ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die religiöse Ansprechbarkeit der Leipziger Bevölkerung in der Plattenbausiedlung Grünau ist bedingt durch den DDR-Sozialismus als ,,Ersatzreligion" gering. Doch stellt sich die Frage, inwieweit die politische Wende 1989 auch zu einer religiösen Wende im Leben der Menschen geführt hat. Für diese Erhebung habe ich zunächst die Geschichte, die sozialistische Prägung, die Rolle der Kirchen und die postmoderne Beeinflussung untersucht. Die aktuelle religiöse Ansprechbarkeit ließ sich im Zuge der qualitativen Sozialforschung mithilfe von Interviews mit den Kirchenleitungen Grünaus und der Kategorisierung religiöser Dimensionen von Charles Y. Glock eruieren. Dabei wurde nach den Ritualen, dem Sinn im Leben, dem religiösen Wissen, den Konsequenzen im Alltag und dem religiösen Erleben gefragt. Abschließend habe ich die Ergebnisse im Blickfeld der Kontextualisierung ausgehend von der Praxispyramide (Praxis-Zyklus) missionstheologisch evaluiert. Die Lage in Grünau entspricht grundsätzlich der in Gesamtostdeutschland: Konfessionslosigkeit, die sich vom bekennenden Atheismus durch die indifferente Haltung zum Glauben unterscheidet, bestimmt das Bild. Zahlenmäßig liegt die Summe der Kirchenmitglieder in Grünau (ca. 8%) sogar noch unter dem Gesamtdurchschnitt Ostdeutschlands. Aber die empirischen Ergebnisse lassen eine steigende religiöse Ansprechbarkeit nach der Wende erkennen, der mit kontextgerechten und mentalitätsadäquaten Maßnahmen, wie z. B. christlichen postsozialistischen Feiern, einem Grünauer Trabbi-Cafe, einem Plattenbaukino und anderen schöpferischen Aktionen begegnet werden kann. The religious receptiveness of the people of Leipzig, in the estate of prefabricated houses of Grünau, is low, due to GDR-socialism as an "alternative religion". However, the question arises, as to which extent the political turnaround in 1989, also brought about a religious turnaround in people's lives. For this research, I first of all analysed the history, the socialist influence, the role of the churches, and the post-modern influence. The current religious receptiveness was elicited by qualitative social research interviewing church leaders of Grünau, and by making use of the categorisation of religious dimensions by Charles Y. Glock. In the process questions pertaining to rituals, the meaning of life, religious knowledge, the consequences in everyday life, and the religious experience, were asked. Thereafter, I evaluated the results mission-theologically, in sight of the contextualisation of the so-called praxis pyramid (praxis cycle). The situation in Grünau basically corresponds with the situation in all of East Germany: Not belonging to a church which differs from confessed atheism because of the indifferent attitude towards faith dominates the picture. Numerically, the sum of church members in Grünau (approximately 8%) is even below the overall average of East Germany. However, the empirical results show an increasing religious receptiveness after the turnaround which can be met by measures fitting the context and the mentality, for example, Christian post-socialist celebrations, a "Grünau Trabbi-Café" (a coffee shop), a cinema on the housing estates, and other creative actions. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / (M.Th.(Missiology))

