The Workers' and Peasants' State [antikvár]

Preface Most of the chapters in this volume originated in the conference on 'Ulbricht's Germany', held at CardifT University in March 1999 under the auspices of the Cardiff Centre for Modern German History and the German History Society. The latter was generous in providing financial support, for which the editors and contributors are grateful. Thanks are also due to all those who participated in the discussions at the conference (particularly Arnd Bauerkamper and Thomas Lindenberger who joined us from Potsdam), to Bonny Harvey for her help in organisation, to Barbara Docherty for copy-editing, to Rachel Armstrong, Jonathan Bevan, Rachael Bolden and Alison Whittle at Manchester University Press for their assistance and patience during the production of the volume, and to the archivists and librarians in Germany who have helped us all with our research. This book aims to open up to an English-speaking readership the wealth of original research which has been undertaken in recent years on the Soviet Occupation Zone and the early German Democratic Republic. It does not claim to be comprehensive, but it does represent many important facets of East Germany in the years 1945-71. There are certainly many further challenges in terms of research topics, methodologies and new sources, but it is hoped that they will be met in future, in the same way that the population of the GDR undoubtedly rose to the challenge of the laudable appeal made to them by the authorities in the 1950s to 'Reduce forest fires by 33.6 per cent!' Jonathan Osmond