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cruelspirit's review against another edition
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
35 years later, the subject of East Germany is still a contentious subject. Growing up in the west, I have been inundated with many stories and anecdotes, both in conversation and the classroom, around what life was actually like in the DDR. As someone who was born and raised in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War this period of history has always been of interest to me, focusing mainly on the division of Germany due to my family history.
I remember doing a semester paper on the Berlin Wall in high school and since then I have taken a casual interest in the subject of East Germany, as well as many other former Iron Curtain cultures. It seems now is the best time to reevaluate this subject as we are a few decades removed but there are still many people who lived in these countries during their existence who are still alive and with us today. Especially with the wealth of knowledge available on the internet, it is a perfect time to learn about this subject. When I saw this book had been published I eagerly awaited my chance to read it. While there is a lot I liked about this book, I will say I am a bit conflicted on its overall presentation.
This book exists as a retaliation to the way that the history of East Germany has been covered, mainly by westerners, in the wake of reunification. At this point images of the wall, those trying to escape, and the persistent surveillance from the Stasi are quite clear in the minds of anyone when you mention East Germany but surely there is more to a nation that existed for over 40 years than just that?
Katja Hoyer sets out to provide a deeper look at the DDR and more of the social, day to day experiences. This is probably the greatest value of this book. There are many accounts by those who lived and worked in the DDR about what life was like. While not deep discussions, these recounts offer an interesting and relatable view of daily life.
Growing up, I would hear many stories from my mother and her siblings of their experiences visiting family in Germany. Most of their time was spent in West Germany but they would on occasion visit East Germany to experience what it was like to peek behind the iron curtain.
Back in 2020, my Grandmother passed away and our family was tasked with cleaning out her house. Born in Pommern in 1930, she had a tumultuous childhood to put it lightly. She was a refugee who found herself in the devastated post war East Germany, eventually making her way west and on to the US in 1952. She always kept in touch with friends and after reunification would visit her childhood village.
While cleaning out her house I found a multitude of 20th century currencies. A personal interest of mine, I took specific notice of what I found. Of course I found many BRD Deutsche Marks, which I had seen around since I was a kid but I also came across DDR Marks. I realized how I had never seen these before and just how different they were. Their bills showcasing women scientists and their coins made of cheap light weight aluminum. I mentioned this to my aunt who recounted how “crap” their money was. I’ve found that many socialist countries don’t put the same amount of effort into the structural durability of their currencies as capitalist ones.
This comment from my aunt wasn’t a one off. I’ve heard many descriptions of how drab and dismal life in East Germany seemed. Of course these accounts are coming from people whose understanding of society was the US and West Germany, two of the most successful capitalist societies of the mid to late 20th century so it must have seemed like a truly harsh contrast.
Beyond The Wall offers the statement that East Germany was always doomed to fail. That many short term solutions were utilized to keep things running, making it a miracle it lasted as long as it did. Many other reviewers seem to think Hoyer is being too sympathetic but this book is actually quite anti Soviet if anything. I think, at least for the earlier parts, she does a great job of offering a balanced assessment of the pros and cons of East German society.
I found the descriptions of the early years to be really good at showcasing the post war rebuilding struggle and how that differed from the experiences of West Germany. Hoyer offers a lot of insight into how the Soviet supervision differed from the west and how that stunted growth in the DDR. There was a lot of excitement around rebuilding a new nation, like in the west, but also how the limited options of the East lead to exodus of many of its citizens.
Where I really took issue with this book was how Hoyer handles the downfall. The 1980s really feel condensed and limited in their overview in comparison to the other decades. This period of East German history is probably the most well known by the general public, which is probably why she felt less of a need to discuss it but considering this book is a reaction to that previously held conception of the DDR it felt like a huge misstep. The events of the final years of East Germany feel like they are rushed through and overall don’t offer much in terms of a rebuttal.
Most egregious of all is probably Hoyer’s limited discussion on the Stasi. She gives a good overview of the Berlin Wall, how it came to be and how it influenced the lives of those who lived within its vicinity but when it comes to the Stasi she really doesn’t offer a good explanation of who they were and what they did in society. There is mention of them all throughout the book but no real explanation on how they came to be or the real influence they had on stunting and stagnating East German culture.
The kind of person who is going to be on the opposite side of understanding East Germany will immediately mention the Stasi as to why the DDR was an evil, authoritarian society with no redeeming qualities, to have a weak understanding of them portrayed here in this book is a huge failure for her argument in portraying the good in East German society.
For my personal expectations, I was hoping to get a better understanding of the middle years of the DDR; as that is the era I am least familiar with. While I learned a lot of new stuff from this book I also found much of it to be rather surface level, basic subjects about East Germany. If you are interested in the history of the DDR you will already be familiar with the doping scandals and coffee shortages.
One of my favorite subjects of East German society is the architecture. Like many communist bloc nations, fabricated apartments are a staple of any major town. Halle-Neustadt is a personal favorite use case of mine. There is one page dedicated to Halle-Neustadt, describing both the optimist in its inception and its problems in actuality. I get that city planning is not the most important or most interesting of subjects when it comes to the history of East Germany but given that the policies and personnel are gone the last thing to stand as a relic of this time period are the buildings.
I really just wish this book was more of what it could have been. It has a lot of great information and perspectives in it that I think anyone interested in the history of East Germany definitely should still read but in terms of this being the definitive or all encompassing history of East Germany it is sorely lacking; making it no better than those demonizing accounts.
dreamingandendless's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
First things first: this is a good book to gain an overview of the history of the DDR, a topic that tends to be dismissed and forgotten due to the state's incorporation into the BRD in 1990.
The book also attempts to show the positives of life in the DDR alongside the very black spots and dark sides of the government and state. Regularly including vignettes of normal people helps to bring other perspectives into the book.
However, the book oftentimes takes on a patronizing tone about citizens of eastern Germany both then and now and seems to miss entirely, that for East Germans DIE LINKE is the only connection still left to the SED and DDR, a lot of which they miss.
I feel the book suffers due to brevity also and would have been a much better read if it had been able to unfold some more areas of the history of the DDR. Many authors have written much more to say much less, and although brevity is oftentimes desired, the topic of the DDR mostly lacks nuance when dealt with nowadays.
The book also attempts to show the positives of life in the DDR alongside the very black spots and dark sides of the government and state. Regularly including vignettes of normal people helps to bring other perspectives into the book.
However, the book oftentimes takes on a patronizing tone about citizens of eastern Germany both then and now and seems to miss entirely, that for East Germans DIE LINKE is the only connection still left to the SED and DDR, a lot of which they miss.
I feel the book suffers due to brevity also and would have been a much better read if it had been able to unfold some more areas of the history of the DDR. Many authors have written much more to say much less, and although brevity is oftentimes desired, the topic of the DDR mostly lacks nuance when dealt with nowadays.