Between Reform and Revolution: German Socialism and Communism from 1840 to 1990

by David E. Barclay (Editor), Eric D. Weitz (Editor)

Overview

The powerful impact of Socialism and Communism on modern German history is the theme which is explored by the contributors to this volume. Whereas previous investigations have tended to focus on political, intellectual and biographical aspects, this book captures, for the first time, the methodological and thematic diversity and richness of current work on the history of the German working class and the political movements that emerged from it. Based on original contributions from U.S., British, and German scholars, this collection address a wide range of themes and problems.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571811202
Publisher:	Berghahn Books
Publication date:	09/01/2005
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	596
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

David E. Barclay is Professor of History and Director of the Center for Western European Studies, Kalamazoo College.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations

Introduction
David E. Barclay and Eric D. Weitz

Chapter 1. Diagnosing the “German Misery”: Radicalism and the Problem of National Character, 1830 to 1848
Warren Breckman

Chapter 2. Working—Class Politics at the Crossroads of Conservatism, Liberalism, and Socialism
Hermann Beck

Chapter 3. The Lassallean Labor Movement in Germany: Organization, Social Structure, and Associational Life in the 1860s
Toni Offermann

Chapter 4. Bürger and Workers: Liberalism and the Labor Movement in Germany, 1848 to 1914
Ralf Roth

Chapter 5. “Genossen und Genossinnen”: Depictions of Gender, Militancy, and Organizing in the German Socialist Press, 1890—1914
Mary Jo Maynes

Chapter 6. The Social Democratic Electorate in Imperial Germany
Jonathan Sperber

Chapter 7. Latent Reformism and Socialist Utopia: The SPD in Göttingen, 1890 to 1920
Adelheid von Saldern

Chapter 8. A Social Republic? Social Democrats, Communists, and the Weimar Welfare State, 1919 to 1933
David F. Crew

Chapter 9. The Iron Front: Weimar Social Democracy between Tradition and Modernity
Donna Harsch

Chapter 10. Communism and the Public Spheres of Weimar Germany
Eric D. Weitz

Chapter 11. The Rise and Fall of Red Saxony
William Carl Mathews

Chapter 12. Cultural Socialism, the Public Sphere, and the Mass Form: Popular Culture and the Democratic Project, 1900 to 1934
Geoff Eley

Chapter 13. The Social Origins of Unity Sentiments in the German Socialist Underground, 1933 to 1936
Gerd—Rainer Horn

Chapter 14. Communist Resistance between Comintern Directives and Nazi Terror
Beatrix Herlemann

Chapter 15. Rethinking Social Democracy, the State, and Europe: Rudolf Hilferding in Exile, 1933 to 1941
David E. Barclay

Chapter 16. Ordnungsmacht and Mitbestimmung: The Postwar Labor Unions and the Politics of Reconstruction
Diethelm Prowe

Chapter 17. The Soviets, the German Left, and the Problem of “Sectarianism” in the Eastern Zone, 1945 to 1949
Norman Naimark

Chapter 18. Pronatalism, Nationbuilding, and Socialism: Population Policy in the SBZ/DDR, 1945 to 1960
Atina Grossmann

Chapter 19. German Social Democracy and European Unification, 1945 to 1955
Dietrich Orlow

Chapter 20. The Politics of Culture and the Culture of Everyday Life in the DDR in the 1950s
Anna—Sabine Ernst

Chapter 21. Social Democratic Gender Policies, the Working—Class Milieu, and the Culture of Domesticity in West
Germany in the 1950s and 1960s
Hanna Schissler

Chapter 22. Is the SPD Still a Labor Party? From “Community of Solidarity” to “Loosely Coupled Anarchy”
Peter Lösche

Chapter 23. Good—bye to All That: The Passing of German Communism and the Rise of a New New Left
Eric D. Weitz

Selective Bibliography
List of Contributors
Index

Editorial Reviews

"... a rich, complex, authoritative, scholarly survey of Germany's socialist heritage." The Midwest Book Review

"Can twenty-three essays present the history of German socialism and communism, as well as those movements' members, supporters, and policies in the context of social history? This fine collection comes close to achieving that difficult task ... A very high quality work." Central European History

"Certainly the best collection of essays on the SPD and KPD ... The editors and contributors ... have provided fresh intrepretations ... and have set a high standard for present and future scholars." H-Net Reviews

From the Publisher

Twenty-three chapters by American, British, and German scholars explore the meanings of German socialism and communism from a variety of methodical and thematic perspectives often influenced by feminist and poststructuralist theories. Among the topics explored are: the Lassallean labor movement; depictions of gender, militancy, and organizing in the German socialist press at the turn of the century; communism and the public spheres of Weimar Germany; cultural socialism, popular culture, mass media, and the democratic project, 1900-1934; unity sentiments in the socialist underground, 1933-1936; population policy in the DDR, 1945-1960; the post-war labor unions and the politics of reconstruction; communist resistance between Comintern directives and Nazi terror; and the passing of German communism and the rise of a new New Left. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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