Political Taboos in the German Democratic Republic

The article outlines a new framework for the study of communicative taboos in repressive political regimes such as the GDR. The concept goes beyond the somewhat reductive position that understands political taboos as mere silencing. The approach developed here aims at refining our understanding of discursive regimes in dictatorial regimes, where one dominant ideology has become deeply ingrained in most aspects of society. It starts with the observation that the discursive sphere in the periphery of the taboo, characterized by corrupted speech, and the silence in its core are complementary elements of the taboo. I develop my concept with reference to three political taboos: the official discourse on betrayal of members of communist resistance groups during the Third Reich, expulsions after the Second World War, and the uprising of 17 June 1953. The discussion shows that a precise conception of the general appearance of communicative taboos—including distinguishing between core and periphery, comprehensive analysis of the gamut of linguistic and semantic distortions, study of privileged speakers able to transgress taboos, and paying attention to the perceived taboo—provides a promising starting point for the historical study of tabooing, including its modifications and transformations

Cautious occupiers and restrained bureaucrats: Schwarzwohnen in the German Democratic Republic. Somewhat different from squatting

Throughout the history of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), thousands of East Germans lived in flats occupied without state permission. What factors enabled and what practices shaped both the emergence and the persistence of informal housing in an East European dictatorship? The socialist authorities did not tolerate informality but contrary to the totalitarian rhetoric of state and party officials, local bureaucrats endeavoured to transform the grey zone of unauthorised housing dubbed ‘Schwarzwohnen’ into black (illegal) or white (legal). The high frequency of legalisation highlights the relative autonomy of these ‘social gatekeepers’. A partial identity of interests between informal occupiers of flats (Schwarzwohner) and the state led to the blurring of boundaries between formal and informal practices. A substantial proportion of Schwarzwohner, however, had little or no contact with authorities, which is indicative of a partly dysfunctional dictatorship. At the same time, Schwarzwohnen developed several unique features different from the squatting of buildings in the Global North-West and from informal settlements in the Global South, most notably a far-reaching compliance with the law which sometimes included unsolicited rent payments. In addition, Schwarzwohner used specific tactics to achieve legalisation such as ‘consentful contention’. The effect of the informality was ambiguous as it undermined the state’s authority but alleviated the housing shortage and thus (unintentionally) stabilised the state at the same time. Schwarzwohnen vanished with the GDR but has been partly revitalised by the ‘Guardian House’ scheme in several East German cities

Driven into Suicide by the East German Regime? Reflections on the Persistence of a Misleading Perception

The assumption that the communist dictatorship in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) drove many people to suicide has persisted for decades, and it is still evident in academic and public discourse. Yet, high suicide rates in eastern Germany, which can be traced back to the nineteenth century, cannot be a result of a particular political system. Be it monarchy, democracy, fascism, or socialism, the frequency of suicide there did not change significantly. In fact, the share of politically motivated suicides in the GDR amounts to only 1–2 percent of the total. Political, economic, or sociocultural factors did not have a significant impact on suicide rates. An analysis of two subsets of GDR society that were more likely to be affected by repression—prisoners and army recruits—further corroborates this: there is no evidence of a higher suicide rate in either case. Complimentary to a quantitative approach “from above,” a qualitative analysis “from below” not only underlines the limited importance of repression, but also points to a regional pattern of behavior linked to cultural influences and to the role of religion—specifically, to Protestantism. Several factors nevertheless fostered the persistence of an overly politicized interpretation of suicide in the GDR: the bereaved in the East, the media in the West, and a few victims of suicide themselves blamed the regime and downplayed important individual and pathological aspects. Moreover, state and party officials in the GDR unintentionally reinforced the politicization of suicide by imposing a taboo on the subject, which only fueled the flames of speculation about its root causes

Inhibitory Ligand-Gated Ion Channels as Substrates for General Anesthetic Actions

Abstract General anesthetics have been in clinical use for more than 160 years. Nevertheless, their mechanism of action is still only poorly understood. In this review, we describe studies suggesting that inhibitory ligand-gated ion channels are potential targets for general anesthetics in vitro and describe how the involvement of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) A receptor subtypes in anesthetic actions could be demonstrated by genetic studies in vivo

