Consuming Germany in the Cold War

Name: Consuming Germany in the Cold War
Price: 280 AUD
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ISBN: 9781859737668

David F. Crew

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Hardback

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English

Berg Publishers
01 September 2010

European history; Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000; Cultural studies; Consumerism

Series: Leisure, Consumption and Culture

Sitting in the ruins of the Third Reich, most Germans wanted to know which of the two post-war German states would erase the material traces of their wartime suffering most quickly and most thoroughly. Consumption and the quality of everyday life quickly became important battlefields upon which the East-West conflict would be fought. This book focuses on the competing types of consumer societies that developed over time in the two Germanies and the legacy each left. Consuming Germany in the Cold War assesses why East Germany increasingly fell behind in this competition and how the failure to create a viable socialist ""consumer society"" in the East helped lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. By the 1970s, East Germans were well aware that the regime's bombastic promises that the GDR would soon overtake the West had become increasingly hollow. For most East German citizens, West German consumer society set the standards that East Germany repeatedly failed to meet.

By exploring the ways in which East and West Germany have functioned as each other's ""other"" since 1949, this book suggests some of the possibilities for a new narrative of post-war German history. While taking into account the very different paths pursued by East and West Germany since 1949, the contributors demonstrate the importance of competition and highlight the connections between the two German successor states, as well as the ways in which these relationships changed throughout the period. By understanding the legacy that forty-plus years of rivalry established, we can gain a better understanding of the current tensions between the eastern and western regions of a united Germany.

Edited by: David F. Crew
Imprint: Berg Publishers
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Volume: v. 7
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 459g
ISBN: 9781859737668
ISBN 10: 1859737668
Series: Leisure, Consumption and Culture
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 01 September 2010
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

David F. Crew is Professor of History, University of Texas at Austin.

Reviews for Consuming Germany in the Cold War

'Not least through a very thoughtful, balanced and sure-footed introduction, this volume is important as one of the very few books which present, to an English-speaking audience, the importance of cultural history for obtaining a richer and more nuanced understanding of the cultural, social and political history of postwar Germany.' German History