Andrew Port explores the implications of the phrase "never again" in Germany, analyzing the nation's reactions to the genocides in Cambodia, Bosnia, and Rwanda. He reveals how these tragedies reshaped the understanding of the Holocaust within Germany, prompted a degree of remilitarization, and altered the country's approach to refugees escaping conflict. Through this examination, the book delves into the evolving moral and political landscape in Germany regarding historical memory and humanitarian responsibility.
Why did the German Democratic Republic last for so long--longer, in fact, than the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich combined? This book looks at various political, social, and economic conflicts at the grass roots of the GDR in an attempt to answer this question and account for regime stability. A local study, it examines opposition and discontent in Saalfeld, an important industrial and agricultural district. Based on previously inaccessible primary sources as well as on interviews with local residents, the book offers a novel explanation for the durability of the regime by looking at how authorities tried to achieve harmony and consensus through negotiation and compromise. At the same time, it shows how official policies created deep-seated social cleavages that promoted stability by hindering East Germans from presenting a united front to authorities when mounting opposition or pressing for change. All of this provides an indirect answer to perhaps the major question of the postwar Why did the Cold War last as long as it did?
