Between Dictatorship and Dissent: Ideology, Legitimacy, and Human Rights in East Germany, 1945-1990
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BETWEEN DICTATORSHIP AND DISSENT: IDEOLOGY, LEGITIMACY, AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN EAST GERMANY, 1945-1990 Ned Richardson-Little A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of History in the College of Arts & Sciences. Chapel Hill 2013 Approved by: Konrad H. Jarausch Christopher Browning Donald J. Raleigh Chad Bryant Cemil Aydin © 2013 Ned Richardson-Little ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Ned Richardson-Little: Between Dictatorship and Dissent: Ideology, Legitimacy, and Human Rights in East Germany, 1945-1990 (Under the supervision of: Konrad Jarausch) The project examines how the idea of human rights developed in East Germany, first as a tool of legitimization of the socialist state, and eventually by East Germans themselves, in citizen-based social movement, to radically alter the Cold War status quo in 1989. In response to West German attacks against their control over East Germany after the Second World War, the ruling East German Socialist Unity Party (SED) adopted the language of human rights in order to undermine its opponents and legitimize its rule. The deployment of the language of human rights by the East German state went well beyond simple sloganeering: in 1959, the SED created the Eastern Bloc’s only state-sponsored human rights organization – two years before the founding of Amnesty International. East German intellectuals loyal to the state developed a unique ideological conception of “socialist human rights,” that reimagined the SED dictatorship as a champion of a superior human rights to those of the imperialist West. These ideas were internalized by the SED leadership, disseminated to the population, and became central to diplomatic efforts to secure support from the developing world. The SED’s appropriation of the discourse of human rights works to explain why a dissident movement that was practically non-existent in 1985 could so rapidly grow as to provide the discursive underpinning of a revolution by 1989. East German human rights activists were not working in an ideological vacuum, but were fighting against an entrenched hegemonic iii discourse of human rights to legitimize state socialism and the status quo. Only in the late 1980s did activists re-appropriate the language of human rights for the cause of democratization drawing on inspiration from Western activists, Eastern dissidents, and South American human rights activists, to claim that they – and not the state – were the true champions of socialism and of socialist human rights. The rise of a citizen-based human rights movement in 1980s East Germany was thus not simply the result of Western diplomatic pressure, but of a transnational process that began with the SED appropriation of the mantle of human rights, and ended in the streets of Berlin in 1989 when East Germans finally took it back. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are times in writing a dissertation where it feels as though, to quote H.P. Lovecraft, one is “on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity.” This project would have been impossible without the unwavering support of my colleagues, my friends, and my family, who have been there from the beginning to provide inspiration, listen to my doubts, and find my many typos. I must first thank my advisor Konrad Jarausch for shepherding this project through from our first discussion on the topic to its completion. From grant applications, to research strategies, and the final written product, Prof. Jarausch has been a constant source of encouragement and constructive criticism. Whether he was across an ocean in Chapel Hill or hiking in the mountains of Austria, I was always assured of generous responses to any queries, concerns, or chapter drafts. As an advisor, he was equally effective at letting me find my own way, and at providing a helping hand when I found myself lost and without a map. I am also deeply indebted to the members of my committee for their support and thoughtful contributions to this project. Christopher Browning always made sure that I focused on the big picture, and Donald Raleigh always made sure that I did not forget the details. In the constant churn of graduate school, both have been an excellent source of outside perspective and, at times, a much needed reality check. Chad Bryant and Cemil Aydin were of great help in pushing me to engage with the rest of the world outside of that corner of Germany that was once the GDR. Without the unshakable dedication of Joy Jones and Violet Anderson, the history department would have fallen into the sea – thank you both for everything. v Without the generous financial and research support of several funding agencies, none of this would have been possible. The Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies