GDR goes Glocal - Culture, Cooperation, and Conflict

13 June 2024

No single country symbolised the physical and ideological post-war division of Europe as vividly as the German Democratic Republic (GDR). And yet, despite its anti-capitalist rhetoric and the building of the Wall in 1961, the GDR was far from being an insular state. Beyond its shared culture and myriad relationships with West Germany, it also sought global recognition and international leverage with socialist and non-socialist countries alike.

Organised by Professor Schmidt, Dr James Farley, and Dr Will Studdert, GDR goes “Glocal”: Culture, Cooperation, and Conflict brought together scholars from various disciplines to explore the GDR’s local and global relationships in all their complexity. In doing so, they provided a forum for interdisciplinary discourse and work toward a nuanced and multifaceted understanding of the GDR’ international networks, partnerships, rivalries, and exchanges.

During the conference that took place in historical Warburg-Haus, researchers from Germany coming from different disciplines, as well as international researchers shared their studies. The conference shed light on different aspects of life in the GDR.  Topics included labor, immigration, diversity, (health) institutions, art, and gender in GDR.  Keynote speaker Dr Ned Richardson Little provided a paper entitled 'The Human Rights Dictatorship: The GDR in the Cold War World.

We would like to thank all participants, including the CHES team, who were vital contributors for this conference to take place.

• Kristina Gunne, IFZ München
• Falko Schnicke, Johannes Kepler Universität, Linz
• Yves Müller, Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie, Sachsen-Anhalt
• Owen Evans, Edge Hill University
• Franziska Haug, Universität Regensburg
• Christian Saehrendt
• Ned Richardson Little, ZZF Potsdam
• Ulrich Mücke and Miene Waziri, Universität Hamburg
• Samuel Uwem Umoh, University of Hradec Králové
• Tom Drechsel, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Jena
• Beatrix Hoffmann-Ihde, Universität Bonn
• Lukas Bartl, Universität Erfurt
• Peter Banks, Universität Hamburg
• Katja Schmidt-Mai, Universität Hamburg
• Kristian Handberg, University of Copenhagen
• Marie Meyerding, Freie Universität Berlin
• Zvonimir Glavaš, University of Zagreb
• Michael Rauhut, University of Kristiansand
• Mary Ikoniadou, Leeds Beckett University