Overview
- Examines Germany's experiences with and responses to nonconformity, dissent, opposition, and resistance
- Contrasts three very different incarnations of Germany – the totalitarian Third Reich, the communist German Democratic Republic, and the democratic Federal Republic of Germany up to 1990
- Assesses how nonconformists have repeatedly played a role in pushing for change via legislation, transformation of the public’s attitudes, or even regime change
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
- Prof. Dr. László Kürti, Institute of Applied Social Sciences, University of Miskolc, Hungary
This book contrasts three very different incarnations of Germany – the totalitarian Third Reich, the communist German Democratic Republic, and the democratic Federal Republic of Germany up to 1990 – in terms of their experiences with and responses to nonconformity, dissent, opposition, and resistance and the role played by those factors in each case. Although even innocent nonconformity came with a price in all three systems and in the post-war occupation zones, the price was the highest in Nazi Germany. . It is worth stressing that what qualifies as nonconformity and dissent depends on the social and political context and, thus, changes over time. Like those in active dissent, opposition, or resistance, nonconformists are rebels (whether they are conscious of it or not), and have repeatedly played a role in pushing for change, whether through reform of legislation, transformation of the public’s attitudes, or even regime change.
Reviews
“This unusual study compares the struggle over nonconformity across three political regimes, the Third Reich, the GDR and the FRG. The analysis of dimensions like the role of religion, sexuality, politics and culture exposes the dialectic between regime efforts to enforce conformity with its own ideology as well as popular resistance against it. This unconventional approach sheds new light on the similarities and differences between different forms of German politics and society in the mid-twentieth century.” (Konrad Jarausch, Department of History (Emeritus), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA)
“By applying the lens of non-conformity to modern German regimes – Nazi, occupation zones, East and West Germany – Ramet goes beyond standard treatments of dissent and opposition. Her elevation of religious, sexual, and cultural non-conformity to share the plane of political dissent in explaining political change is well-documented, convincingly argued, and engagingly written.” (Robert F. Goeckel, Professor of Political Science And International Relations, SUNY-Geneseo, New York, USA)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Nonconformity, Dissent, Opposition, and Resistance in Germany, 1933-1990
Book Subtitle: The Freedom to Conform
Authors: Sabrina P. Ramet
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55412-5
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2020
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55411-8Published: 30 October 2020
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-55414-9Published: 30 October 2021
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-55412-5Published: 29 October 2020
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXIII, 279
Number of Illustrations: 3 b/w illustrations
Topics: History of Germany and Central Europe, Modern History, Memory Studies, Cultural History, History of Modern Europe