provided me an academic home for fourteen months (2010-11). Not only did the Berlin Program provide the springboard for my primary research, but it also came with an invaluable group of engaging scholars, including Lisa Haegele, Jake Smith, and Bill Waltz. Karin Goihl was a source of constant support and remarkable conversations – and the only person I have ever met who had an un-ironic interest in Canadian cultural products. I also want to thank the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the American Historical Society, and the German Historical Institute in Washington, for their generous contributions to this project. I have also had the great fortune to work on the history of human rights at such an exciting moment. Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann, Jan Eckel, and Sam Moyn helped to shape the project early on in my research. Stefan was also gracious enough to host me at the Zentrum für Zeithistorische Forschung in Potsdam, where I had the opportunity to present early findings, and engage with great colleagues including Lasse Heerten, Julia Wambach, and Malgorzata Mazurek. Lora Wildenthal has also been an invaluable source of advice, support and wisdom. Lorenz Lüthi has not only helped me navigate the waters of academia (since my time at McGill, a decade ago!), but also made sure I was never wanting for Currywurst or Spargel. I want to thank Petra Soellner of the Robert Havemann Gesellschaft for her assistance and patience as I worked my way through the archives of the dissident movement, and Christel Brandt at the BStU for all of help with accessing the archive of the Stasi (Vielen vielen Dank!). Without the tireless efforts of the staff of the Bundesarchiv in Lichterfelde and their willingness to track down missing files, help in overcoming restricted access, and generally put up with my constant massive file orders, this project would have been impossible. vi I would also like to thank the many friends and colleagues in Berlin, Chapel Hill, Washington DC, and Montreal, who have made archiving and graduate school a considerably more enlightening and enlivening experience. Thank you to Steve Milder, Friederike Brühöfener, Tom Goldstein, Aaron Hale-Dorrell, Richards Plavnieks, Dan Giblin, Jen Lynn, Philipp Stelzel, Brittany Lehman, Chris Hickman, Andrea O’Brien, Mary McPartland, Natalie Deibel, Deborah Barton, Kira Thurman, Luke Ryder and Chris Schwartz. A particular Dankeschön to Erika Hughes and Adrian Henham, for introducing me to the joys of Berlin football, to Kristen Dolan for slogging through comprehensive exams with me, and to Derek Holmgren and Sarah Lowry for the moral and intellectual support (and delicious meals). And of course, my time in Berlin would have been incomplete without the friendship of the incomparable Ulrich Päßler, who introduced me to the many sides of the Land der Dichter und Denker, including the exuberant bowls of flaming alcohol in dark, dark German winters. Over the past five years my family and friends have put weight to the expression that you cannot leave home unless and until you have somewhere to come back to. Things would not have been the same without layovers in Kingston with Andrea Speltz and Jean-Pierre Hickey, Greg Bouchard’s regular visits to Berlin, trips to Thompson House with Ryan Bouma, and of course, without unexpected adventures with the irrepressible Unikat Olivier Jarvis Lavoie. Their sparkling conversation, friendship, and myriad views on the world have enriched my life both inside and outside the ivory tower. I am incredibly grateful to my parents, Ellen Richardson and Bruce Little. Their unflinching support for my hair-brained schemes, long separations, and ever-greater accumulation of books instead of work promotions, has made this all possible. That they seem to be happy being paid back in fun places to visit is a particular relief. To my mother, for her conviction that the humanities can shape and change the world for the better. To my father, for vii teaching me to love words, and respect the power of the comma. To my brother Will Richardson- Little, for showing me a universe beyond the pale blue dot. To my cousin Kathleen Perry, who helped me move into my first (and third and fifth) Montreal apartment, and has always been there. Without them, the road would have been far longer and lonelier. Ein großes Dankeschön: to Nikolai Sittmann, for the trenchant conversations about everything from Egyptian politics to Danish film. To Kurt Sittmann, who read every word of the dissertation, sometimes several times, and continued to cheer me on anyway. He also made sure that when I did give presentations in German, the audience could not only understand me, but actually thought I had something intelligent to say. To Ellen Sittmann, for teaching me to love and not fear the Dativ. And to answer her oft-repeated question slash motivational statement of the past few years – yes, this time it really is done.