Text in German / Zusammenfassung Die Predigten zur Parusie Jesu finden im Perikopenplan der Evangelischen Landeskirche eine geringe Aufmerksamkeit. Die Thematik beschränkt sich auf das Ende, wie auf den Anfang des Kirchenjahres, genauer gesagt auf den 2. Advent. Das Thema der Parusie Jesu ist nicht unbedingt ein Hauptthema in der Predigtarbeit. Aber die Parusie Jesu ist das Hauptziel des Glaubens der Christen. Durch diese Arbeit soll der Predigtarbeit, sowie dem Thema der Parusie Jesu mehr Beachtung geschenkt werden. In dieser Arbeit wird die DDR Sozial- und Kirchengeschichte mit den Kurzbiographien der Prediger vorgestellt. Diese sind zum Teil Hintergrundinformation für die Predigtanalysen. Die Arbeit widmet sich einer Predigtanalyse zum biblischen Hintergrund und zum historischen Hintergrund der DDR, um den Stellenwert der Parusie Jesu in den Predigten zu erforschen. Die Bewertung der Predigtpraxis und die Evaluation bilden den Abschluss der Arbeit. Zusammenfassung Die Predigten zur Parusie Jesu finden im Perikopenplan der Evangelischen Landeskirche eine geringe Aufmerksamkeit. Die Thematik beschränkt sich auf das Ende, wie auf den Anfang des Kirchenjahres, genauer gesagt auf den 2. Advent. Das Thema der Parusie Jesu ist nicht unbedingt ein Hauptthema in der Predigtarbeit. Aber die Parusie Jesu ist das Hauptziel des Glaubens der Christen. Durch diese Arbeit soll der Predigtarbeit, sowie dem Thema der Parusie Jesu mehr Beachtung geschenkt werden. In dieser Arbeit wird die DDR Sozial- und Kirchengeschichte mit den Kurzbiographien der Prediger vorgestellt. Diese sind zum Teil Hintergrundinformation für die Predigtanalysen. Die Arbeit widmet sich einer Predigtanalyse zum biblischen Hintergrund und zum historischen Hintergrund der DDR, um den Stellenwert der Parusie Jesu in den Predigten zu erforschen. Die Bewertung der Predigtpraxis und die Evaluation bilden den Abschluss der Arbeit. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology))

The dissertation is dedicated to the under-researched subject of the official sculpture in the DDR and ČSR in the time-frame 1948-1968. By evaluating the material on a broad background of the art historical, historical, cultural and ideological determinants, the dissertation endeavour to provide an accurate insight into the internal processes of the cultural machinery of the Socialist states with regard to sculpture and sculptors. The comparative character of the dissertation contributes to the understanding of the critical questions of art historical research of the period - such as the (in)authenticity of the local varieties of Socialist Realism and relatedness to the SSSR Socrealism, dates of the Socrealism existence, engagement of modernist sculptors, principles of the state/artist relationship or the second life of the Socrealist sculpture.

25 années ont passé depuis la chute du mur de Berlin. Cependant, le chemin vers l’« union intérieure », comme l’a prônée Helmut Kohl en 1997, est encore long. Mystification et standardisation marquent le discours normatif et médiatique. Le temps semble être venu de chercher de nouveaux paradigmes ; c’est ce que tente d’apporter ce travail. Par le biais d’un procédé méthodique qualitatif novateur à partir de photo-interviews biographiques analysées avec la méthode documentaire, il propose une nouvelle perspective sur les questions d’identité et de socialisation. L’étude porte sur la façon dont les anciens citoyens de RDA, dans la confrontation avec leurs photos du passé, gèrent « habituellement » (en référence au concept d’habitus) leurs identités personnelle et sociale, ainsi que les attentes normatives. Le but est de reconstruire les structures de savoirs qui guident l’interaction et, allant plus loin, la construction de l’identité du Moi. Il s’agit d’observer si des signes de travail identitaire sont visibles, et si oui, quels sont les facteurs déterminants. À partir de l’analyse des photographies privées et de leur réception, je démontre que les individus disposent de ressources habituelles qui déterminent la construction identitaire. Ces ressources dépendent fortement d’expériences de reconnaissance qui, en partie, ont été expérimentées dans l’environnement primaire (famille et groupe de pairs). Un rôle décisif joue par ailleurs l’expérience d’une « désintégration sociale ». Je montre également que d’éventuelles césures, dans le contexte de la Réunification, étaient primairement dues à des changements à un niveau social et individuel, et non pas systémique. / 25 years have passed since the fall of the Berlin wall. However, the way to an « inner union » –praised by Helmut Kohl in 1997 –is still long. Mystification and standardisation shape the normative and medial discourse. The time seems to have come to search for new paradigmata, which this thesis wants to achieve. With the help of an innovative qualitative methodological approach, this study suggests a new perspective on questions of identity and socialisation. It is based on the analysis of biography-oriented photo-interviews with the documentary method. The examination of how former GDR citizens deal with their photographs of the past, aims at exploring how they « habitually » (referring to the concept of habitus) deal with personal and social identity as well as with normative expectations. The goal of the study is to examine underlying structures of knowledge that guide the interaction and thus the construction of Self-Identity. This project was to observe if signs of identity work can be found and, if yes, which factors are decisive. The study of the private photographs and their reception finally demonstrates that individuals are « equipped » with habitual resources that determine their way of constructing identity. These resources strongly depend on experiences with recognition, which have partially been made by these individuals in the primary environment, such as in the family or amongst peers. Furthermore, the experience of « social disintegration » has a prominent part to play. It can be seen that disruptions, in the context of the Reunification, primarily depend on changes on an individual and social level, and not on a systemic one.

