The dramatic fall of the Berlin Wall symbolised the end to the division not only of Germany, but of Europe, into opposed ideological, political, economic and military blocs, and has prompted a large literature. The titles below give weight to the role of civil resistance.
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C. I.2.c.iii. German Democratic Republic
Volume One -> C. Popular Resistance in Communist Regimes -> C. I. The Soviet Bloc -> C. I.2. The Soviet Bloc 1980 to 1991 -> C. I.2.c. The Revolutions of 1989-90 -> C. I.2.c.iii. German Democratic Republic
Bleiker, Roland, Nonviolent Struggle and the Revolution in East Germany, Cambridge MA, Albert Einstein Institution, 1993, pp. 53
Dale, Gareth, The East German Revolution of 1989, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2007, pp. 252
Eye-witness stresses the role of civic groups and the increasing radicalisation of workers and technicians, and engages critically with other interpretations of the revolution. See also his earlier book, , Popular Protest in East Germany 1945-1989 London, Frank Cass, , 2004, pp. 256 .
Hirschmann, Albert O., Exit, voice and the fate of the German Democratic Republic, World Politics, Vol. 45, issue Jan., 1993, pp. 172-202
Much cited conceptual analysis contrasting the movement of emigration through Hungary to the West and the internal resistance.
Joppke, Christian, East German Dissidents and the Revolution of 1989: Social Movements in a Leninist Regime, New York, New York University Press, 1995, pp. 277
Maier, Charles S., Dissolution: The Crisis of Communism and the End of East Germany, Princeton NJ, Princeton University Press, 1997, pp. 464
Drawing on newly released Party and Stasi archives, Maier analyses the 40 years of East German history, and charts both the growth of dissent (for example the autonomous peace campaigns and youth culture) in the 1980s, and the systemic decline of the regime due to economic crisis and corruption at the top. See also: Maier, ‘Civil Resistance and Civil Society: Lessons from the Collapse of the German Democratic Republic in 1989’, in Roberts; Garton Ash, Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present (A. 1.b. Strategic Theory, Dynamics, Methods and Movements) , pp. 260-76.
Mueller, Carol, Claim “Radicalization?” The 1989 Protest Cycle in the GDR, Social Problems, Vol. 46, issue 4 (November), 1999, pp. 528-547
Opp, Karl-Dieter ; Voss, Peter, Origins of a Spontaneous Revolution: East Germany 1989, Ann Arbor MI, University of Michigan Press, 1995, pp. 280
Study based on fieldwork interviewing various actors.
The online version of Vol. 1 of the bibliography was made possible due to the generous support of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC). ICNC is an independent, non-profit educational foundation that develops and encourages the study and use of civilian-based, nonmilitary strategies aimed at establishing and defending human rights, democratic self-rule and justice worldwide.
For more information about ICNC, please see their website.
The online version of Vol. 2 of the bibliography was made possible due to the generous support of The Network for Social Change. The Network for Social Change is a group of individuals providing funding for progressive social change, particularly in the areas of justice, peace and the environment.
For more information about The Network for Social Change, please visit their website.
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