Death in East Germany, 1945-1990

1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-1-78238-013-9
Verlag: Berghahn Books

Buch, Englisch, Band 35, 248 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 518 g

Reihe: Monographs in German History

As the first historical study of East Germany‘s sepulchral culture, this book explores the complex cultural responses to death since the Second World War. Topics include the interrelated areas of the organization and municipalization of the undertaking industry; the steps taken towards a socialist cemetery culture such as issues of design, spatial layout, and commemorative practices; the propagation of cremation as a means of disposal; the wide-spread introduction of anonymous communal areas for the internment of urns; and the emergence of socialist and secular funeral rituals. The author analyses the manifold changes to the system of the disposal of the dead in East Germany—a society that not only had to negotiate the upheaval of military defeat but also urbanization, secularization, a communist regime, and a planned economy. Stressing a comparative approach, the book reveals surprising similarities to the development of Western countries but also highlights the intricate local variations within the GDR and sheds more light on the East German state and its society.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Schulz, Felix Robin

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Mentalitäts- und Sozialgeschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Tod, Sterbehilfe: Soziale und Ethische Themen
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Historische & Regionale Volkskunde
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Deutsche Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations

List of Tables and Figures

Acknowledgements

Glossary

Introduction

Chapter 1. The Origins of Modern German Sepulchral Culture

Chapter 2. After Death: The Organization of Disposal

Chapter 3. Resting Places? Cemeteries in the GDR

Chapter 4. Burning Bodies: Cremation in the GDR

Chapter 5. The Communal Burial of Ashes: ‘New’ Spaces for Disposal

Chapter 6. Funerals in the GDR: A Diversity of Rituals

Conclusion

Bibliography

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Schulz, Felix Robin
Felix Robin Schulz is Lecturer in Modern European History at Newcastle University. He has taught at Lancaster University, the University of York, and Sunderland University. His research interests include the history of sepulchral cultures, regional and national memorialization, and the link between landscape and identity. He has published on death and disposal in East Germany as well on the history of the Alps.