The London School of Economics and Political Science Defying Moscow

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The London School of Economics and Political Science Defying Moscow The London School of Economics and Political Science Defying Moscow, engaging Beijing: The German Democratic Republic’s relations with the People’s Republic of China, 1980-1989 Zhong Zhong Chen A thesis submitted to the Department of International History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, June 2014 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 87,593 words. Abbreviations BA Bundesarchiv, Berlin BStU Der Bundesbeauftragte für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes der ehemaligen Deutschen Demokratischen Republik CAAC Civil Aviation Administration of China CC Central Committee CCP Chinese Communist Party CDU Christlich Demokratische Union CIA Central Intelligence Agency CoCom Coordinating Committee on multilateral exports control COMECON Council for Mutual Economic Assistance CPGB Communist Party of Great Britain CPSU Communist Party of the Soviet Union CSCE Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe CSU Christlich Soziale Union DM Deutsche Mark EC European Community EEC European Economic Community FCO Foreign and Commonwealth Office FDJ Freie Deutsche Jugend FO Foreign Office FRG Federal Republic of Germany GBP Pound sterling GDR German Democratic Republic GQT Gongchanzhuyi Qingniantuan (共产主义青年团) HPA Hebei Provincial Archives ICBM Intercontinental Ballistic Missile JPA Jiangsu Provincial Archives KMT Kuomingtang KGB Soviet Committee for State Security KPD Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands MFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs Archives, Beijing MFAA Ministerium für Auswärtige Angelegenheiten MFS Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (Stasi) NARA National Archives and Record Administration at College Park NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation PAAA Politisches Archiv des Auswärtigen Amts, Berlin PDS Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus PLA People’s Liberation Army PZPR Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza (Polish Worker’s Party) PRC People’s Republic of China SAPMO Stiftung Archiv der Parteien und Massenorganisationen der DDR, Berlin SED Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands SEZ Special Economic Zone SMA Shanghai Municipal Archives, Shanghai SPA Shandong Provincial Archives, Jinan SPD Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands TNA The National Archives, London UK United Kingdom UN United Nations US United States USSR Union of Socialist Soviet Republics Table of Contents Abbreviations 3 Note on spelling and translations 7 Acknowledgements 9 Introduction 10 Simmering frictions with Moscow 12 Rebellion against Moscow, engagement with China 16 Incentives in bilateral relations 17 Structure & Scope 23 Historiography 25 Sources 42 Chapter One - Diplomacy behind Moscow’s Back: East German-Chinese Rapprochement, 1979-1982 44 Introduction 44 Between Moscow and Beijing: from “like-mindedness” to enmity, 1956-1976 46 From Maoism to Dengism: The effect of pragmatic domestic policy on Chinese foreign policy 50 Foreign policy as a means for reform: Renewed engagement with the GDR 53 The abandonment of Soviet China-policy – From total adherence to total disobedience 55 A changing tone – Inter-German relations’ effect on Soviet-GDR relations 60 Don’t threaten our détente – East Berlin’s intransigence towards Moscow’s war in Afghanistan 63 East German disillusionment and the Solidarność strikes 66 Soviet abandonment: Missing oil deliveries 68 Renewed contact between East Berlin and Beijing – 1980-1981 70 The waning importance of Soviet policy coordination 73 Soviet duplicity in China 78 Conclusion 81 Chapter Two - Defying Moscow - East German-Chinese relations during the Andropov- Chernenko power vacuum, 1983-84 83 Introduction 83 “Die China-Mafia” – Death of the Interkit 85 Frictions and opportunities – Sino-GDR relations seen through Soviet-East German tensions 92 Deepening Relations 96 Expanding Trade Relations 101 Conclusion 113 Chapter Three – Honecker meets Deng, 1985-86 115 Introduction 115 Gorbachev from Pankow’s perspective 118 China and Gorbachev: Gaige Kaifang above Perestroika and Glasnost 