Remembering and Rethinking the GDR: Multiple Perspectives and Plural Authenticities

More than 20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, memories of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) remain complex and controversial. As new generations come of age, not only do the political, social and cultural parameters of remembrance shift accordingly, but so too do the forms of media used to transmit these memories. This volume explores the different ways in which the GDR has been remembered since its demise in 1989/90, and asks how the memories of this state continue to impact on contemporary Germany. The chapters offer multiple perspectives on the GDR, examining the way memories have been expressed in and shaped by literature, film, music, monuments, historical narratives, commemorative events and everyday discourses concerning the GDR. In resisting monolithic readings of the GDR, the volume offers new insights into the complex relationship between past and present in eastern Germany.