This book contrasts three very different incarnations of Germany – the totalitarian Third Reich, the communist German Democratic Republic, and the democratic Federal Republic of Germany up to 1990 – in terms of their experiences with and responses to nonconformity, dissent, opposition, and resistance and the role played by those factors in each case. Although even innocent nonconformity came with a price in all three systems and in the post-war occupation zones, the price was the highest in Nazi Germany. . It is worth stressing that what qualifies as nonconformity and dissent depends on the social and political context and, thus, changes over time. Like those in active dissent, opposition, or resistance, nonconformists are rebels (whether they are conscious of it or not), and have repeatedly played a role in pushing for change, whether through reform of legislation, transformation of the public’s attitudes, or even regime change.
Author(s): Sabrina P. Ramet
Edition: 2020
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2020
Language: English
Pages: 279
Preface
Pronunciation of German Vowels and Consonants
Contents
About the Author
Acronyms
List of Maps
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Introduction: The Freedom to Conform
National Identity and Conformity
The Argument in This Book
Chapter 2: Nazi Germany, 1933–1945: Nonconformity as “Degeneration”
The Nazi State
Race—The Foundation of the Nazi Understanding of National Identity
Reconstructing National Identity
Madagascar or Palestine?
Other “Life Unworthy of Life”
The Lebensborn Program
From Ghettos to Genocide
The Holocaust
Nonconformity in the Third Reich
Dissent and Opposition in the Religious Sphere
Protestant Opposition in Bavaria
The Assault on Religious Instruction
Protests by the Holy See and Bishops of Both Major Christian Churches
Further Protests
Policing Sexuality and Youth
Women and Marriage
Organizing the Youth
Repressing “Unnatural” Desire
German Identity and the Arts
The Struggle Against Degenerate Art
The Struggle Against Degenerate Music
From Opposition to Resistance
Conclusion
Chapter 3: Democratic Reconstruction Under Allied Occupation, 1945–1949: Neither Tradition nor “Degeneration”
Denazification
The Nuremberg Trials
Dismissals of Nazis
Pro-Nazi Sentiments in Society at Large
Demilitarization
Reeducation and Culture Change
Democratization
Imposing Democracy by Undemocratic Means?
Dissent Among Catholic Intellectuals
Conclusion
Chapter 4: The Soviet Occupation Zone, 1945–1949: Building New Structures of Conformity
The Transformation of Justice and Administration
Reparations and Expropriations
The SED and the Bloc Parties
The Establishment of the SED
Opposition from the CDU
Denazification
Schools and Religion
The Educational Sector
Religion and the Churches
The Status of Women
Art and Music
Reconstructing Political Culture
Conclusion
Chapter 5: The German Democratic Republic, 1949–1990: Conformity as Alienation
Constructing a New East German Identity
Political Abrenzung
The June 1953 Uprising
Internal Opposition, Act I
Internal Opposition, Acts 2 and 3
Defining the Limits of Nonconformity
Weaning Youth from Religion
Nonconformists in Gender Roles
Political Dissent and Cultural Nonconformity
Political Dissent
Robert Havemann
Wolf Biermann
Rudolf Bahro
The Struggle over Culture
Formalists and Other Deviants in Pictorial Art
The Struggle Against Nonconformity in Orchestral Music
Jazz and Rock
Fiction
Reiner Kunze
Christa Wolf
Children’s Literature
The Illusion of Stability
The Failure of Nation-Building, the Triumph of Nonconformity, and Dissent—A Conclusion
Chapter 6: West Germany, 1949–1990: Nonconformity as Alienation
Building a New State
Neo-Nazis and Anti-Semites
Crafting a New State for a Reconstructed Nation
The Weight of the Recent Past
From Adenauer to Kiesinger
Arenas of Noncompliance and Obstruction
Feminist and Gay Dissent
Nonconformity in Art
Political Dissent and Opposition
Hard-left Resistance
The Social Democrats in Power, 1969–1982
German Identity in Play: The Historikerstreit
Toward the Reunification of Germany
Conclusion
Chapter 7: Conclusion
Further Reading
The Third Reich
Occupation Zones
The German Democratic Republic
West Germany
Index
