Book premiere: craft between upheaval and rebuilding in Dresden!

Book premiere: craft between upheaval and rebuilding in Dresden!

In a solemn framework, the Dresden Chamber of Crafts published a new book that illuminates the upheavals and developments in the craft on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of German-German reunification. The title of the book “End - Change - Recurring. Historian Matthias Donath has documented the economic and social changes that had far -reaching consequences for the region. The book comprises just under 160 pages and, in addition to detailed analyzes, also offers contemporary witness reports from craftsmen and public life, as President Jörg Dittrich emphasizes. These stories are essential for understanding the processes and challenges at the time to which the craft encountered.

as bpb.de, the transformation to the market economy to the market economy in East Germany was accompanied by great hopes. But many of these expectations were not fulfilled: the political upheaval led to a dramatic economic collapse. The formerly stable large businesses, in which many GDR citizens were busy, shrank rapidly, and the region's employment structure changed profoundly. In the first years after the turn, an estimated 80 % of workers in the former GDR lost their jobs - a crisis that is compared to the global economic crisis of the 1930s.

The change in the craft

The publication of "End - Umbreaking - Recurring" fills out a significant gap in historiography from the point of view of the craft. It becomes clear that the monetary union and the spontaneous economic opening grew the East German companies unprepared for global competition. [Time Wend Learning Portal] (https://zeitende-lernportal.de/a_thematic-- Einchungen_ Einfahrbruch-in-der-and-transformation-in-ostdeutschland/) explains that with the introduction of the D-Mark as the sole means of payment, many companies immediately got into difficulties. The transformations and privatizations by the trustee meant that around 200 combinations stopped working in 1990. At the same time, many East German companies remained in a situation that endangers the federal government despite massive funding.

The Dresden Chamber of Crafts has set itself a big task with the chronological documentation of this change. With many photos and graphics, the reader is inevitably restored to the time of upheaval. The final part of the book also contains a timeline to important social and craft policy events of the 1980s and 1990s. In addition, there are lists with abbreviations, illustrations and a register of persons to underpin the relevance of the documentation.

The book is only available via the Dresden Chamber of Crafts. Interested parties can contact the chamber directly (email: kommunikikt@hwk-dresden.de). This chronological review of a formative chapter in German history is not only for historians, but for all people who have experienced this eventful time or want to learn more about it.