Activated MCTC mast cells infiltrate diseased lung areas in cystic fibrosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although mast cells are regarded as important regulators of inflammation and tissue remodelling, their role in cystic fibrosis (CF) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has remained less studied. This study investigates the densities and phenotypes of mast cell populations in multiple lung compartments from patients with CF, IPF and never smoking controls.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Small airways, pulmonary vessels, and lung parenchyma were subjected to detailed immunohistochemical analyses using lungs from patients with CF (20 lung regions; 5 patients), IPF (21 regions; 7 patients) and controls (16 regions; 8 subjects). In each compartment the densities and distribution of MC_Tand MC_TCmast cell populations were studied as well as the mast cell expression of IL-6 and TGF-β.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the alveolar parenchyma in lungs from patients with CF, MC_TCnumbers increased in areas showing cellular inflammation or fibrosis compared to controls. Apart from an altered balance between MC_TCand MC_Tcells, mast cell in CF lungs showed elevated expression of IL-6. In CF, a decrease in total mast cell numbers was observed in small airways and pulmonary vessels. In patients with IPF, a significantly elevated MC_TCdensity was present in fibrotic areas of the alveolar parenchyma with increased mast cell expression of TGF-β. The total mast cell density was unchanged in small airways and decreased in pulmonary vessels in IPF. Both the density, as well as the percentage, of MC_TCcorrelated positively with the degree of fibrosis. The increased density of MC_TC, as well as MC_TCexpression of TGF-β, correlated negatively with patient lung function.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study reveals that altered mast cell populations, with increased numbers of MC_TCin diseased alveolar parenchyma, represents a significant component of the histopathology in CF and IPF. The mast cell alterations correlated to the degree of tissue remodelling and to lung function parameters. Further investigations of mast cells in these diseases may open for new therapeutic strategies.</p

Gefahr von innen

The communist resistance against National Socialism in practice: full of tension and contradictory. Treason had devastating effects on the communist resistance to Nazism. It was a peripheral matter, imposed on the party and at the same time deadly serious, which could not only decide the life of the individual, but existentially threatened the scattered remnants of the Communist Party organization. Udo Grashoff undertakes the first systematic analysis of the manifestations of betrayal in the illegally active KPD in the "Third Reich". The focus is on the communist defectors in 1933, the collaboration of employees of the KPD intelligence service with the Gestapo, the resignation of emigrated communists and the attitude of the KPD to the killings of spies. The author examines a wide range of behaviors ranging from unscrupulous, from torture to simulated treason. Numerous stories of weakness, violence, tragedy and baseness make visible the blind spots of the normative image that was conveyed in the GDR in particular, but not only, by the "anti-fascist resistance struggle"

Der Mann, der nie ins Kino ging: Adolf Sauter – Von KPD-Nachrichtendienst über Gestapo und CIC zur Organisation Gehlen

Der Mann, von dem im folgenden die Rede sein wird, war kein großes Licht der Weltgeschichte, wenngleich in seinem Leben Persönlichkeiten wie Albert Einstein, Georgi Dimitroff und Walter Ulbricht eine Rolle spielten. Angesichts seines heterogenen Lebenslaufes liegt es eher nahe, Adolf Sauter als ‚Irrlicht‘ zu bezeichnen. Nichtsdestotrotz können am Beispiel der Biografie dieses Mannes, selbst wenn diese nicht lückenlos nachvollziehbar ist, exemplarisch einige grundsätzliche Fragen diskutiert werden: Was motiviert Menschen, die politischen Seiten zu wechseln? Wie stellt eine Person angesichts solcher ‚Brüche’ für sich selbst biografische Konsistenz her? Bis zu welchem Punkt sind solche Konstruktionen von Identität plausibel? Bevor auf diese Fragen näher eingegangen wird, soll skizziert werden, was über das Leben Adolf Sauters bekannt ist.

Squatting in Leiden and Leipzig in the 1970s and 1980s: A comparison of informal housing practices in a capitalist democracy and a communist dictatorship

Political Culture and National Identit