Preserve and Rebuild

The reunification of Germany in 1990 has prompted far-reaching debates about German identity, history and tradition. One framework for these debates is provided by the extensive urban development and building activities which have commenced in Eastern Germany since 1990. This ethnographic case study of post-communist Dresden explores the complex symbolic meanings of such projects as the rebuilding of the Frauenkirche, Dresden's quarrels with the UNESCO about a new Elbe bridge, and many others. It traces a history of civic engagement from the time of the GDR through to the present of reunified Germany, and demonstrates the built environment's importance for identity construction in periods of social transformation.

Autorentext

The Author: Victoria Knebel, born in Dresden, studied Literature and Indology in Halle and Leipzig. Since 2000 she was a Sociology postgraduate at the University of Edinburgh, where she submitted this book as a Ph.D. thesis in 2005.

Inhalt

Contents: Buildings and Social Power - Preservationism and Oppositional Identities in the GDR - 1989: Political Transformations and the Symbol Frauenkirche - The Frauenkirche as «Citizens Church»: Competing Civil Societies in Reunified Germany - Nostalgia as Empowerment.