Dissolution: The Crisis of Communism and the End of East Germany

461 Pages·2001·2.708 MB·English

by  Charles S. Maier

This page intentionally left blank
THE CRISIS OF COMMUNISM
AND THE END OF EAST GERMANY
Charles S. Maier
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright©1997byPrincetonUniversityPress
PublishedbyPrincetonUniversityPress,41WilliamStreet,
Princeton,NewJersey08540
IntheUnitedKingdom:PrincetonUniversityPress,Chichester,WestSussex
AllRightsReserved
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Maier,CharlesS.
Dissolution:ThecrisisofCommunismandtheendof
EastGermany/CharlesS.Maier.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
eISBN 1-4008-0504-X
1.Germany(East)—Politicsandgovernment—1989–1990.
2.Communism—Germany(East). 3.SozialistischeEinheitsparteiDeutschlands.
4.Germany—History—Unification,1990. 5.Opposition(Politicalscience)—
Germany(East). I.Title.
DD289.M34 1997 943.1087′8—dc21 96-39995 CIP
ThisbookhasbeencomposedinBerkeleywithBenguiatDisplay
FOR PAULINE
This page intentionally left blank
No great historical event is better calculated ... to teach political
writers and statesmen to be cautious in their speculations; for never
wasanysuchevent,stemmingfromfactorssofarbackinthepast,so
inevitable yet so completely unforeseen.... Was the phenomenon in
fact so extraordinary as contemporaries supposed? ... What was its
true significance, its real nature, and what were the permanent ef-
fectsofthisstrangeandterrifyingrevolution?Whatexactlydiditde-
stroy, and what did it create? I believe that the time has come when
these questions can be answered; that today we are in a position to
see this memorable event in its true perspective and pass judgment
on it. For we now are far enough from the Revolution to be rela-
tively unaffected by the frenzied enthusiasm of those who saw it
through; yet near enough to be able to enter into the feelings of its
promoters and to see what they were aiming at. Soon it will be
difficult to do this; since when great revolutions are successful their
causesceasetoexistandtheveryfactoftheirsuccesshasmadethem
incomprehensible.
—AlexisdeTocqueville,TheOldRegimeandtheFrenchRevolution
This page intentionally left blank
Contents
Preface xi
ChapterOne. LosingFaith 3
BelieversandVictims 3
RealExistingSocialism 22
Privilege,Secrecy,andComplicity 32
ATetheredConsciousness 52
ChapterTwo. TheEconomicCollapse 59
TheDebtCrisisandtheContradictionsof
Comecon 59
TheCostsofComputerization 73
RetreatfromReform:StateSocialismin
Retrospect 78
TheArchaeologyofCoalandSteel 97
ChapterThree. TheAutumn Upheaval 108
Prologue:ARevolutioninGermany 108
DecompositionandFlight 120
TwoLanguagesofRevolution 131
MondayNightsinLeipzig 135
Berlin:RulersandRuled 146
ChapterFour. ProtagonistsoftheTransition 168
NewForumsandRoundTables 169
Redeeming“CivilSociety” 185
PoliticalPartiesandtheElectionsofMarch18,
1990 195