Deutschland 89 - follow-up reading

[Alamo]

Just having a bit of a Deutschland 83/6/9 binge, and really enjoying it. Nostalgia apart (as a Cold War warrior), I think they are a really good watch, and portray the situation in East Germany in what I imagine to be a very realistic way.

The latest though has had me really thinking about the magnitude of those events, and not just for those in the East. For the West as well the entire political/military apparatus that we had been structured to counter and spent our time facing, broke down with incredible speed. This, in turn, got me thinking about the enormous challenges this would have placed on Western policy makers. What line to take? If we think politicians have been challenged by C-19, imagine what that would have been like!

So my question is: does anyone have any recommendations on decent books that focus on decision-makers during the events of 89? I'm not after a history, I was serving at the time and have visited Berlin so know the chronology. What I am really interested in is how Western policy was determined eg, on the night of 9 Nov what did the W.German government advise its citizens in Berlin to do?

Thanks

 

[06FA56Paderborn]

I have also been stimulated into doing some investigation into what life was like in the DDR during this period, and have found you have to be very careful in what you look for.

I ended up disappearing down all sorts of blind alleys which whilst very interesting did not fully answer my questions, for example here is a document that I unearthed

https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10040339/3/Neuendorf_10040339_thesis.pdf

there are a number of PHD thesis around that examine the DDR and it’s relationship to the West and you might strike lucky in searching for one that covers your area of interest. UCL/UL was a good source of informatio.

l also believe that they are probably more accurate than some of the accounts of life experience in the DDR that are available.

 

[Nornironman]

I enjoyed this about 20 years ago! The saddled cow - Anne McElvoy

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I was in Thueringen in the aftermath. Spent a few months there. It has stuck with me forever. Can't believe it's 30 years ago!

 

[Alamo]

Thanks. One of the quirks of my career is that in 89 there were 2 particular jobs that I was in the running for, in Gatow and Gibraltar; I got Gib. I did a course in Jan 90 with the bloke who went to Gatow. He and his wife had spent the nights of late 89 downtown, an amazing experience.