This essay is a case-study of a phenomenon called “ostalgie” which could be described as GDR-nostalgia. “Ostalgie” is a compound of the two German words “ost” (east) and “Nostalgie” (nostalgia.) It is, like a similar phenomenon referred to as “communist nostalgia”, a type of nostalgia. However, if one were to define “ostalgie” as “communist nostalgia” important aspects of the phenomenon would be left out. Despite the vast research (mainly by German scholars) on the reunification process of the two German states, little has been said about the positive retrospective evaluation of the former GDR among eastern Germans. The purpose of this study is to examine what constitutes “ostalgie” and what it could lead to. To answer what ostalgie is I examine research literature and analyze so called “ostalgie” consumption products such as movies and souvenirs with GDR-symbols. Drawing on two alternative hypotheses, one related to political socialization and one related to unification related hardships, I discuss the possible explanations for the emergence of “ostaglie”. To answer what ostalgie could lead to I also analyze and discuss existing research and make my own interpretations based on personal experiences with the reunification process. This study is thus mainly based on a qualitative literature analysis but is also illustrated by quantitative measurements of “ostalgie-related” attitudes among Germans. I argue that “ostalgie” should be considered as an outcome of political socialization as well as unification related hardships and that it would be misleading to assume that “ostalgie” could be explained exclusively by one of the hypothesis discussed. “Ostalgie” is an expression for eastern Germans’ will or need to reminisce about the good aspects of the GDR. The consequences of “ostalgie” are first and foremost that it trivializes the GDR dictatorship. It has also been noted that nostalgic people have more negative attitudes towards the German democracy than non-nostalgic people. I conclude the paper by discussing the difficulties of measuring how widespread “ostalgie” sentiments are due to the problems of definition.

This thesis introduces chosen works of contemporary German literature, which connects the historical milestone "Wende". The analysed authors and works are Claudia Rusch - Aufbau Ost, Ingo Schulze - Simple Storys, Yadé Kara - Selam Berlin and Wladimir Kaminer - Russendisko. It is an interdisciplinary literary-historical thesis, which compares the literary fiction (use of single literary tools) with the historical reality and its adaptation in technical publications. The historical insight and the inclusion of chosen works to the contemporary developmental trends of literature represent the theoretical introduction of thesis. The actual analysis of two pairs of writers and their works (Rusch - Schulze and Kara - Kaminer) takes the authors origin into consideration, mentions shortly their biography and relation to the work. The structural analysis of works follows, with the focus on literary interpretation of social and political events of the year 1989. The goal of the thesis was to point out the historical context, which determines understanding of analysed literary works. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

This work deals with the first phase of the GDR literature, the so-called Aufbauliteratur. It shows how the GDR dealt during the years 1949 to 1956 with the fascist past and how the newly formed socialist state was built. The contemporary literature of the GDR reflects the efforts to reeducate people in the sense of the socialist ideas and to portray the daily life of the new socialist republic. In the meantime this literature should boost the working people to increase the production and to build a socialist economy. The aim of my work is to show the reflection of the former reality in the literature. As a basis for this analysis there are five selected works from Eduard Claudius Mensch an unserer Seite, Hans Marchwitza Roheisen, Elfriede Brüning Regine Haberkorn, Jan Koplowitz Unser Kumpel Max, der Riese und Harry Thürk Die Herren des Salzes. Keywords: GDR, Aufbauliteratur, socialist state, working people, production, re-education, Eduard Claudius, Hans Machwitza, Jan Koplowitz, Harry Thürk, Elfriede Brüning

