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Across half a century, from the division of Germany through the end of the Cold War, a cohort of thirty women from the small German town of Schönebeck in what used to be the GDR circulated among themselves a remarkable collective archive of their lives: a Rundbrief, or bulletin, containing hundreds of letters and photographs. This book draws on that unprecedented resource, complemented by a set of interviews, to paint a rich portrait of “ordinary” life in postwar Germany. It shows how these women—whether reflecting on their experiences as Nazi-era schoolchildren or witnessing reunification—were united by their complex interactions with official power and their commitment to sustaining a shared German identity as they made the most of their everyday lives in both the GDR and the Federal Republic.
“Beginning and advanced students can learn much from this highly readable book. Its bottom-up view of postwar German history is revealing even to the expert. Its subtle and perceptive interpretations of attitudes about gender and womanhood, Heimat and the German past, politics and everyday life are enlightening. It provokes one to think about friendship, the psychology of groups, and ageing in new and refreshing ways. A most worthwhile read.” • German History
“Friendship Without Borders is an engaging, highly readable, and deeply interesting book that will be of interest to historians of Modern Germany, women and gender history, and everyday life.” • German Studies Review
“Leask creates a valuable window into their everyday lives and the significance of the personal for historical study. He brings attention to this unique collection, which will provide source materials for scholars and digital humanists interested in gender studies, networks, and text analysis. Leask’s investigation of the Schönebeck collection is a powerful example of how biographical analysis contributes to new understandings of familiar contexts in fields such as the history of emotions, gender studies, and political history.” • Central European History
“It was a great pleasure to read Phil Leask’s well-written, highly differentiated and excellently researched book. I thoroughly enjoyed how the powerful, intimate life stories were carefully embedded into historical context.” • Group Analysis
“Leask’s study demonstrates the rich potential of scholarship freed from disciplinary silos and reminds readers that the human capacity for perseverance is a powerful source of agency and identity.” • The Oral History Review
“The phrase ‘paradigm-altering’ is used in an inflationary way, but in this case of this book it seems appropriate. Friendship, Power, and Everyday Life will change the way we approach the social history of the twentieth century. In important respects, it alters our view of gender relations in the Third Reich, FRG and GDR.” • Mark Fenemore, Senior Lecturer in Modern European History
“Leask writes with great care for and due attention to the lives of the Schönebeck women. The reader is given a glimpse into their ‘unpolitical’ world, from the ins and outs of their daily lives—love, death, marriage, children—to their experiences living through some of the major ruptures of European history.” • Jane Freeland, German Historical Institute London
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
The Schönebeck Women and Where They Went
Chapter 1. From Schoolgirls to Young Women
Chapter 2. Grown Up: The Long 1950s
Chapter 3. No Longer Young:The 1960s
Chapter 4. Turning Fifty: The 1970s
Chapter 5.Toward Retirement: The 1980s
Chapter 6. Reunited? The 1990s and Beyond
Conclusion: The Schönebeck Women and Their Group
Bibliography
Index