In no drawer
In no drawer - Experiences in a divided and united Germany is a non-fiction book from the field of politics by Hans Joachim Meyer .
It describes his work as a science politician, minister and the highest-ranking lay Catholic in the Central Committee of German Catholics . The author also comes across uncomfortable theses and assessments. The book is not a biography or memoir in the strict sense of the word; B. There is no review of origin, childhood and youth. Rather, his “political life” is outlined in this book and his part in the transformation of GDR society after the peaceful revolution and in the adaptation of the GDR institutions in the field of science and education to West German conditions and in the rebuilding of the Free State of Saxony is presented . He describes the joint work with companions, but also goes hard with the political opponents - both from the old SED squad and from the ranks of the radical revolutionaries. Again and again, his criticism of the 68 West Left is discussed.
content
The book first briefly outlines his studies at the German Academy for Political Science and Law in Potsdam and his exmatriculation due to “bourgeois thinking” as well as his probation in production with the working class at VEB Lokomotivbau Potsdam-Babelsberg . (The workers said, however, “our Achim has to study”.) Then he studied linguistics and English at the Humboldt University in Berlin and worked at this university.
By far the largest space is taken up by the presentation of his “political life”, as the last GDR Minister for Education and Science in the de Maizière government in 1990 and then as Minister of State for Science and Art in the Free State of Saxony from 1990 to 2002 He had to fight the renewal of the Saxon universities on four fronts:
- against the old SED comrades in the previous chairs,
- against the radical revolutionaries, such as B. Matthias Rößler ,
- against West German universities that wanted to fill the chairs in the east with their graduates,
- against the Finance Minister Georg Milbradt , who was always careful to save money for the universities and colleges.
It is the request to speak from an Eastern intellectual and co-creator of the unit , who also represents his often contradicting opinion on the “mainstream” of German society in a well-founded manner. He is one of the few who has taken a critical look at the ideology of the West German left in 1968 and has spoken out on the associated consequences for Germany's future. According to Meyer, this is the so-called “academic-journalistic complex” that depicts the published opinion. He describes very vividly how the attitudes of the 1968 left, which are mostly directed against a German cultural identity, overlap with those of the elite or how one has to classify “these two opposing and yet mutually reinforcing attitudes”. The left cut the paths in cultural identity and the elites occupy these new "empty spaces" and ruthlessly exploit them for their own ends.
The last chapter is devoted to his honorary work as President of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), whereby as an enlightened Reform Catholic he was always concerned about independence from the Catholic bishops .
In his closing words, “Ausklang in Moll”, he shows the dangers that threaten the democratic, open and pluralistic society in Germany. Individual rights are often strengthened by court rulings and the state's principle of the common good is increasingly pushed back.
Quotes
- Regarding the turning point in German unity, which did not bring about any fundamental change in West German cultural awareness: “The West German left saw with horror how much of the attitudes of the German bourgeoisie had survived in the East. And the conservatives felt threatened by the socialist remnants of community feeling and state expectation. "(P. 427)
- Regarding the attitude of the elites when they claim: "I am an American with a German passport."
- Regarding the attitude of German society: "She gives up her language and hopes to be able to disguise herself as an American to cheat herself into a better world." (P. 607)
- On the effects on society if none of the “cowards in the left-wing costume” dares to contradict nonsensical demands.
- On the term tolerance : “Tolerance has become a battle and terror word in the mouths of many. Anyone who does not bow to what is considered contemporary is considered intolerant. "(P. 625)
- In the census ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court of 1984, he sees the decisive breach with the Basic Law of 1949: “Above all, according to this ruling, the state is no longer a representative of the general interest, which in principle also includes the interests of individual citizens in a free democracy, but rather it appears as the opposite of the citizen and his potential enemy. "(p. 754/55)
- Regarding data protection and informational self-determination : Here he speaks out against “the canonical effect of the basic right to informational self-determination invented by the Federal Constitutional Court”. (P. 757)
reception
The book has so far not received much attention in German society or in the media. However, it reflects very well the time of upheaval in the GDR and the development of the new federal states. However, many older East Germans can make friends with his theses, since they did not experience the western '68 revolt, but see its not only positive consequences.
expenditure
- Hans Joachim Meyer: In no drawer - experiences in divided and united Germany , Herder-Verlag, 2015, 776 pp., ISBN 978-3-451-32968-5
Individual evidence
- ↑ Herder-Verlag (accessed December 17, 2015)
- ↑ Book review Herder-Verlag (accessed December 17, 2015)
- ↑ Tagesspiegel: Ossi Herz (accessed December 17, 2015)
- ↑ Book presentation Day of the Lord (accessed December 17, 2015)