Back to business

Gareth Dale’sPopular Protest in East Germany, 1945-1989” (Routledge, 2005) is proving to be an extremely helpful resource as I try to gain a better understanding of political protest in contemporary Germany – protest as represented in the stickers I’ve collected in Berlin and Munich since 2003.  In particular, he describes the mass uprising of June 17, 1953, that started in East Berlin and moved rapidly to over 700 cities throughout East Germany.  Half a million to a million workers protested; 1,000 workplaces were stopped.  Ultimately, by the end of the day (one day!), Soviet tanks, 20,000 Soviet soldiers, and another 8,000 GDR police quelled events and activities amidst resistance, but it is said that protests ensued in other German towns and villages during the following weeks.  The uprising was spontaneous and fast-moving, Dale writes in chapter one, though he follows in chapter two describing historical antecedents found in German labour movement traditions dating back to the 1920s.  Dense, but fascinating reading.

Routledge charges a fortune for their academic publications.  This one above runs $160 on the Routledge site, but closer to $200 on Amazon and elsewhere.  Not sure why, but the Man is certainly stickin’ it back.  I had to have my ILL copy Xeroxed to make it affordable to read/use.  Copyleft.  Sorry, Man.  Haha.  Not.

No pics tonight.  Too tired.