thought of East Germany as to having a very similar background to Estonia. While we were under the full Soviet influence and East Germany was economically and industrially more advanced, then there still are so many similarities - essentially both places were closed systems between 1945 - 1990.
The system in East Germany was set up by communists who emigrated to Moscow, and managed to survive Stalin's purges there. To survive, you had to abdicate any principles you had. Thus, the people running East Germany were not some heartfelt socialists or Marxists, but cunning politicians who had the ability to survive.
I am still stunned that the attitudes of East Germany are relatively positive towards Russians. As the II World War was coming to an end, the mass crimes, rape and pillaging that Russian forces conducted across Germany were simply horrific. How on earth there are no deeply negative emotions against this period is beyond me. Some 60% of industrial equipment was carried out of the country. The human toll cannot be measured. It was a clean slate from which East Germany started. When the building of the nation begun, it was the Soviet Union which was the only "ally" that they had - after all the crimes they had committed. Strange relationship between the two, to say the least.
Katja mostly focuses on the everyday life and approach of the majority of the people who lived in East Germany. For many, peace and stability were of utmost importance. The fact that these came with severe restrictions in terms of travel and political freedoms were almost acceptable. At least, this is the sense I get from the book. East Germany might have been industrially weak, but there were some genuine positive socialist tendencies: high employment of women (almost all of women worked), as childcare was provided by the country. Basic necessities were covered for all. No one had much, but likewise, almost nobody was left with nothing.
Yet again, this was in case you were politically inactive, and part of the grey matter in "the system". A common criticism against this book is that while it does state that the system was "brutal" due to the Stasi presence, then it is never quite clear how long the tentacles of the Stasi went. For example, how can we compare the lack of freedom in the Soviet Union against the lack of freedom in East Germany? If the restrictions and randomly handed-out heavy penalties were similar in East Germany, then I would almost like to flush down the toilet the argument that "people had their basic necessities covered" and hence, the system worked for most.
In any case, the book is an important one because we tend to forget that such a substantial part of the largest country and economy in Europe used to be a socialist experiment. The aftershocks of this experiment still live with us today, in the attitudes of the people, and their current economic situaton.
The system in East Germany was set up by communists who emigrated to Moscow, and managed to survive Stalin's purges there. To survive, you had to abdicate any principles you had. Thus, the people running East Germany were not some heartfelt socialists or Marxists, but cunning politicians who had the ability to survive.
I am still stunned that the attitudes of East Germany are relatively positive towards Russians. As the II World War was coming to an end, the mass crimes, rape and pillaging that Russian forces conducted across Germany were simply horrific. How on earth there are no deeply negative emotions against this period is beyond me. Some 60% of industrial equipment was carried out of the country. The human toll cannot be measured. It was a clean slate from which East Germany started. When the building of the nation begun, it was the Soviet Union which was the only "ally" that they had - after all the crimes they had committed. Strange relationship between the two, to say the least.
Katja mostly focuses on the everyday life and approach of the majority of the people who lived in East Germany. For many, peace and stability were of utmost importance. The fact that these came with severe restrictions in terms of travel and political freedoms were almost acceptable. At least, this is the sense I get from the book. East Germany might have been industrially weak, but there were some genuine positive socialist tendencies: high employment of women (almost all of women worked), as childcare was provided by the country. Basic necessities were covered for all. No one had much, but likewise, almost nobody was left with nothing.
Yet again, this was in case you were politically inactive, and part of the grey matter in "the system". A common criticism against this book is that while it does state that the system was "brutal" due to the Stasi presence, then it is never quite clear how long the tentacles of the Stasi went. For example, how can we compare the lack of freedom in the Soviet Union against the lack of freedom in East Germany? If the restrictions and randomly handed-out heavy penalties were similar in East Germany, then I would almost like to flush down the toilet the argument that "people had their basic necessities covered" and hence, the system worked for most.
In any case, the book is an important one because we tend to forget that such a substantial part of the largest country and economy in Europe used to be a socialist experiment. The aftershocks of this experiment still live with us today, in the attitudes of the people, and their current economic situaton.
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