Debbie Pinfold

Anna Saunders

More than twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, memories of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) remain complex and controversial. As new generations come of age, not only do the political, social and cultural parameters of remembrance shift accordingly, but so too do the forms of media used to transmit these memories. This volume explores the different ways in which the GDR has been remembered since its demise in 1989/90, and asks how memory of this state continues to impact on contemporary Germany. The chapters offer multiple perspectives on the GDR, examining the way memories have been expressed in and shaped by literature, film, music, museums, monuments, historical narratives, commemorative events and everyday discourse concerning the GDR. In resisting monolithic readings of the GDR, the volume offers new insights into the complex relationship between past and present in eastern Germany.

Multiple Perspectives and Plural Authenticities

Remembering and Rethinking the GDR

Ruth Whittle

The German Revolution of 1848-49 offered a significant literary opportunity for all those interested in politics in general and the progress of women in society in particular. This book explores the work of a number of women who took up the challenge of breaking into the decidedly male preserve of political writing in this period. The focus is on women with very different concerns: Malwida von Meysenbug, the aristocrat who supported the democratic cause, the assimilated Jew Fanny Lewald; the housewife, musician, composer and teacher Johanna Kinkel; and the radical feminist Louise Aston. The work examines the strategies these women employed to negotiate potentially explosive issues such as the politics of the day, class, religion and gender, as well as the way traditional images like the father-child relationship are exploited to express new thoughts. Using a combination of close textual reading and thematically based analysis the book illuminates the authors' individual works and explores underlying issues that are common to all.

Debbie Pinfold

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