124 Laying the groundwork – Sino-East German summitry leading up to Honecker’s state visit 128 Beijing’s interests 133 Setting the stage for a meeting 136 Honecker’s visit 139 Honecker’s lessons 142 Tangible results 148 Honecker the statesman 153 Conclusion 159 Chapter Four: Friends in the time of turmoil, 1987-88 161 Introduction 161 Soviet-East German relations: A growing sense of abandonment 162 Soviet-FRG relations from Pankow’s view: Why can you and we can’t? 165 Looking East – Soviet East Asian policy 168 Holding back East Berlin 172 China: Reform at a price 176 A budding ideological relationship 179 Conclusion 184 Chapter Five: Ideological Allies: Tiananmen and the Fall of the Wall, 1988-1990 188 Introduction 188 “Socialism in the Colour of the GDR” meets “Socialism with Chinese characteristics” 191 Unrest 196 Tiananmen 200 “Wer zu spät kommt, den bestraft das Leben” 206 Conclusion 212 Conclusion 215 Economics 216 A question of prestige 218 Ideology 220 Of ‘big ships’ and ‘small ships’ 224 Bibliography 228 Primary Sources 228 Secondary Sources 232 6 Note on spelling and translations For Chinese words I have generally used the Hanyu Pinyin system due to both its widespread adoption and its employment as the standard for the Romanisation of Chinese characters by the People’s Republic of China. I have translated all original quotations in other languages into English in order to facilitate reading. I have opted against the Pinyin transliteration of Chinese book titles & archival sources, as doing so renders them more inaccessible for reference. 7 Abstract As Deng Xiaoping assumed China’s paramount leadership position in 1978, he first and foremost sought to bring China out of a period of economic decline and international isolation defined by the Cultural Revolution. Having already established first contacts with the US and Western European states in the early 1970s, Beijing under Deng swung open its doors further to the rest of the world in order to source foreign investment as well as technology transfers. While most existing literature has been focused on how Deng’s rise was received in the US, Western Europe and Asia, almost no literature exists on how this change was perceived in Eastern Europe. This study aims to address this lacuna by examining how the Soviet Union’s once ‘most-loyal’ client state and its bastion on the front lines of the Cold War, the GDR, increasingly defied a Moscow-imposed anti-China policy to engage China for economic and political gain during the 1980s. Chapter one will begin with a general overview of GDR-China relations before the period of analysis. It will highlight that East Germany first enjoyed amicable relations with China, only to be reined in during the Sino-Soviet Split by Moscow to conform to a general anti- China line. It will argue that as Deng rose to power in Beijing and repeated frictions beset Soviet-GDR relations, East Berlin gradually sought an independent foreign policy towards China in order to take advantage of China’s opening to the world. Chapter Two examines bilateral relations in the early 1980s. It argues that the GDR was at first motivated by potential trade ties with Beijing in order to bolster its sagging economy. Chapter Three reveals that relations continued to develop towards the middle of the decade, despite Moscow’s protestations. Honecker was duly rewarded with a state visit to Beijing in 1986 for his efforts, the first by a Soviet-bloc leader after the onset of the Sino-Soviet Split. Chapters Four and Five show that amidst Gorbachev’s Perestroika and Glasnost the GDR and the PRC increasingly found ideological commonalities in preserving the political status- quo in East Berlin and Beijing. This dogmatic resistance towards political reforms would eventually lead to very different consequences in both countries. 8 Acknowledgements While I was repeatedly warned before embarking on the PhD that it would be a very lonely endeavour, I was nevertheless very lucky to have had some very good friends along the way. Pete Millwood, Jamie Miller, Martin Albers, Mark Miller, Zach Fredman, Aaron Rietkerk, Andrea Chiampan, Simon Toner, Margit Wunsch, Sergey Radchenko & Bernd Schäfer read all or parts of this thesis and enriched it with their suggestions and comments. In addition, Odd Arne Westad, Chen Jian, Vladislav Zubok, Gregg Brazinsky as well as Enrico Fardella answered queries and provided useful insight during my writing process. On archival trips to China as well as a four-month stint at Peking University, Niu Jun offered his wisdom and time, for this I am very grateful. In addition, Chen Fengxiao, Zhou Sicong, Shen Zhihua, Yang Kuisong, Shen Guoliang, Liu Qibao, Wu Derong have all provided insightful comments on the Chinese perspective, adding greatly to my understanding of the Deng Xiaoping- era. In Berlin, I am indebted to Stefan Wolle & Mechtild Leutner for pointing me in the
