History is replete with examples of scientists and social scientists working under the yoke of oppressive regimes. In The Closed World of East German Economists, Till Duppe tells the story of a generation of economists whose entire careers coincided with the forty-one-year existence of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). In a micro-historical fashion, he examines the world of East German economists through the formative episodes in the lives of five different economists from this "hope" generation. Using both the perspective of the actors as expressed in interviews and archival material unknown to the actors, the book follows East German economics from the early days of the acceptance of Marxism-Leninism through to its interaction with Western economics and its eventual dissolution following the collapse of the Berlin Wall. It is fascinating insight into the challenges faced by economists in a unique period of European history.
Author Biography
Till Duppe is professor at the departement des sciences economiques, and member of the Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie (CIRST), both at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal. For periods of this research, he was visiting researcher at the European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), and at the Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History in Potsdam.
