The Collapse

The Collapse PDF

Author: Mary Sarotte

Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)

Published: 2014-10-07

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0465064949

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On the night of November 9, 1989, massive crowds surged toward the Berlin Wall, drawn by an announcement that caught the world by surprise: East Germans could now move freely to the West. The Wall—infamous symbol of divided Cold War Europe—seemed to be falling. But the opening of the gates that night was not planned by the East German ruling regime—nor was it the result of a bargain between either Ronald Reagan or George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. It was an accident. In The Collapse, prize-winning historian Mary Elise Sarotte reveals how a perfect storm of decisions made by daring underground revolutionaries, disgruntled Stasi officers, and dictatorial party bosses sparked an unexpected series of events culminating in the chaotic fall of the Wall. With a novelist’s eye for character and detail, she brings to vivid life a story that sweeps across Budapest, Prague, Dresden, and Leipzig and up to the armed checkpoints in Berlin. We meet the revolutionaries Roland Jahn, Aram Radomski, and Siggi Schefke, risking it all to smuggle the truth across the Iron Curtain; the hapless Politburo member Günter Schabowski, mistakenly suggesting that the Wall is open to a press conference full of foreign journalists, including NBC’s Tom Brokaw; and Stasi officer Harald Jäger, holding the fort at the crucial border crossing that night. Soon, Brokaw starts broadcasting live from Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, where the crowds are exulting in the euphoria of newfound freedom—and the dictators are plotting to restore control. Drawing on new archival sources and dozens of interviews, The Collapse offers the definitive account of the night that brought down the Berlin Wall.

After the Fall of the Wall

After the Fall of the Wall PDF

Author: Martin Diewald

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2006-09-26

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 9780804779456

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The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 was the beginning of one of the most interesting natural experiments in recent history. The East German transition from a Communist state to part of the Federal Republic of Germany abruptly created a new social order as old institutions were abolished and new counterparts imported. This unique situation provides an exceptional opportunity to examine the central tenets of life course sociology. The empirical chapters of this book draw a comprehensive picture of life course transformation, demonstrating how the combination of life course dynamics coupled with an extraordinary pace of system change affect individual lives. How much turbulence was created by the transition and how much stability was preserved? How did the qualifications and resources acquired before 1989 influence the fortunes in the restructured economy? How did the privatization and reorganization of firms impact individuals? Did the transformation experiences differ by age/cohort and gender? How stable were social networks at work and in the family? Were personality characteristics important mediators of post-1989 success or failure or were they rather changed by them? How specific were the East German life trajectories in comparison with Poland and West-Germany?

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Fall of the Berlin Wall PDF

Author: Jeffrey A. Engel

Publisher: OUP USA

Published: 2011-10

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 0199832447

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More than two decades after the Wall's collapse, this book brings together leading authorities who offer a fresh look at how leaders in four vital centers of world politics--the United States, the Soviet Union, Europe, and China--viewed the world in the aftermath of this momentous event. Jeffrey Engel contributes a chronological narrative of this tumultuous period, followed by substantive essays by Melvyn Leffler on the United States, Chen Jian on China, James Sheehan on Germany and Europe, and William Taubman and Svetlana Savranskaya on the Soviet Union.

After the Berlin Wall

After the Berlin Wall PDF

Author: Hope M. Harrison

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2019-09-26

Total Pages: 483

ISBN-13: 1107049318

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A revelatory history of the commemoration of the Berlin Wall and its significance in defining contemporary German national identity.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Fall of the Berlin Wall PDF

Author: Brian Williams

Publisher: Cherrytree Books

Published: 2007-02

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 9781842344071

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This series provides a quick-read introduction to key events in history. This volume looks at the removal of the Berlin Wall.