Recommended publications
  • Berlin, Den 17.12.2002 Jürgen-Fuchs-Straße in Erfurt Am
    Berlin, den 17.12.2002 Jürgen-Fuchs-Straße in Erfurt Am 20. Dezember 02, anläßlich des 52. Geburtstags des Dichters, wird die Straße am Landtag in Erfurt in Jürgen-Fuchs-Straße benannt. Die Stadt Erfurt und der Landtag des Landes Thüringen ehren mit der Benennung einen Poeten, der mit seinen intensiven, leisen Gedichten die Nöte einer DDR-Jugend ausdrückte, die sich in den Zwängen des totalen Anspruches der SED auf die Menschen selbst zu behaupten versuchte. Seine akribische Beobachtung wertete die Realität ohne den erhobenen Zeigefinger des Moralisten. Die real existierenden Sozialisten sperrten ihn dafür ins Gefängnis und schoben ihn vor 25 Jahren in den Westen ab. Der so in eine neue Welt Geworfene konnte nun in seinem Beruf als Psychologe arbeiten und baute gemeinsam mit seiner Frau den "Treffpunkt Waldstraße" im Berliner Problembezirk Moabit auf, einen Heimatort für Jugendliche und Kinder aus schwierigen sozialen Verhältnissen.Jürgen Fuchs' literarisches Werk blieb nicht bei der Beschreibung des sozialistischen Totalitarismus stehen, sondern lotete die Möglichkeiten des Menschseins darin aus. In seiner Geradlinigkeit und seinem unbestechlichen Urteil achtete Fuchs darauf, daß die Aufarbeitung des SED-Unrechts nicht abstrakt blieb, sondern den Menschen in ihrer konkreten Situation gerecht wurde. Dafür ist ihm das Bürgerbüro e.V., zu dessen Gründern er gehörte, dankbar und verpflichtet. Der Weg in den Thüringer Landtag führt zukünftig über eine Straße der Sensibilität für die Nöte der Mitmenschen und des Engagements für die Menschenrechte. Dr. Ehrhart Neubert, amt. Vorsitzender Ralf Hirsch, Vorstand Presseerklärung vom 22.10.2002 JÖRN MOTHES: Kein Abstand zur Diktatur Ringstorff und Holter haben in ihrer Koalitionsvereinbarung die Auflösung der Behörde des Landesbeauftragten des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern für die Unterlagen des Staatssicherheitsdienstes der ehemaligen DDR beschlossen.
    [Show full text]
  • The Chinese Civil War (1927–37 and 1946–49)
    13 CIVIL WAR CASE STUDY 2: THE CHINESE CIVIL WAR (1927–37 AND 1946–49) As you read this chapter you need to focus on the following essay questions: • Analyze the causes of the Chinese Civil War. • To what extent was the communist victory in China due to the use of guerrilla warfare? • In what ways was the Chinese Civil War a revolutionary war? For the first half of the 20th century, China faced political chaos. Following a revolution in 1911, which overthrew the Manchu dynasty, the new Republic failed to take hold and China continued to be exploited by foreign powers, lacking any strong central government. The Chinese Civil War was an attempt by two ideologically opposed forces – the nationalists and the communists – to see who would ultimately be able to restore order and regain central control over China. The struggle between these two forces, which officially started in 1927, was interrupted by the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese war in 1937, but started again in 1946 once the war with Japan was over. The results of this war were to have a major effect not just on China itself, but also on the international stage. Mao Zedong, the communist Timeline of events – 1911–27 victor of the Chinese Civil War. 1911 Double Tenth Revolution and establishment of the Chinese Republic 1912 Dr Sun Yixian becomes Provisional President of the Republic. Guomindang (GMD) formed and wins majority in parliament. Sun resigns and Yuan Shikai declared provisional president 1915 Japan’s Twenty-One Demands. Yuan attempts to become Emperor 1916 Yuan dies/warlord era begins 1917 Sun attempts to set up republic in Guangzhou.
