Death in East Germany, 1945-1990

Description

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. 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. Title page......Page 3 Copyright......Page 4 Contents......Page 7 List of Figures, Tables and Graphs......Page 8 Acknowledgements......Page 11 Glossary......Page 13 Introduction......Page 15 Chapter 1 The Origins of Modern German Sepulchral Culture......Page 27 Chapter 2 After Death......Page 55 Chapter 3 Resting Places? Cemeteries in the GDR......Page 98 Chapter 4 Burning Bodies......Page 138 Chapter 5 The Communal Burial of Ashes......Page 173 Chapter 6 Funerals in the GDR......Page 196 Conclusion......Page 216 Bibliography......Page 227 Index......Page 243