The Fall of the GDR by David Childs

The Fall of the GDR by David Childs

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Summary

This meticulous and authoritative review of the collapse of the GDR uses first-hand interview material with a number of the leading figures to provide a detailed account and analysis of the collapse of East Germany. Suitable for 2nd and 3rd year students of German politics, contemporary history and the Cold War.

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The Fall of the GDR by David Childs

The book charts the dramatic months leading to one of the most profound changes of the 20th century, the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the restoration of German unity in 1990. The author analyses the nature of Communist rule in the GDR over 40 years, its few strengths and its many weaknesses, and the myths which grew up around it. This book places the GDR in its international setting as the proud ally of the Soviet Union in the Warsaw Pact. It examines the reactions abroad to the unfolding revolution. The text is based on a wide variety of written sources and many interviews with leading Communist figures, such as Krenz and Modrow, and with their opponents and successors, and former Stasi officers and the dissidents they tried to crush. It greatly benefits from the author's decades of involvement with East Germany, including personal friendships there, before 1989 and his eye-witness accounts of many of the events during Die Wende. It should be of interest not only to students of German politics, contemporary history and the Cold War, but to all who are curious about the momentous times through which we have lived.

"a well-written narrative history..should be read by anyone who is interested in the decline and fall of communism" Contemporary Review, vol. 281, no. 1638, July 2002

David Childs is Professor of German Politics at the University of Nottingham.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9780582315693
ISBN 10 0582315697
Title The Fall of the GDR
Author David Childs
Series Themes In Modern German History
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Paperback
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Year published 2001-02-19
Number of pages 206
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.