Major Cultural Commemorations and the Construction of National Identity in the GDR, 1959-1983
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Major Cultural Commemorations and the Construction of National Identity in the GDR, 1959-1983 David Joseph Zell A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Modern Languages The University of Birmingham October 2017 1 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Major Cultural Commemorations and the Construction of National Identity in the GDR 1959-1983 Abstract My thesis asks whether cultural commemorations helped the GDR to build a distinct national identity, and examines the role of political and cultural actors involved in them. Covering different strands of German cultural heritage, the aims, implementations and outcomes of anniversary commemorations are investigated as a longitudinal series of case-studies: Schiller (1959); Kollwitz (1967); Beethoven (1970); and Luther (1983). Substantial evidence from largely unpublished sources exposes recurring gaps between the theory and practice of these commemorations, essentially attributable to manifest examples of agency by commemoration stakeholders. Each commemoration produced some positive legacies. But driven mainly by demarcation motives versus West Germany, the appropriation of these German cultural icons as socialist role-models to promote national identity was mostly unsuccessful in three commemorations. Kollwitz was the exception as the GDRˈs claimed linkage to her political life was already undisputed in both German states. These research results are new and important. They address a gap in both memory studies and GDR history scholarship regarding the relationship between commemorations and national identity. Furthermore, the findings of agency offer an original contribution to historiographical debates, by enhancing a ‘consensus’ or ‘participatory’ dictatorship model of the GDR in preference to a top-down totalitarian system. 2 Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the loving memory of my late parents, Dr Leo and Judith Zelmanovits and my late brother, Oscar Zelmanovits. As survivors of the most tragic episode of the twentieth century, their keen interest in the complex history and cultures of Europe has inspired me to undertake this research. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr Joanne Sayner and Dr Sara Jones, for their patient guidance, encouragement and advice throughout my time as their postgraduate research student. I have been extremely lucky to have a close-knit team of supervisors who cared so much about my work and my welfare, and who responded to my questions so promptly. A special thanks go to everyone at the Institute for German Studies at the University of Birmingham, led by Dr Nick Martin for their warm support and collegial interest in my work. I must express my gratitude to my wife Noemi, my daughter Linda, son Daniel and son-in-law Christian for their unflagging love, support and patience as I experienced all the challenges of my research and writing. A particular thanks and admiration for Daniel's masterful proofreading and formatting skills. Completing this work would have been all the more difficult were it not for the encouragement and friendship of several individuals who have accompanied me during my project: first and foremost, Professor John Davis, my MA supervisor at Kingston University, for inspiring me to pursue my ultimate academic ambition after a 39 year sabbatical; my oldest school friend, Dr Dieter Schumann (with thanks for his German proofreading and many suggestions), Professor Sir Lawrence Freedman and Professor Judith Freedman (my academic motivators-in-chief), Roger Lockwood, Dr Leonard Magrill, Dr.Kevin Cheeseman, and Rob Nathan for their valuable roles as scholarly sounding boards, and Jutta Hoffmann-Zobel for her accommodation assistance during my Berlin fieldwork. Finally, I would like to thank three institutions for their support: the Arts and Humanities Research Council, for providing the funding which allowed me to undertake this research, the Association for German Studies who gave me a travel grant for additional research, and to the library staff at the German Historical Institute in London for their assistance, and provision of excellent working space and research facilities. 