    [Show full text]
  • New China and Its Qiaowu: the Political Economy of Overseas Chinese Policy in the People’S Republic of China, 1949–1959
    1 The London School of Economics and Political Science New China and its Qiaowu: The Political Economy of Overseas Chinese policy in the People’s Republic of China, 1949–1959 Jin Li Lim A thesis submitted to the Department of International History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, September 2016. 2 Declaration: I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 98,700 words. 3 Abstract: This thesis examines qiaowu [Overseas Chinese affairs] policies during the PRC’s first decade, and it argues that the CCP-controlled party-state’s approach to the governance of the huaqiao [Overseas Chinese] and their affairs was fundamentally a political economy. This was at base, a function of perceived huaqiao economic utility, especially for what their remittances offered to China’s foreign reserves, and hence the party-state’s qiaowu approach was a political practice to secure that economic utility.
    [Show full text]
  • The Superpowers: a Soviet Perspective
    Commentary Karen Brutents Europe Between the Superpowers: A Soviet Perspective Robert Hutchings writes that the end of the cold war resulted from ‘‘the interaction between super- power relations and developments in Europe’’ and ‘‘was not some- thing bestowed on Europe by U.S. and Soviet leaders, but neither was it something that Europe could have achieved on its own.’’ Nevertheless, he suggests that the accurate term for these events is ‘‘self-liberation.’’ Indeed, the emergence of the popular and opposition move- ments ultimately served as the major factor in the liberation of Eastern Europe. The materials at our disposal show that the effect of perestroika in the Soviet Union, along with Mikhail Gorba- chev’s policy line and practical steps, played a decisive role in trans- forming latent discontent into a mass movement in the majority of Eastern European nations. Even in Poland and Hungary, where democratic demonstrations were more active, the Communist re- gimes still maintained a foothold. That foothold was particularly firm in Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia. As for the German Demo- cratic Republic (GDR), a key country in the Warsaw Treaty Orga- nization, its citizens began to rise up only when it became clear that Gorbachev not only sympathized with them but would never allow the use of force against them. Before that, most of them re- mained silent, apparently out of guilt rooted in World War II and a related fear that disturbances in the GDR might cause the Russians and their troops stationed in Germany to seek revenge. It is also ................. 16548$ COM5 11-06-07 10:07:58 PS PAGE 218 Europe Between the Superpowers: A Soviet Perspective 219 possible that some of the intelligentsia were restrained by a sense of responsibility and an understanding that the use of force in the GDR could lead to a global military confrontation.
    [Show full text]
  • Migration-Related Conflicts As Drivers of Institutional Change?
    Urban Planning (ISSN: 2183–7635) 2021, Volume 6, Issue 2, Pages 103–112 DOI: 10.17645/up.v6i2.3800 Article Migration-Related Conflicts as Drivers of Institutional Change? Maria Budnik *, Katrin Grossmann and Christoph Hedtke Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Applied Sciences Erfurt, 99085 Erfurt, Germany; E-Mails: [email protected] (M.B.), [email protected] (K.G.), [email protected] (C.H.) Submitted: 30 October 2020 | Accepted: 18 March 2021 | Published: 27 April 2021 Abstract This article examines the role of social conflicts in the context of migration and discusses the relation between such conflicts and institutional change. We understand conflicts as tensions that evoke contradiction between different social groups or institutional actors. Varied urban contexts together with dynamic immigration of heterogeneous population groups can induce negotiation processes that affect institutional settings and actors. Conflicts have therefore been an integral part of urban coexistence, and cities have always been places where these conflicts play out. We assume that conflicts are social phenomena, which have multiple causes and effects. Public assumptions about conflicts in connection with migra- tion often have a negative or destructive impetus, while conflict theory ascribes to conflicts potential positive effects on societal change. Conflicts can represent forms of socialization and the possibility of adapting or changing social conditions. This article discusses the extent to which migration-related conflicts induce institutional change. Using qualitative empiri- cal results from the BMBF-funded research project MigraChance, we present a case study that reconstructs the emergence and course of a conflict surrounding the construction of a Syriac-Orthodox church in Bebra (Hesse) in the 1990s.
