126-409 Mastering the Past: Legacy of the Stasi

This subject is taught in German.

37.5 points of second/third-year subjects in German language. European studies students wishing to enrol in this subject would normally have completed 37.5 points of European studies at second/third year, see Prerequisites.

This subject will look at attempts to come to terms with the collapse of communism or 'really existing' socialism in post-unification Germany. For the second time in the space of 50 years Germans were forced to face up to a criminal past and revelations of wide-spread human rights abuse. Particularly shocking were allegations, made in 1990, of extensive collaboration with the secret police among artists, writers and professionals of all kinds. This subject will deal with a variety of genres of texts that address the question of the legacy of the Stasi and the East German past. The focus of the course will be on narratives and stories by the Stasi's victims and perpetrators and texts that tackle the issue of individual guilt and moral responsibility, collusion and complicity. The sorts of narratives studied will include first-person testimonials and narratives by victimised writers and informants, diaries, interviews with Stasi agents, films by dissident filmmakers as well as fictional works such as Christa Wolf's Was Bleibt that have as their theme secret police surveillance and its effects on the lives of ordinary citizens. On completion of the subject students should have gained a critical appreciation of the complex political, ethical, psychological and historical issues involved in 'coming to terms with the past' as well as the way in which gender has impacted on the process.