Gareth Dale

Popular Protest in East Germany Gareth Dale

This is an incisive new study of dissent and protest in the German Democratic Republic, focusing on the upheaval of 1989-90. The author, an active participant in both the 'Citizens' Movement' and the street protests of that year, draws upon a vast array of sources, including his own diary entries, interviews and documents from the archives of the old regime and the Citizens' Movement to explore the causes and processes of the East German revolution. the book is at once a lucid and vibrant narrative history and a pioneering contribution to research in this field. In addition to detailed and original examinations of the political ferment of street protests and of the divergence between the Citizens' Movement and the broader mass of protestors, the book's most notable contributions include novel interpretations of the 'collapse' of the communist regime and of the nature of the popular demand for German unification. An indispensable read for any student of East German history, it will also appeal to students of German and Eastern European politics, social movements and comparative revolution.