The Freest Country in the World: East Germany's Final Year in Culture and Memory

Stephen Brockmann's new book explores the year 1989/1990 in East Germany, arguing that it was the freest country in the world due to the disappearance of the dictatorship and the welfare system remaining. He examines the culture of the period through media, semiautobiographical novels, dramatic films, and monuments and memorials, and considers the implications for the present day.

Format: Hardback
Length: 352 pages
Publication date: 20 June 2023
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd

While the GDR is often perceived as an oppressive and unfree country, particularly during its forty-year existence, a new book by Stephen Brockmann challenges this notion. Brockmann's work explores the year 1989/1990 in East Germany, arguing that during this period, the GDR was actually the freest country in the world. This surprising claim is supported by the fact that the dictatorship had disappeared, while the welfare system remained intact.

The standard narrative of the collapse of the GDR and the reunification of Germany as a triumph of Western democracy and capitalism has obscured the truth about the final months of the GDR. Brockmann aims to rectify this by examining various media from that year, particularly film documentaries. He highlights punk culture and the rise of neo-Nazism and the Antifa movement, which are often overlooked in accounts of the period.

In addition to analyzing media, Brockmann also analyzes three later semiautobiographical novels about the 1989/1990 period. These novels provide a deeper understanding of the cultural and political landscape of that time. Brockmann devotes chapters to dramatic films dealing with German reunification made relatively soon after the event, as well as to more recent film and television depictions of the period.

The final chapter of the book looks at monuments and memorials of the 1989/1990 period, providing a visual representation of the events and emotions of that time. In conclusion, Brockmann's book sheds light on a period of history that is often overlooked and misunderstood. It challenges the conventional narrative of the collapse of the GDR and demonstrates that the final months of the GDR were a time of great freedom and cultural vitality. The book's findings have important implications for the present day, as we continue to grapple with the legacy of the Cold War and the challenges of democracy and capitalism in the 21st century.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781640141544