Inside Party Headquarters: Organizational Culture and Practice of Rule in the Socialist Unity Party of Germany

Bergien, Rüdiger

ISBN 10: 1805390481 ISBN 13: 9781805390480

Publisher: Berghahn Books, 2023

Synopsis

Everyday life in the East German Socialist Unity Party revolved heavily around maintaining the “party line” in all areas of society, whether through direct authority or corruption. Spanning a long period of the GDR’s history, from 1946 through 1989, Rüdiger Bergien presents the first study that examines the complexities of the central party’s communist apparatus. He focuses on their role as ideological watchdogs, as they fostered an underbelly and “inner life” for their employees to integrate the party’s pillars throughout East German society. Inside Party Headquarters reviews not only the party’s modes power and state interaction, but also the processes of negotiation and disputation preceding formal Politburo decisions, advancing the available detail and discourse surrounding this formative and volatile stretch of German history.

About this title

About the Author

Rüdiger Bergien is a Professor of Intelligence History at the Federal University for Applied Administrative Sciences, Berlin, Germany. His recent publications include the edited volume Communist Parties Revisited, Socio-Cultural Approaches to Party Rule in the Soviet Bloc, 1956-1991, New York: Berghahn Books, 2017.

Edition details

• Publisher: Berghahn Books
• Publication date: 2023
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1805390481
• ISBN 13: 9781805390480
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 486