Friendly Enemies : : Britain and the GDR, 1949-1990 / / Stefan Berger, Norman LaPorte.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Berghahn Books Complete eBook-Package 2000-2013
• VerfasserIn: Berger, Stefan,; LaPorte, Norman,
• Place / Publishing House: New York; , Oxford : : Berghahn Books, , [2010]; ©2010
• Year of Publication: 2010
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (400 p.)

During the Cold War, Britain had an astonishing number of contacts and connections with one of the Soviet Bloc’s most hard-line regimes: the German Democratic Republic. The left wing of the British Labour Party and the Trade Unions often had closer ties with communist East Germany than the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). There were strong connections between the East German and British churches, women’s movements, and peace movements; influential conservative politicians and the Communist leadership in the GDR had working relationships; and lucrative contracts existed between business leaders in Britain and their counterparts in East Germany. Based on their extensive knowledge of the documentary sources, the authors provide the first comprehensive study of Anglo-East German relations in this surprisingly under-researched field. They examine the complex motivations underlying different political groups’ engagement with the GDR, and offer new and interesting insights into British political culture during the Cold War.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Tables -- List of Abbreviations -- Preface -- Introduction: Britain and the Other Germany -- Chapter 1 Negotiating the Emergence of Two Germanys. 26 British–GDR Relations in the Context of the Evolution of the Post-war Political Order, 1945–1955 -- Chapter 2 From Sovereignty to Recognition, 1955–1973 -- Chapter 3 Normalisation of Relations and New Beginnings, 1973–1979 -- Chapter 4 From the Second Cold War to the Collapse of the GDR, 1979–1990 -- Conclusion: Britain and the GDR, 1949–1990 -- References -- Index