LEADER 04173nam 22006975 450 001 9910874693203321 005 20240713130845.0 010 $a9783031620683$b(electronic bk.) 010 $z9783031620676 024 7 $a10.1007/978-3-031-62068-3 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC31527435 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL31527435 035 $a(CKB)32825518100041 035 $a(DE-He213)978-3-031-62068-3 035 $a(EXLCZ)9932825518100041 100 $a20240713d2024 u| 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcnu|||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$aPaul Merker, the GDR, and the Politics of Memory $e'Purging Cosmopolitanism'? /$fby Alexander D. Brown 205 $a1st ed. 2024. 210 1$aCham :$cSpringer Nature Switzerland :$cImprint: Palgrave Macmillan,$d2024. 215 $a1 online resource (0 pages) 311 08$aPrint version: Brown, Alexander D. Paul Merker, the GDR, and the Politics of Memory Cham : Palgrave Macmillan,c2024 9783031620676 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $a1. Introduction: The Martydon of Paul Merker -- 2. What's in a Purge?: A Tale of Two Show Trials -- 3. 'The German Slánský ' in State-mandated Memory -- 4. 'Purging Cosmopolitanism'? Merker and the 'Anti-cosmopolitan Campaign' -- 5. Paul Merker and the 'Jewish Question(s) -- 6. Antisemitism and Antifascism: The Faultlines of National Legitimation. 330 $aThis book presents ground-breaking research into the 'Merker affair,' a series of events that took place in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the early 1950s, which saw Paul Merker, a member of the ruling party's 'Politburo,' become ensnared in the agent hysteria of the period. He was ultimately deposed, arrested, and convicted on charges of espionage. However, the cultural significance of this affair goes far beyond the history of the early Cold War; it has become the definitive symbol of alleged antisemitism in the GDR. The narrative complex of an antisemitic GDR has in turn become a prominent topos within the politics of memory in Germany. The author combines an empirical study of the pertinent primary sources with a genealogical analysis of discourse on the Merker affair in order to question and historicise many of the entrenched historiographical tropes surrounding it, and indeed broader subjects such as antifascism and antisemitism in a German context. In doing so, the book offers insight into how German state-mandated institutions and official bodies have shaped our collective vision of the past. Alexander Brown is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Liverpool in the UK. Previously, he gained his PhD from the University of Birmingham, before working as a Research Associate at Newcastle University. Alexander's research focuses on the history and memory of socialism in the GDR, with a special interest in the actions of state actors, the politics of memory, and ideology in post-1990 Germany. 606 $aEurope, Central$xHistory 606 $aCollective memory 606 $aWorld politics 606 $aJudaism$xHistory 606 $aEurope$xHistory$x1492- 606 $aCivilization$xHistory 606 $aHistory of Germany and Central Europe 606 $aMemory Studies 606 $aPolitical History 606 $aJewish History 606 $aHistory of Modern Europe 606 $aCultural History 615 0$aEurope, Central$xHistory. 615 0$aCollective memory. 615 0$aWorld politics. 615 0$aJudaism$xHistory. 615 0$aEurope$xHistory$x1492-. 615 0$aCivilization$xHistory. 615 14$aHistory of Germany and Central Europe. 615 24$aMemory Studies. 615 24$aPolitical History. 615 24$aJewish History. 615 24$aHistory of Modern Europe. 615 24$aCultural History. 676 $a305.8924043 700 $aBrown$b Alexander D.$01749619 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 912 $a9910874693203321 996 $aPaul Merker, the GDR, and the Politics of Memory$94183880 997 $aUNINA