    [Show full text]
  • Presseartikel 2006
    2006 Presseerklärung Berlin, den 21. Dezember 2006 Täuschungsmanöver in Berlin-Friedrichfelde Auf Vorschlag der PDS-Linkspartei wurde auf dem Zentralfriedhof in Berlin-Friedrichsfelde ein Gedenkstein für die „Opfer des Stalinismus“ errichtet. Das Bürgerbüro e. V. zur Aufarbeitung von Folgeschäden der SED-Diktatur betrachtet den Vorgang als Täuschungsmanöver. Ein solcher Gedenkstein müsste in seiner Aufschrift den Text „Opfer des Sozialismus“ zeigen. Mit der derzeitigen Aufschrift wird verschleiert, dass der Sozialismus auch nach Stalin bis 1989, in manchen Ländern bis heute, zahlreiche Opfer gekostet hat. Mit der Umbenennung des Gedenksteins würde zugleich darauf verwiesen, dass in Berlin-Friedrichsfelde nicht nur Sozialisten gedacht wird, die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus waren, sondern auch solchen, die selbst zu Tätern wurden. Zu diesen Tätern gehört auch der MfS-General und langjährige Chef der HVA , Markus Wolf. Das Bürgerbüro e. V., das zahlreiche Opfer des Sozialismus berät und betreut, fordert die PDS-Linkspartei auf, um der Wahrheit willen, die Inschrift des Gedenksteins zu korrigieren. Auf einem Friedhof sollte nicht gelogen werden. Dr. Ehrhart Neubert (Vorsitzender) Freya Klier (Vorstand) Siegfried Reiprich (Vorstand) Presseerklärung Berlin, den 9. November 2006 Bürgerbüro begrüßt Umdenken des Bundestages! Mit Genugtuung nimmt das Bürgerbüro e.V. zur Kenntnis, dass im Deutschen Bundestag die Entscheidung über die Novellierung des Stasiunterlagengesetzes verschoben worden ist. Wir erwarten, dass nunmehr eine Lösung gefunden wird, die die Aufarbeitung in der MfS-Frage nicht behindert. Eine Verlängerung der Überprüfungsfrist um 5 Jahre würde hinreichend Zeit geben, die Zukunft des Stasiunterlagengesetzes und der BStU im Sinne der Friedlichen Revolution zu regeln. Beim Bürgerbüro haben sich in wenigen Tagen 530 Unterstützer des Offenen Briefes an die Abgeordneten des Deutschen Bundestages eingebracht.
    [Show full text]
  • China's Fear of Contagion
    China’s Fear of Contagion China’s Fear of M.E. Sarotte Contagion Tiananmen Square and the Power of the European Example For the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), erasing the memory of the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square massacre remains a full-time job. The party aggressively monitors and restricts media and internet commentary about the event. As Sinologist Jean-Philippe Béja has put it, during the last two decades it has not been possible “even so much as to mention the conjoined Chinese characters for 6 and 4” in web searches, so dissident postings refer instead to the imagi- nary date of May 35.1 Party censors make it “inconceivable for scholars to ac- cess Chinese archival sources” on Tiananmen, according to historian Chen Jian, and do not permit schoolchildren to study the topic; 1989 remains a “‘for- bidden zone’ in the press, scholarship, and classroom teaching.”2 The party still detains some of those who took part in the protest and does not allow oth- ers to leave the country.3 And every June 4, the CCP seeks to prevent any form of remembrance with detentions and a show of force by the pervasive Chinese security apparatus. The result, according to expert Perry Link, is that in to- M.E. Sarotte, the author of 1989: The Struggle to Create Post–Cold War Europe, is Professor of History and of International Relations at the University of Southern California. The author wishes to thank Harvard University’s Center for European Studies, the Humboldt Foundation, the Institute for Advanced Study, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the University of Southern California for ªnancial and institutional support; Joseph Torigian for invaluable criticism, research assistance, and Chinese translation; Qian Qichen for a conversation on PRC-U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Dynamics of Soviet–East German Relations in the Early Cold War
