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Bowling for Communism - Urban Ingenuity at the End of East Germany (Hardcover)
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Bowling for Communism - Urban Ingenuity at the End of East Germany (Hardcover)
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Bowling for Communism illuminates how civic life functioned in
Leipzig, East Germany's second-largest city, on the eve of the 1989
revolution by exploring acts of "urban ingenuity" amid catastrophic
urban decay. Andrew Demshuk profiles the creative activism of local
communist officials who, with the help of scores of volunteers,
constructed a palatial bowling alley without Berlin's knowledge or
approval. In a city mired in disrepair, civic pride overcame
resentment against a regime loathed for corruption, Stasi spies,
and the Berlin Wall. Reconstructing such episodes through
interviews and obscure archival materials, Demshuk shows how the
public sphere functioned in Leipzig before the fall of communism.
Hardly detached or inept, local officials worked around centralized
failings to build a more humane city. And hardly disengaged,
residents turned to black-market construction to patch up their
surroundings. Because such "urban ingenuity" was premised on
weakness in the centralized regime, the dystopian cityscape evolved
from being merely a quotidian grievance to the backdrop for
revolution. If, by their actions, officials were demonstrating that
the regime was irrelevant, and if, in their own experiences, locals
only attained basic repairs outside official channels, why should
anyone have mourned the system when it was overthrown?
General
Imprint: |
Cornell University Press
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Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
October 2020 |
First published: |
2022 |
Authors: |
Andrew Demshuk
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Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 22mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover
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Pages: |
272 |
ISBN-13: |
978-1-5017-5166-0 |
Categories: |
Books
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LSN: |
1-5017-5166-2 |
Barcode: |
9781501751660 |
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