Format:
116 S.
ISBN:
1-56000-030-9
Content:
A featured article in Die Zeit, the leading German weekly, begins with "Melvin, du hast gewonnen"--Mel, You have won! In his extraordinary account of the final days of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) we see the reckoning of a regime, and also the vindication of a life-long devotee of European democracy, the editor of Encounter, Melvin J. Lasky. It is unlikely that any comparable memoir will be available, since Lasky's career spans the entire history of wartime and postwar Germany, especially in divided and Wall-torn Berlin. Written with an intimacy about the German nation, a feeling for the language and culture of the people, and a sense of the ideological taproots of the Communist regime that ruled East Germany until the end, Lasky's book gives a sense of "a world-shaking Revolution" that is equaled only by John Reed's Ten Days That Shook the World. Indeed, it must be added that Lasky has what Reed lacked: a deep intellectual understanding of political systems and social movements. The work offers an in-depth portrayal of the Communist police state before the breakdown; followed by a blow-by-blow account of the drama of breakdown and regime transformation as such. Characters in the everyday cultural world of Germany come alive as harbingers and heralds of the end of the old and the necessity of the new. The role of the intelligentsia is underscored with stunning detail. Lasky understands the role of accident as well as of necessity. The West Germans had all but abandoned the slogan of One People, One Nation when they were faced with the immense task of supervising just such a reintegration. The work ends with the awakening conscience at the very point that the Berlin Wall came tumbling down. This is a memorable work--one likely to sear the conscience of lovers of freedom and analysts of tyranny alike.
Language:
English
Subjects:
Political Science
Keywords:
Friedliche Revolution in der DDR
;
Aufsatzsammlung
;
Aufsatzsammlung
Author information:
Lasky, Melvin J. 1920-2004
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