History

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This is the collection for the University of Waterloo's Department of History.

Research outputs are organized by type (eg. Master Thesis, Article, Conference Paper).

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Compulsory Fun: Creating Legitimacy through Anniversary Commemorations in the GDR
(University of Waterloo, 2019-09-04) Redler, Jennifer; Bruce, Gary
From the state’s founding in 1949, East Germany’s ruling SED engaged in an exhaustive campaign to remove doubts about the country’s legitimacy as an independent state, doubts that not only existed abroad, but also at home amongst its own people. Although the Basic Treaty between East and West Germany in 1972 officially established diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1972, and did much to signal to the world the permanency of the state, the fact that the country abruptly dissolved 17 years later tells us much about the precariousness with which the GDR (German Democratic Republic) had existed. At no time was the GDR’s existence certain, a fact which resulted in persistent efforts by the SED to encourage participation in anniversary commemorations in a desperate attempt to create legitimacy. Using previously untouched archival documents, this dissertation explores three main facets of GDR anniversary commemorations that showcase the ways in which the SED attempted to convince the populace of their vision of a distinct GDR identity. The first and most important facet was the ideological theses the SED issued in honour of a particular anniversary, which not only guided the planning of all celebratory measures, but were also integrated into all cultural events, exhibits, group activities, and festivities themselves. The second facet sheds light on the ways in which national, regional, and local National Front organizations sought to educate the populace on these central anniversary theses by carrying out wide-ranging events, most of which were pedagogical in nature, including lectures, forums, publications, exhibitions, and festivals. The third facet involves the ways in which National Front organizations carried out “socialist competitions” at the national, regional, and local levels during the weeks and months leading up to the anniversary itself. Also vital to understanding these anniversary commemorations are the tensions between centre and periphery, especially the ways in which national and regional National Front committees attempted to work with one another, despite often vast differences in opinion, understanding, and available resources. Ultimately, this dissertation seeks to show that even though the National Front designed the anniversary commemorations to be enjoyable for East Germans, the state nevertheless went to great lengths to promote its monopolistic vision of East Germany. The SED sought to strictly control their message down to the individual East German: once the SED Politburo’s propaganda wing had designed the theses, there was no room for an alternative narrative. While less-than positive opinions often came up in theses discussion forums, local National Front committees sought to counteract them as part of their efforts to convince East Germans of the state’s point of view. In fact, the anniversary commemorations were so ubiquitous that there were virtually endless opportunities for the public to hear this point of view, as each GDR citizen could be simultaneously involved in local, regional, or national events, ranging from sporting events, to workplace competitions, to even neighbourhood and apartment-level street festivals.
Each Woman Dies Her Death A Thousand Times: Voices Of Female Experience In The Holocaust
(University of Waterloo, 2018-10-16) Johnston, Michelle; Bruce, Gary
While the experiences of Holocaust victims are well studied in history, the nuances of female-centric elements of these experiences have been under-represented in Holocaust historiography until relatively recently. While there is no single, “typical” female experience in the Holocaust, a woman’s path, as well as elements of her suffering, were significantly shaped by her gender in unique ways. Utilizing female authored memoirs, this thesis examines experience and memory to illuminate unique elements of how the Holocaust was experienced by female victims. The ways in which gender influenced Holocaust experiences in the pre-WWII era, the era of deportations, and in camp confinement are explored, along with unique and significant examples of female-centric means of resistance. Issues such as menstruation, lesbianism, sexuality, hair loss, beauty standards, childbirth, fetishization of the female body and grief are explored in order to contribute to a more inclusive and nuanced understanding of how women experienced the Holocaust.
“Lucky that East Germany also exists”: Yugoslavia between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (1955-1968)
(University of Waterloo, 2019-01-14) Maricic, Alan; Bruce, Gary
