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Title
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Casualties of Unification?: Understanding the Various Interpretations of the Dissolution of the Nationale Volksarmee and the Integration of Its Members into the Bundeswehr.
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Creator
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Weidanz, Roy R., Stoltzfus, Nathan, Adamovich, Ljubisa S., Jones, James P., Program in Russian and East European Studies, Florida State University
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Abstract/Description
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Over the last few years the military aspect of German unification has received positive media coverage, which has prompted some to apply the term Armee der Einheit (Armed Forces of Unity) to describe the Bundeswehr of today. However, there are others who have argued that this term is inappropriate, as the process that occurred between the two militaries was a one-sided procedure that almost entirely favored the Bundeswehr (West German armed forces). After the NVA (East German armed forces)...
Show moreOver the last few years the military aspect of German unification has received positive media coverage, which has prompted some to apply the term Armee der Einheit (Armed Forces of Unity) to describe the Bundeswehr of today. However, there are others who have argued that this term is inappropriate, as the process that occurred between the two militaries was a one-sided procedure that almost entirely favored the Bundeswehr (West German armed forces). After the NVA (East German armed forces) was dissolved, only a limited number of its personnel was taken over into the West German military and an even smaller amount eventually became permanent Bundeswehr soldiers. Furthermore, the process did not occur without some form of sacrifice placed upon most of the NVA personnel. As a result, there are a variety of interpretations on the dissolution of the NVA and the integration of its personnel into the Bundeswehr. Thus, one of the main challenges to understanding the event is to analyze how and why divergent interpretations have been derived, which in turn will help in the comprehension of the overall unification event as well as the open issues that continue to have a psychological impact on the former East Germans.
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Date Issued
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2005
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Identifier
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FSU_migr_etd-1220
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Format
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Thesis
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Title
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Leninist Concepts of Social Responsibility and Truth as Philosophical Foundations for Dissidence.
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Creator
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Keitel, Jolie, Efimov, Nina, Wakamiya, Lisa, Grant, Jonathan, Program in Russian and East European Studies, Florida State University
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Abstract/Description
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My thesis starts by looking at Lenin's interpretation of Marxism. The Leninist ideas of a tangible reality, the rejection of social democratic compromise and the importance of social responsibility as well as personal responsibility for political action. These ideas that facilitated the 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia can be paralleled to the ideas later used by anti-government activists. I examine the sociopolitical environment of the Soviet Union following Stalin's death in 1953. With...
Show moreMy thesis starts by looking at Lenin's interpretation of Marxism. The Leninist ideas of a tangible reality, the rejection of social democratic compromise and the importance of social responsibility as well as personal responsibility for political action. These ideas that facilitated the 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia can be paralleled to the ideas later used by anti-government activists. I examine the sociopolitical environment of the Soviet Union following Stalin's death in 1953. With Khrushchev's denunciation of Stalin a new era began across the Eastern Bloc. Using Václav Havel and his interpretation of Jan Patočka's phenomenology I create a wide schema for what is, and ultimately what creates a political "dissident." Phenomenology examines the way individuals interpret first person experiences, and what meaning they then apply to those experiences. Arguably the tyrannical environment of the Eastern Bloc shaped its own opposition. I then present the work of several Russian "dissidents" to first show the truly Leninist roots of their work, and then illustrate that this "dissidence" is not a national movement, rather it was shaped by oppression. Thus "dissidents" are forced to politically act because they have learned to from their own history. The foundations of the Bolshevik revolution necessitated radical political action because of an overwhelming social responsibility. The concept of a world unified proletariat revolution can be modernized to a concept of a world wide dissident movement against tyranny.
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Date Issued
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2011
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Identifier
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FSU_migr_etd-3241
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Format
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Thesis
