The East German State and the Catholic Church, 1945-1989 [Hardcover]

From 1945 to 1989, relations between the communist East German state and the Catholic Church were contentious and sometimes turbulent. Drawing on extensive Stasi materials and other government and party archives, this study provides the first systematic overview of this complex relationship and offers many new insights into the continuities, changes, and entanglements of policies and strategies on both sides. Previously undiscovered records in church archives contribute to an analysis of regional and sectoral conflicts within the Church and various shades of cooperation between nominal antagonists. The volume also explores relations between the GDR and the Vatican and addresses the oft-neglected communist church business controversially made in exchange for hard Western currency.

Preface and Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations and German Terms

Chapter 1.1945-1953: New Structures in the Postwar Era
Chapter 2.1953-1957: Conflict and Stabilization after the Uprising
Chapter 3.1957-1961: Building Up Socialism
Chapter 4.1961-1971: The GDR on the Path to International Recognition
Chapter 5.1972-1989: The GDR as a Sovereign State under International Law

Conclusion

Bibliography
Index

The German Historical Institute, Washington, D.C. and Berghahn Books are to be applauded for providing a translation of Schaefers decade-old work whose overall findings have not been superseded&Schaefers work remains the standard work to which all students of both GDR history and Catholic history after 1945 should refer. Journal of Contemporary History

In compiling a history of relations between the GDR state and the Catholic Church, Schaefer has done much more than the title suggests. This study is also a comprehensive account of the history of the East German state and the way in which it operated& He provides a guide to the labyrinthine worllS°