Dictatorship as Experience: Towards a Socio-Cultural History of the GDR

A decade after the collapse of communism, this volume presents a historical reflection on the perplexing nature of the East German dictatorship. In contrast to most political rhetoric, it seeks to establish a middle ground between totalitarianism theory, stressing the repressive features of the SED regime, and apologetics of the socialist experiment, emphasizing the normality of daily lives.

The book transcends the polarization of public debate by delineating the tensions and contradictions...