Schnehen, Gerhard's Books

How Socialist East Germany's Elite Turned Capitalist

By: Gerhard Schnehen

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

How Socialist East Germany's Elite Turned Capitalist

By: Gerhard Schnehen

When East and West Germany re-united, the world was amazed — but this great moment should have been foreseen. East Germany, the GDR, was not transformed by a counterrevolution from the outside; the leadership was always capitalist at heart. The author shows how they were undermining the socialist foundations even in the 1950s, as soon as Stalin died. Gerhard Schnehen leads us through the historic events that led to the formation of the German Democratic Republic, GDR. He documents what others have left out of the story, explaining the underlying causes why the supposedly 'Communist' part of Germany collapsed in 1989, to be completely integrated into the capitalist Federal Republic of Germany. The reunited and imperialist Germany today is the dominant force in the European Union and the main ally of US imperialism, globalism and neoliberalism. With the rise to power of the Khrushchev clique, the GDR also changed colors. Guided by Khrushchev and his group, they introduced economic reforms leading to the restoration of a type of capitalism in the country where the profit principle was reinstated as the main regulator of social production. This in turn caused numerous and chronic crises in the country which in the West were then happily attributed to socialism or communism as a whole, inviting attacks on 'a system that cannot work.' However, such commentators completely ignore and do not want to discuss the fact that GDR’s 'socialism' was brought down very early, in the early sixties, by leading officials of the ruling party themselves, who introduced a whole series of capitalist 'reforms' in order to 'modernize socialism' and to make it 'more effective' (as the Ulbricht reformers put it). These so-called reforms are analyzed here at length, illustrating how they did away with socialist principles and restored capitalist principles into the economy in a way that made the country prone to the chronic crises typical of capitalism. This then led to a substantial part of the dissatisfied population turning away from socialism, the 'socialist' state and the SED ruling party, and looking toward West Germany for a better lifestyle. In late 1989, the GDR imploded and within months it was swallowed up by West German banks and corporations.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

260

Publisher

Algora Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1628944455

ISBN 13

9781628944457

How Maoism Destroyed Communism

By: Gerhard Schnehen

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

How Maoism Destroyed Communism

By: Gerhard Schnehen

Many people still think that Maoism and Marxism constitute more or less the same ideological concept and have a lot in common. Allegedly, they both stand for ?Communism? ? or the failure of Communism, and are both some sort of totalitarian system with no respect for human rights and basic freedoms. The texts, documents and analyses presented in this book disprove these assumptions. Maoism essentially destroyed Communism. This collection may give some valuable insights into how this could happen.

Average ratings

N/A

Write a review

Solve jigsaw puzzle

Age

Page Count

244

Publisher

Algora Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1628944935

ISBN 13

9781628944938

Khrushchev’s Putsch

Reversing the Socialist Program and Wrecking the Soviet Union

By: Gerhard Schnehen

Write a review Read reviews Take a Quiz Solve Book Puzzle

Khrushchev’s Putsch

Reversing the Socialist Program and Wrecking the Soviet Union

By: Gerhard Schnehen

Stalin is commonly considered the quintessential "vicious dictator," an iconic figure of tyranny. But almost none of his many biographers has drawn on primary sources, eye witness accounts, Stalin’s own writings and speeches, or what those people who met him had to say about him. This assiduously researched book is an attempt to get a little closer to the truth. It is based on first-hand observations from every stage of his life, and it evaluates numerous shocking tropes that were circulated by Stalin's rivals and made into our received view of his rule.

Average ratings

N/A