Friendly Enemies

Britain and the GDR, 1949-1990
1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84545-697-9
Verlag: Berghahn Books

Buch, Englisch, 400 Seiten, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 766 g

During the Cold War, Britain had an astonishing number of contacts and connections with one of the Soviet Bloc’s most hard-line regimes: the German Democratic Republic. The left wing of the British Labour Party and the Trade Unions often had closer ties with communist East Germany than the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). There were strong connections between the East German and British churches, women’s movements, and peace movements; influential conservative politicians and the Communist leadership in the GDR had working relationships; and lucrative contracts existed between business leaders in Britain and their counterparts in East Germany. Based on their extensive knowledge of the documentary sources, the authors provide the first comprehensive study of Anglo-East German relations in this surprisingly under-researched field. They examine the complex motivations underlying different political groups’ engagement with the GDR, and offer new and interesting insights into British political culture during the Cold War.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Berger, Stefan

Laporte, Norman

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Deutsche Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen Diplomatie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of tables

List of Abbreviations

Preface

Introduction: Britain and the other Germany

Chapter 1. negotiating the Emergence of two Germanys. British–GDR relations in the Context of the Evolution of the Post-war Political order, 1945–1955

Chapter 2. From sovereignty to recognition, 1955–1973

Chapter 3. Normalisation of relations and new Beginnings, 1973–1979

Chapter 4. From the second Cold War to the Collapse of the GDR, 1979–1990

Conclusion: Britain and the GDR 1949–1990

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Berger, Stefan
Stefan Berger is Professor of Social History and Director of the Institute for Social Movements at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Between 2003 and 2008 he directed the European Science Foundation Programme on ‘Representations of the Past. The Writing of National Histories in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Europe’ (NHIST). He has published widely in the areas of historiography, national identity and labour history.

Laporte, Norman
Norman LaPorte is Reader in History at the University of South Wales. He has published widely on German and comparative communism as well as British-East German relations, including The German Communist Party in Saxony. 1924–1933 (Peter Lang, 2003). He is a co-founding editor of the journal Twentieth Century Communism.

Stefan Berger is Professor of Social History and Director of the Institute for Social Movements at Ruhr-Universität Bochum. Between 2003 and 2008 he directed the European Science Foundation Programme on ‘Representations of the Past. The Writing of National Histories in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Europe’ (NHIST). He has published widely in the areas of historiography, national identity and labour history.