This thesis explores how the Institut für Literatur ‘Johannes R. Becher’, an East German institution for the training of writers, negotiated tensions that arose from the conflicting demands between literary and political values. The Institute had the objective to foster emerging literary talents according to the socialist ideal of a working writer, but often found students and staff drawn towards more autonomous literary values that were incompatible with the views of the East German Socialist Unity Party. As a result, the Institute’s practices fluctuated between toeing the party line and pursuing literary ambitions. An overview of the existing scholarship shows that the Institute and its function have been highly politicised and hardly subjected to analyses that allow for a more nuanced appraisal of its practices. As a result, the study of the Institut has not been able to transcend the binary differentiation between assent and dissent and the Institute is either presented as a liberal haven or an orthodox academy with little artistic value. This thesis addresses this issue by applying Bourdieu’s’ theory of cultural production, more specifically his notion of field, capital and habitus, to the study of the Becher Institute. Three case studies that form the core of this dissertation investigate how cultural capital in its institutionalised, embodied, and objectified form was accumulated, converted and exchanged by the Institute, how it tried to reconcile the tensions between cultural policy and creative aspirations and how these tensions affected the Institute’s common habitus. The first case study will show how the Institute’s founding shaped the institutionalised capital it represented and question the importance that has been attributed to prominent political figures during the founding process. The second case study examines the role of the lecturer and the influence their embodied capital had on the Institute. Two lecturers, working writer Werner Bräunig and poet Georg Maurer, and their representation of the Institute’s multiple habitus will be the focus of the analysis. The third and final case study is dedicated to objectified cultural capital in the form of the Institute’s publications during the 1970s. The Institute’s orthodox publications have so far been overlooked by scholars in favour of its more controversial literary output, which gives a misleading impression of the Institute’s literary output that I aim to amend. By developing a sociological framework for the study of the Institute, this thesis is able to investigate the Institute and its practices as a social and literary space under the watchful eye of the Socialist Unity Party, without denying its pedagogical and cultural dimensions. The findings will reveal a deeply conflicted institution that struggled throughout its existence to resolve the tensions between literary ambitions and political restraints as well as the contradictions within the literary field itself.

This thesis examines how the press of the erstwhile German Democratic Republic represented Iran in the years from 1949 – the year of the GDR’s formation – until 1989, the last complete year before its demise on 3 October 1990. The study focuses on key events in Iranian history such as the overthrow of the Mossadegh government in 1953, the White Revolution, the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and the Iran-Iraq war. It will be shown that although news and articles were based on selected facts, they still presented a picture of Iran that was at best distorted, the distortions and misrepresentations amounting to what could be described as 'factual fiction'. Furthermore, clear evidence will be provided that economical and political relations with Iran were a primary concern of the GDR’s leadership, and thus also of the GDR’s press and have therefore dominated the reporting on Iran. Whatever ideological concerns there may have been, they were hardly ever allowed to get in the way of amicable relations with the Shah or later with the Islamic Republic. Only in periods where the two countries enjoyed less amicable or poor relations, was the press free to critically report events in Iran and to openly support the cause of the SED’s communist Iranian sister party, the Tudeh. Despite East Germany’s diametric ideological environment and despite the fundamentally different role that the GDR’s political system had assigned to the press and to journalism, East Germany’s press was as reliant on the input of the global news agencies as any Western media. The at times almost complete reliance on Western news agencies as sources for news on Iran challenged more than just the hermeneutic hegemony the SED and the GDR’s press wanted to establish. After all, which news and information were made available by the news agencies to the media in both East and West was primarily determined by the business interests of said agencies. The study makes a contribution to three fields: Modern Iranian history, (East-) German history and media studies. The most valid findings were certainly made in the latter.

In the last decade, integration of immigrants into the German society has become a major topic in both political and public discussion in Germany. The goal of this paper is to analyze the current state of the main socioeconomic fields of integration in Germany and evaluate the successfulness of government's integration policy. The first chapter of the paper explains the significance of integration and its general principles on the background of selected cultural and economic theories and studies. The second chapter focuses on the historic foundations of integration specific for Germany with an emphasis on the post-war development. The third chapter is dedicated to the analysis of the situation in the main fields of integration and integration policy, i.e. the related legislation, education and working life of immigrants. The analysis makes use of case studies and information acquired during personal interviews with experts on integration.