This dissertation explores the relations between Yugoslavia and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in the period between 1955 and 1968. This is the first analysis using sources from all three countries, and the first one written in English. In 1955, the FRG developed a set of diplomatic measures which aimed to prevent the GDR’s international recognition as a sovereign country. These measures became known as the Hallstein Doctrine, named after one of the West German civil servants responsible for developing them. Under these measures, the FRG would break off diplomatic relations with any third country that recognized the GDR. Thus the two Germanies became involved in a diplomatic battle, with the GDR searching for recognition and the FRG trying to thwart these efforts. Much of the GDR’s counter-efforts in the early years of the Doctrine were aimed at Yugoslavia, which was in the process of rebuilding its relations with the Soviet Union following the Tito-Stalin split in 1948. This development opened the door for Yugoslav cooperation with other Eastern Bloc countries, including the GDR. In 1957, Yugoslavia finally recognized the GDR. This caused the FRG broke off relations with Yugoslavia, a decision it would reverse eleven years later, in 1968. This dissertation shows that Yugoslavia’s decision to recognize the GDR did not reflect its general foreign policy goals, and that in subsequent years, Yugoslavia was more concerned with developing good economic relations with the FRG. This dissertation also shows that the GDR expected Yugoslavia to influence other non-aligned countries to recognize it, but that Yugoslavia was reluctant to jeopardize its position in the non-aligned world by lobbying for the GDR. By using multi-archival sources, this dissertation examines the relations between Yugoslavia and the two Germanies, focusing on their bilateral relations and agency, but also takes into account the broader Cold War context, including superpower interests and Yugoslavia’s role as a leading non-aligned country.
Stalin’s Last Comrade: Hanna Wolf and the “Karl Marx” Party College in the German Democratic Republic
(University of Waterloo, 2024-01-31) McKay, Jennifer; Bruce, Gary
For over thirty years, the Parteihochschule Karl Marx (PHS) was under the direction of the fervent Hanna Wolf, who oversaw the training of East Germany’s Socialist Unity Party (SED) functionaries. First appointed as Director in 1950, Wolf proved to be a tenacious and calculated leader who was not only able to remain in her position for over three decades, but who also wielded power as a female member of the SED. While many high-ranking women in the East German regime were either propped up due to the influence of a more powerful partner or their positions were deemed more suitable to women’s work, Wolf’s appointment at the PHS proved neither and she broke through the male-dominated party culture of the SED on her own merits. However, scholarship focusing on high-ranking women in the SED has been quite meagre and on the PHS itself, there is a modest but important literature. Therefore, this dissertation explores how Wolf’s political savviness, which included a myriad of personality traits, helped her successfully navigate the male dominated party culture of the SED. Such personality traits included being an “iron maiden,” proving to be cold and domineering with students and peers who did not follow the party line, or warm and friendly with those in positions of power. As a result of Wolf’s keen awareness of party politics, she was able to remain in her role as Director for thirty-three years, overseeing the training of close to 25,000 party functionaries that were sent out into the workforce and branches of the party apparatus armed with a very limited set of professional skills and only the knowledge of Marxism-Leninism, which ultimately helped stall technological advancements in the East German regime. Often referred to as “Wolf Canyon” or the “Red Monastery,” Wolf ruled over the PHS with an “iron fist” and proved to be a massive barrier when it came to changing the student curricula. As a veteran communist who first joined the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) in 1930, then spent the 1930s and 1940s in the Soviet Union, Wolf was instilled with a vehement dedication to Stalinism which never faltered throughout the duration of her life and which she employed in her management of the PHS. Even during the 1950s, with Stalin’s death in 1953 and Nikita Khrushchev’s denunciation of the Soviet dictator in 1956, Wolf stayed true to her ideals and faced backlash from colleagues at the party school who started a campaign for her removal. During the 1960s, Wolf had to contend with Walter Ulbricht’s transition from an ideologue to a technocrat and his attempts to reform PHS student coursework from focusing primarily on ideology to more technical topics. However, by the 1970s, Wolf’s leadership remained unchallenged as Erich Honecker, who was also a dedicated hardliner, replaced Ulbricht as Party General Secretary in 1971, and the PHS continued to operate under Wolf’s dogmatic and dictatorial rule until her retirement in June 1983.

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Browsing History by Author "Bruce, Gary"