New publication: "Solidarität und Gewalt"

Carsta Langner
Solidarität und Gewalt
Migration, Rassismus und Engagement in der ostdeutschen Umbruchgesellschaft, 1970–2000
transcript publishing house, 2026
ISBN: 978-3-8376-7771-3
528 pages
50 EUR

What significance did migration, racism and civic engagement hold in East Germany’s society in transition? In her book, Carsta Langner demonstrates that not only racism, but also anti-racism, were experiences within state socialism. Drawing on a wide range of sources, some of which have been made available for the first time, she describes both the GDR’s relationship with the Global South and the experiences of migrants and their supporters in East Germany between 1970 and 2000. These analyses thus open up a new perspective in the debate on the causes of a “brown East”, in which those affected by racism and anti-Semitism are also given a voice.

The author
Dr Carsta Langner, is a research employee and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Erfurt, as well as a sub-project leader within the DFG research group on Voluntariness. Her research focuses on the history of voluntary participation under state socialism, as well as the history of civil society in Germany and racism and migration in East Germany’s society in transition.