| Max-Weber-Kolleg, SPF Religion. Gesellschaft. Weltbeziehung., Forschung

New publication about the history of the 'Wende'

How did people in East Germany experience the last years of the GDR and the system change? How did they cope with and shape the 1990s? How do they remember it today? The research group "Die lange Geschichte der 'Wende'. Lebenswelt und Systemwechsel in Ostdeutschland vor, während und nach 1989" explored these questions from several perspectives. The research group was headed by PD Dr. Kerstin Brückweh, Fellow at the Max-Weber-Kolleg of the University of Erfurt. Her research results have now been published by Ch. Links.

Book cover "Die lange Geschichte der Wende"

The starting point of the study was the assumption that anyone who wants to understand East Germany must both connect the time levels before, during, and after the upheaval of 1989/90 with each other and enter into dialogue with those people who experienced these phases.
During a dialog trip in January 2020, contemporary witnesses were actively involved in the spirit of "Citizen Science / Citizens Create Knowledge". The artist Clara Bahlsen and the journalist Christian Bangel travelled along as observers. In an unusual combination of science, contemporary witness memories, photography and journalism, the book documents the research results, travel impressions and memories of the transformation in East Germany.

Kerstin Brückweh, Clemens Villinger, Kathrin Zöller (Ed.)
Die lange Geschichte der „Wende“. Geschichtswissenschaft im Dialog
Berlin: Ch. Links Verlag, 2020
ISBN: 978-3-96289-103-9
272 pages
20 EUR

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)