Sent: Thu, 25 Oct 2007

I had decided up to this point not to intervene in the exchange sparked by Gary
Bruce's review of my book, _Conflict and Stability in the German Democratic
Republic_ -- primarily because the debate has had little to do with my own work
and more to do with the tendentious topic of _Ostalgie_.

But since the last contribution by Dolores Augustine explicitly mentions my
work -- while at the same time demonstrating little familiarity with it -- I
would like to take the opportunity to point out what my book _actually_ argues.

In the first place, the book does not downplay repression in the GDR: It argues
that other factors played a more important role than repression in accounting
for regime stability. This included efforts by local officials to conciliate
and reach consensus with those under their charge. Just as important -- and
this is the more original part of my argument -- I show how official policies,
coupled with a variety of structural factors, created serious divisions within
East German society -- divisions that effectively prevented East Germans from
mounting serious and sustained opposition to the regime.

Secondly, my book does not focus on the supposedly positive aspects of the SED
regime. In fact, it shows how those social benefits that were purportedly most
popular (e.g., low-cost housing, free childcare, subsidized foodstuffs) were,
if anything, among the most important sources of _discontent_ during the entire
Ulbricht era because of insufficient availability and chronic scarcity.

That leads me to a final comment about _Ostalgie_: I think that Thomas Adams'
extremely insightful remarks were right on target, namely, that this
"phenomenon" has had much to do with the way in which unification was
accomplished. I'd nevertheless like to add the following observation: The
widespread nostalgia for certain aspects of the period prior to unification
came largely in response to the open disdain of many in the West for the
earlier experiences of those who lived under communist rule, as well as to the
difficulty of adjusting to the exigencies of a liberal market economy. However
understandable this _Trotzreaktion_ may be, it is worth emphasizing that many
of the things that are now looked back upon wistfully were not _achievements_
of the regime but rather responses to the very _deficiencies_ of that regime.

I am not familiar with the incident that took place on "Deutschland sucht den
Superstar," which Gary Bruce mentions in his review: But I would doubt that an
emotional rendition of a former hit by an East German rock band necessarily
signifies a hankering for Honecker or a wish for the Wall.

Andrew I. Port
Department of History, Wayne State University

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