Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany

Location:
Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur
Kronenstraße 5
10117 Berlin
Germany
 
Contact:
Tel. +49 (0)30 3198950
 
Description: 

The Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany contributes, through research sponsorships and its own projects (including exhibitions and publications), to a critical reappraisal of the causes, history and long-term consequences of the communist dictatorships in the Soviet zone of occupation in Germany and later the GDR, as well as in eastern Europe. In accordance with its Act of Appointment the foundation works to keep alive the memory of the injustice that was committed and the victims it left behind, and to promote and strengthen democracy, the process of German unification, and the anti-totalitarian consensus throughout society. Simultaneously, the foundation collaborates internationally on a number of projects that investigate and reappraise dictatorships.

Cold War Interests: 

Specific legislation has assigned theFederal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Eastern Germany with the task of conducting a comprehensive reappraisal of the causes, history and long-term impact of the communist dictatorships and of the division of Germany. Apart from the preceding Nazi reign of terror, the Cold War was among the principal causes leading to the foundation of two separate German states in 1949, subsequently having a profound effect on both states' histories. Consequently, the East-West conflict represents one of the overarching themes guiding the foundation's work.

The foundation is not only the co-curator of the exhibition 'Der Kalte Krieg. Ursachen – Geschichte – Folgen' ('The Cold War – Causes – Histories – Impacts'), but also organises panel meetings and conferences on the subject, promotes written publications and film documentaries, and issues grants as a contribution to both an academic and a popular treatment of the Cold War. The specific topics covered by the foundation's work range from the construction of the Berlin Wall via the politics of détente to the CSCE process (whose ramifications particularly for the opposition in eastern Europe at the time cannot be overestimated).