Don't Need No Thought Control

Don't Need No Thought Control PDF

Author: Gerd Horten

Publisher: Berghahn Books

Published: 2020-06-05

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 1789207347

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The fall of the Berlin Wall is typically understood as the culmination of political-economic trends that fatally weakened the East German state. Meanwhile, comparatively little attention has been paid to the cultural dimension of these dramatic events, particularly the role played by Western mass media and consumer culture. With a focus on the 1970s and 1980s, Don’t Need No Thought Control explores the dynamic interplay of popular unrest, intensifying economic crises, and cultural policies under Erich Honecker. It shows how the widespread influence of (and public demands for) Western cultural products forced GDR leaders into a series of grudging accommodations that undermined state power to a hitherto underappreciated extent.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Fall of the Berlin Wall PDF

Author: 50 minutes

Publisher: 50Minutes.com

Published: 2017-01-31

Total Pages: 43

ISBN-13: 2806279216

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Keen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the history of the Berlin Wall in next to no time with this concise guide. 50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of the fall of the Berlin Wall.When the Berlin Wall was built unexpectedly in 1961, it divided the city for 28 years, separating families and friends for almost three decades. The Wall was a symbol of the divisions in Germany and Europe that followed the Second World War as well as a reminder of the stringent Communist regime. The fall of the wall was, therefore, cause for huge celebration: families were reunited, East Berliners were finally free of the strict communist regime and the biggest symbol of the East-West divide had collapsed. In just 50 minutes you will: • Understand why the Berlin Wall was built and what its purpose was • Learn about the events leading up the fall of the Berlin Wall and how a miscommunication caused it to fall a day early • Analyse the impact that the wall had on Berlin, Germany and the whole of Europe and why its collapse was so significant ABOUT 50MINUTES.COM | History & Culture 50MINUTES.COM will enable you to quickly understand the main events, people, conflicts and discoveries from world history that have shaped the world we live in today. Our publications present the key information on a wide variety of topics in a quick and accessible way that is guaranteed to save you time on your journey of discovery.

30 Years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall

30 Years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall PDF

Author: Alexandr Akimov

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-01-08

Total Pages: 442

ISBN-13: 9811503176

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The year 2019 marks 30 years since the fall of the Berlin wall. This symbolic event led to German unification and the collapse of communist party rule in countries of the Soviet-led Eastern bloc. Since then, the post-communist countries of Central, Eastern and South-eastern Europe have tied their post-communist transition to deep integration into the West, including EU accession. Most of the states in Central and Eastern Europe have been able to relatively successfully transform their previous communist political and economic systems. In contrast, the non-Baltic post-Soviet states have generally been less successful in doing so. This book, with an internationally respected list of contributors, seeks to address and compare those diverse developments in communist and post-communist countries and their relationship with the West from various angles. The book has three parts. The first part addresses the progress of post-communist transition in comparative terms, including regional focus on Eastern and South Eastern Europe, CIS and Central Asia. The second focuses on Russia and its foreign relationship, and internal politics. The third explores in detail economies and societies in Central Asia. The final part of the book draws some historical comparisons of recent issues in post-communism with the past experiences.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Fall of the Berlin Wall PDF

Author: Kathleen Tracy

Publisher: Mitchell Lane

Published: 2020-02-04

Total Pages: 68

ISBN-13: 1545749353

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There is perhaps no greater symbol of both political oppression and the human spirit of the twentieth century than the Berlin Wall. Built during the height of the Cold War in 1961, the Wall was meant to both stop the number of citizens trying to leave East Germany for the freedoms and opportunities of the West and to prevent people spreading the ideals of democracy from coming in. In the 28 years the Wall stood, it is estimated over 1,000 people were killed trying to escape into West Berlin. In the end, the Wall fell without a shot being fired. As Mikhail Gorbachev was laying the foundations for the peaceful dismantling of the Soviet Union, the people of East Berlin and East Germany began demanding their city and country be freed from Soviet occupation. Finally, in November 1989, the Wall was torn down and Germany was once again reunited. This is the story of the dark rise and the eventual uplifting triumph over the Wall that split not only a city and nation, but friends and families.