    © Copyright, Princeton University Press. No part of this book may be distributed, posted, or reproduced in any form by digital or mechanical means without prior written permission of the publisher. INTRODUCTION The Dynamics of Soviet–East German Relations in the Early Cold War The two states that emerged from the defeated Germany were central to the development of the cold war. Rapidly evolving from defeated objects of Four Power policy, the two Germanys became important actors in their own right on the front line of the cold war. Both super- powers initially treated their part of Germany as war booty to be plun- dered and kept weak, but as the cold war developed, they would each come to see their part of Germany as an essential ally whose needs were intertwined with their own. For political, military, economic, and ideo- logical reasons, the superpowers engaged in a competition for allies to show that their side of the cold war was the stronger, more popular, more vibrant one. They also wanted to ensure that their German ally would not unite with the other against them. Beginning in the 1950s, the superpowers invested themselves, and their reputations, increasingly in their German allies, who were adept at taking advantage of this situation. While there have been a variety of in-depth studies of the U.S.–West German alliance,1 there has been much less investigation of the Soviet– East German alliance.2 This book will take advantage of the opening of former communist archives to examine the Soviet–East German side of the cold war from Josef Stalin’s death in 1953 through the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Introduction
    Notes 1 Introduction 1. What belongs together will now grow together (JK). 2. The well-known statement from Brandt is often wrongly attributed to the speech he gave one day after the fall of the Berlin Wall at the West Berlin City Hall, Rathaus Schöneberg. This error is understandable since it was added later to the publicized version of the speech with the consent of Brandt himself (Rother, 2001, p. 43). By that time it was already a well known phrase since it featured prominently on a SPD poster with a picture of Brandt in front of the partying masses at the Berlin Wall. The original statement was made by Brandt during a radio interview on 10 November for SFP-Mittagecho where he stated: ‘Jetzt sind wir in einer Situation, in der wieder zusammenwächst, was zusammengehört’ (‘Now we are in a situation in which again will grow together what belongs together’). 3. The Treaty of Prague with Czechoslovakia, signed 11 December 1973, finalized the Eastern Treaties. 4. By doing this, I aim to contribute to both theory formation concerning inter- national politics and foreign policy and add to the historiography of the German question and reunification policy. Not only is it important to com- pare theoretical assumptions against empirical data, by making the theoretical assumptions that guide the historical research explicit, other scholars are enabled to better judge the quality of the research. In the words of King et al. (1994, p. 8): ‘If the method and logic of a researcher’s observations and infer- ences are left implicit, the scholarly community has no way of judging the validity of what was done.’ This does not mean that the historical research itself only serves theory formation.
    [Show full text]
  • The German Democratic Republic's Attitude
    PRZEGLĄD ZACHODNI 2011, No 1 ANNA WOLff-POWęskA Poznań THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC Republic’s AttITUDE TOWARDS THE NAZI PAST Periods of change connected with a transition from dictatorship to democracy are characterized by intensive search for a new binder of national unity and identity. Communities which have been affected by totalitarianism in order to build a new order have to define their attitude towards the old one. As it has been demonstrated by the two German states in their process of abandoning the Third Reich’s policy and system of values, factors such as the defence of one’s own history, and seeking an answer to the question of what should be retained in the memory and what should be eradicated, have shaped the political identity of German society of the political turn era in a significant way. The reunification of Germany in 1990 confirmed the truth that the process of democratization is accompanied by a social crisis which is also a crisis of the criteria determining what is remembered and what is forgotten, the integral elements of every history. The way of perceiving National socialism and positioning it in German history has played a fundamental role in the development of political cultures, first of two different German states, and then of a reunified Germany*. National consciousness and community spirit is shaped by reference to history, which can be glorified, sac- ralised, or pushed to the margins of public life. Establishing two separate German states with different ideological foundations brought far reaching consequences for the cultural memory of the divided community.
