pickWhile I was in Berlin, I met a British tour guide who referenced this specific book as a great introduction to the advent and dissolution of East Germany or the German Democratic Republic. Funny enough, I was already reading it. Hoyer does a particularly nice job with the format relating individual experiences of citizens of various locales, backgrounds, industries, dissenters and true believers and builds the historical narrative off this device.
pickThe concise history of the GDR covers the time leading up to the building of the Wall and ending in 1990. Hoyer aims to show the reader what life in the GDR was like - including welfare state, home and family, popular culture and foreign relations -while also focusing on key figures such as Walter Ulbricht, Erich Honecker and head of Stasi, Erich Mielke. When it comes to women‘s equality, the GDR was one step ahead of the west: women were working
Halfway through this serious overview of nazism & terrified by the parallels that can be drawn between today & the 30s. On AH's bday, let's remember that he was a good public speaker, but a lazy, incompetent statesman w/ a short attention span who relied on a handful of high-ups + everyday Germans as part of an organic whole. They figured out what needed doing to reach the goals he had set out, then carried it out independently & zealously.
Yesterday my son & I enjoyed another #makingmemories day in NYC.The cold,damp,& rain did not deter us! We took a 6:10 a.m. Amtrak train to the Metro North line which let us out at Grand Central Station.Breakfast for me was 2 mini bacon quiches & Starbucks coffee. Perfect start to my day! The MET exhibit was truly breathtaking. I love how the drawings, etchings, & oil paintings took us through Friedrich‘s artistic & spiritual life chronologically.
Here are my points.
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