A glimpse of freedom: allied occupation and political resistance in East Germany

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Authors and Corporations:	Martínez, Luis R. (Author), Jessen, Jonas (Author), Xu, Guo (Author)
Other Authors:	Jessen, Jonas 1989- [Author] • Xu, Guo [Author]
Type of Resource:	E-Book
Language:	English
published:	Berlin DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research 7. April 2020
Series:	Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: Discussion papers ; 1863
Subjects:	Deutschland > Wahl > Widerstand > Geschichte 1946
Source:	Verbunddaten SWB Lizenzfreie Online-Ressourcen

Description
Summary:	This paper studies costly political resistance in a non-democracy. When Nazi Germany surrendered in May 1945, 40% of the designated Soviet occupation zone was initially captured by the western Allied Expeditionary Force. This occupation was short-lived: Soviet forces took over after less than two months and installed an authoritarian regime in what became the German Democratic Republic (GDR). We exploit the idiosyncratic line of contact separating Allied and Soviet troops within the GDR to show that areas brieﬂy under Allied occupation had higher incidence of protests during the only major episode of political unrest in the GDR before its demise in 1989 - the East German Uprising of 1953. These areas also exhibited lower regime support during the last free elections in 1946. We argue that even a "glimpse of freedom" can foster civilian opposition to dictatorship.
Physical Description:	1 Online-Ressource (67 Seiten); Diagramme, Karten