    [Show full text]
  • August 21, 1968 Letter from the Central Committees of The
    Digital Archive digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org International History Declassified August 21, 1968 Letter from the Central Committees of the Bulgarian, East German, Hungarian, Polish, and Soviet Communist Parties regarding the Warsaw Pact intervention in Czechoslovakia Citation: “Letter from the Central Committees of the Bulgarian, East German, Hungarian, Polish, and Soviet Communist Parties regarding the Warsaw Pact intervention in Czechoslovakia,” August 21, 1968, History and Public Policy Program Digital Archive, ANIC, Fond CC RCP - Chancellery, File No. 133/1968, pp. 27-36. Translated by Delia Razdolescu. http://digitalarchive.wilsoncenter.org/document/110458 Summary: Letter from the Central Committees of the Communist Parties of East Germany, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Soviet Union explaining the need for intervention in Czechoslovakia. The letter lays out the rationale behind the Brezhnev Doctrine. Original Language: Romanian Contents: English Translation TO THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE ROMANIAN COMMUNIST PARTY The Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, of the Socialist United Party of Germany, of the Polish United Workers' Party and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union make it their duty to inform you that most of the members of the Presidium of the C.C. of the C.P. of Czechoslovakia and of the Government of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic addressed us the request to grant the Czechoslovak people without delay support in the struggle against the rightist, anti-socialist and counterrevolutionary forces, as in the wake of the developments of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, there appeared a real danger of a counterrevolution and of losing the conquests of socialism.
    [Show full text]
  • Anschriftenverzeichnis Stand: 31.08.2020
    Anschriftenverzeichnis Stand: 31.08.2020 34022002 - TSV Ausbach 1929 - Kreis Hersfeld-Rotenburg Jugendleiter Mark Sitzmann, Bornstr. 14, 36284 Hohenroda Mobil: 0173/7356758 E-Mail: [email protected] stv. Jugendleiter Gerald Oechel, Schulstr. 10, 36284 Hohenroda Telefon privat: 06629-6550 34022003 - JFV Aulatal-Kirchheim e.V. - Kreis Hersfeld-Rotenburg Jugendleiter Hans-Hubertus Braune, Am Hängeberg 9, 36272 Niederaula Telefon privat: 01725635373, Telefon geschäftl.: 01725635373, Mobil: 01725635373 E-Mail: [email protected] 34022006 - Tuspo 1912 Bw Breitenbach - Kreis Hersfeld-Rotenburg Jugendleiter Jens Hagemann, Bergstr. 6, 36287 Breitenbach a. Herzberg Mobil: +4915155050939 E-Mail: [email protected] stv. Jugendleiter Philipp Hiemer, Kupferstr. 11, 36287 Breitenbach a. Herzberg Mobil: +491638752955 E-Mail: [email protected] 34022010 - JFV Bad Hersfeld - Kreis Hersfeld-Rotenburg Jugendleiter Hans-Peter Koch, Kerspenhäuser Str. 2, 36251 Bad Hersfeld Telefon privat: 06621-75929, Telefon geschäftl.: 0561 7861867, Mobil: 01629218394 E-Mail: [email protected] stv. Jugendleiter Dennis Henning, Alsfelder Str. 11, 36251 Bad Hersfeld Telefon privat: 06621-8014526, Mobil: 01727804280 E-Mail: [email protected] 34022018 - SSV Eichhof Bad Hersfeld - Kreis Hersfeld-Rotenburg Jugendleiter Rainer Kassner, Sudetenstr. 6, 36251 Bad Hersfeld Telefon privat: 06621 78114 E-Mail: [email protected] 34022021 - JFC Ludwigsau e.V. - Kreis Hersfeld-Rotenburg Jugendleiter Tino Hölzer, Auf der Höh 13, 36251 Ludwigsau Mobil: 0172-2466874 E-Mail: [email protected] stv. Jugendleiter Manuel Heyer, Auf der Höh 19, 36251 Ludwigsau Mobil: 01515-0405971 E-Mail: [email protected] 34022022 - TSV 1911 Friedewald - Kreis Hersfeld-Rotenburg Jugendleiter Thorsten Bock, Schneesattel 1, 36289 Friedewald Telefon privat: 06674-918876 E-Mail: [email protected], Fax: 06674-919528 stv.
    [Show full text]