The German journalist, writer and politician Bodo Uhse (1904 – 1963) would have completely disappeared in the mist of history, had not his one decision - to leave Hitlers NSDAP and to join the KPD... Show moreThe German journalist, writer and politician Bodo Uhse (1904 – 1963) would have completely disappeared in the mist of history, had not his one decision - to leave Hitlers NSDAP and to join the KPD in 1931 – saved him from oblivion. His determined and apparently spectacular step, did provide him, from the very moment he returned to East Germany in 1948, with a prosperous career and a reputation of being one of the more heroic antifascists in the country. This study – formally a biography - describes the development of Uhses political stance, from about 1921 till the moment he left the NSDAP and became a member of the KPD, and tries to shed a fresh light on why he made his move in the first place, why the despised communist party suddenly ended up as a welcome home for his political ideas. A clarification of the “Konservative Revolution”, a generic term for a number of right wing groups propagating similar ideas on how German society should be changed, and an analysis of the change of direction set in by the KPD in 1930, by issuing a manifesto, introducing a national and social agenda into her program helps us to understand Uhses ‘switch’, and, similarly, putting it in perspective. Show less
How are the GDR and the fall of the Berlin Wall remembered? The dissertation “Alles Banane?” deals with this question. It assumes that identity, individual as well as collective, is a social,... Show moreHow are the GDR and the fall of the Berlin Wall remembered? The dissertation “Alles Banane?” deals with this question. It assumes that identity, individual as well as collective, is a social, cultural and political construction based on the memory of the past. This construction is not only pre-shaped by valid cultural conventions but also influenced by images of the past circulating in the community. This dissertation tackles the question how novels and films contribute to the process of shaping collective memory by (re)constructing important places and by disseminating images of historical events in the community. It examines the function of fictional texts as a record of official and alternative memories. To what extend can one speak of conflicting memories in respect to the recent past in Germany? What role do the various social groups play in this context? Is, concerning the memory of the GDR and the fall of the Berlin wall, indeed ‘Alles Banane’? Show less