4 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AdK Deutsche Akademie der Künste (1950‒1972); Akademie der Künste der DDR (1972‒1990) BArch-SAPMO Stiftung Archiv der Parteien und Massenorganisationen der DDR im Bundesarchiv (SAPMO) BStU Bundesbeauftragte für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes der ehemaligen Deutschen Demokratischen Republik DEFA Deutscher Film AG DFF Deutscher Fernsehfunk DKB Deutscher Kulturbund DRA Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv Babelsberg FDGB Freier Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund FDJ Freie Deutsche Jugend GDR German Democratic Republic MfK Ministerium für Kultur MfV Ministerium für Volksbildung MLK Martin-Luther-Komitee der DDR ND Neues Deutschland SED Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands Stasi Staatssicherheit ZK Zentralkomitee der SED ZKM Zentrale Kommission Musik 5 CONTENTS 1: INTRODUCTION 9 1.1. Selected concepts in memory studies 10 1.1.1 The many dimensions of national identity 10 1.1.2 National identity and commemoration 15 1.1.3 National identity and collective memory 20 1.2. The conceptualisation of the GDR 25 1.2.1. A ‘totalitarian’ state? 25 1.2.2. A ‘dictatorship’? 27 1.3. Conclusion – overview of chapters 31 2: THE SCHILLER BICENTENARY, 1959 36 2.1. Introduction 36 2.1.1. The political context: the GDR in the grip of the Cold War in 1958/59 37 2.1.2. The SED tightens cultural policy in the late 1950s 39 2.2. Aims 41 2.2.1. Abgrenzung and Aneignung: key political themes of cultural policy 41 2.2.2. Planning the bicentenary: off to a late start 42 2.2.3. Schiller redefined: humanist, proto-socialist, ‘of the GDR’? 42 2.3. Implementation 49 2.3.1. Summary of events and activities: unrealistically ambitious? 49 2.3.2. Schiller committee stakeholders: coordination issues and variable commitment from 49 ‘unreliable’ intellectuals 2.3.3. The Schiller Festwoche: A predictable format with no surprises 51 2.3.4. Repeated SED interventions seek to close gaps between aims and implementation 53 2.4. Outcomes 57 2.4.1. The reality of attempting to position Schiller as a working-class hero 57 2.4.2. The Festwoche and general reception: little to show for all the efforts? 60 2.4.3. Official assessments: frank insights into implementation issues and their potential origins? 62 2.5. Conclusion 66 3: THE KOLLWITZ CENTENARY, 1967 70 3.1. Introduction 70 3.2. Aims 72 3.2.1. Planning the commemoration: brief and simple 72 3.2.2. Aims and ideological Framework: Socialist Realism, social progress, solidarity with the 75 Soviet Union 3.3. Implementation 79 3.3.1. Framing the implementation and reception of formal events: Was the GDR media 79 in agreement? 3.3.2. The public events: repeating the reactive, unoriginal approach of the Schiller bicentenary? 85 3.3.3. The film: reinforcing a portrayal that balances competing narratives 86 3.3.4. ‘Käthe Kollwitz und ihre Zeitgenossen’: exhibiting the international proletariat 90 3.3.5. The official Kollwitz pamphlet: cementing the political narratives 93 3.4. Outcomes 97 3.4.1. Post-event media coverage in East and West: political themes dominate but not exclusively 97 3.4.2. The legacy of Kollwitz’s centenary in the GDR: more of the same? 102 3.5. Conclusion 104 6 4: THE BEETHOVEN BICENTENARY, 1970 105 4.1 Introduction 105 4.1.1. Music and German nationalism: facing a complex cultural and political tradition 107 4.2. Aims 108 4.2.1. Summary of planning process: timing lessons learned from the Schiller commemoration 108 4.2.2. Abgrenzung and GDR cultural policy move on since the Schiller bicentenary 108 4.2.3. The DKBˈs task: determining a Marxist ideological framework for Beethoven 110 4.2.4. Bicentenary aims: the appearance of public consensus from all stakeholders 114 4.2.5 Internal tensions emerge between party and government 118 4.3 Implementation 121 4.3.1. Summary of activities: adhering to a tried and tested format? 122 4.3.2. The DKB’s role in the bicentenary: not consistently committed and engaged? 122 4.3.3. Eigensinn threatens the national identity objective: the role of intellectuals 125 4.3.4 Implementing the bicentenary and self-censorship: did the GDR press and broadcast 129 media communicate differently? 4.4 Outcomes 133 4.4.1. The call for more Musikpropaganda: evidence of a missed outcome? 134 4.4.2. International recognition of the commemorations: another important objective unfulfilled? 135 4.4.3. Audience research: a meaningful indicator of the effect of TV reception on national 136 identity 4.4.4. The recording project’s likely impact: long-term identity or short-term pride? 138 4.5. Conclusion 140 5: THE LUTHERJAHR QUINCENTENARY, 1983 144 5.1. Introduction 144 5.2. Aims 145 5.2.1. The planning timeline summarised 146 5.2.2. The GDR’s historical approach and the 1981 Thesen: a Marxist rehabilitation of Luther? 149 5.2.3. Reconciling different images of Luther within state and church: Progressive humanist 155 and reformer of church and faith 5.2.4. An increasingly nervous SED makes its presence felt 158 5.2.5. The Stasi reacts to SED and government anxieties: security becomes a top priority 163 5.3. Implementation 167 5.3.1. The main events: partly formulaic, partly original 167 5.3.2. Film and television at the LJ: reporting, educating and entertaining in equal measure? 170 5.3.3.