Stephan Merl

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Stephan Merl (born September 7, 1947 in Hamburg ) is a German historian. His field of work is Eastern European history .

Life

Stepan Merl passed the first and second state exams in Hamburg in 1975 and 1980. In 1979 he received his doctorate in philosophy with the thesis The Agricultural Market and the New Economic Policy. The beginnings of state control of agriculture in the Soviet Union 1925-1928 at the University of Hamburg .

From 1980 to 1982 he had a research grant from the Fazit Foundation in Frankfurt. In the following six years he worked as a research assistant for social and economic history at the Free University of Berlin . From 1988 to 1990 he worked as a research assistant at the Center for Continental Agricultural and Economic Research at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen .

In 1991 he completed his habilitation at the Free University of Berlin, and in 1991 he was a professor for comparative health and social policy at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen. Also in 1991 he was appointed professor for Eastern European history at Bielefeld University.

Merl is a member of the “ American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies ”, the “Bielefeld School for Historical Research”, the “German Society for Eastern European Studies ”, the “ Association of German Historians ” and the “Association of Eastern European Historians”.

Research priorities

Political communication in dictatorships

Based on the question of whether political communication is even possible in dictatorships , it was established that in dictatorships it was always a goal of political communication to establish unity between the rulers and the people. The question is also asked whether the loss of control over political communication was perhaps decisive for the Peaceful Revolution in the GDR and other dictatorships in the Eastern Bloc at that time .

Petitions as a Form and Medium of Political Communication in Russia: The USSR after the Second World War

The project examines the influence of petitions from the population to local and central addressees on the political process in the Soviet Union . With the end of Stalinism , popular input became a method of political communication for the regime. The extent to which it was possible to influence the population positively in the sense of the regime through the mostly quick responses is being researched.

The role of cooperatives in the process of “nation building” in Russia, 1860–1930

Merl has been researching the role of cooperatives in nation building in Russia since 2005 , drawing on much of his previous work. In particular, the question of whether there were approaches by peasant cooperatives before the October Revolution or whether these were only state organizations in the Soviet Union from the beginning is examined.

Agricultural sector and standard of living in the industrialization process of Russia and the Soviet Union

Since 1994 he has been researching the development of Soviet agriculture under the influence of the New Economic Policy , forced collectivization and the Stalinist terror system. The main topics include the development of the standard of living of the population depending on the respective economic system, the assessment of the development potential of Russian agriculture and the specific characteristics or consequences of Stalinism for the Soviet agricultural sector. The aim is to work out new lines of interpretation based on the latest research results for the entire development since the middle of the 19th century.

The development of civil society in Russia since the end of the 19th century

Between 1993 and 2000, Merl researched whether there were any signs in Russia before the First World War that civil society was catching up on a development that it had already undergone in Western countries in the 100 years before. Questions about the longer-term development of Russia towards civil society were also asked.

Stalinism and National Socialism in comparison

Merl gained more recent knowledge that was only possible after the Soviet archives had been opened, and he also gave teaching events. He worked to show the parallels and differences between the National Socialist and Stalinist dictatorships.

The conception of a specifically Soviet model of consumer society under Khrushchev

Research on the development of consumer goods consumption in the Soviet Union during the time of Nikita Khrushchev . This had formulated the goal that the Soviet Union should overtake the West in the production of consumer goods.

Sovietization and De-Stalinization in Eastern Europe, 1945–1990

Between 1997 and 2001 Merl researched a re-evaluation in particular of the time immediately after the death of Stalin and with special consideration of Lavrenti Beria with the archive material only newly available after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Honors

Fonts (selection)

Monographs

  • The agricultural market and the new economic policy , R. Oldenbourg Verlag, 1981, ISBN 3-486-50021-X (also dissertation)
  • The beginnings of collectivization in the Soviet Union , Harrassowitz Verlag, 1985, ISBN 3-447-02507-7
  • Peasants under Stalin , Duncker & Humblot, 1990, ISBN 3-428-06903-X
  • Social advancement in the Soviet collective farm system of the 1930s? , Duncker & Humblot, 1990, ISBN 3-428-06788-6
  • Political communication in the dictatorship , Wallstein Verlag, 2012, ISBN 978-3-8353-1153-4

editor

  • Agricultural economy and agricultural policy in the former GDR in transition , Duncker & Humblot, 1991, ISBN 3-428-07049-6
  • Soviet Power and Peasants: Documents on Agricultural Policy and the Development of Agriculture during "War Communism" and the New Economic Policy , Duncker & Humblot, 1993, ISBN 3-428-07693-1

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Brief CV at Bielefeld University
  2. ^ Research project Political Communication at Bielefeld University
  3. ^ Subproject B11 at Bielefeld University
  4. ^ Project role of the cooperatives at Bielefeld University
  5. ↑ Project agricultural sector and standard of living at Bielefeld University
  6. ^ Research project civil society in Russia at Bielefeld University
  7. ↑ Stephan Merl's research projects at Bielefeld University
  8. ↑ Stalinism and National Socialism at Bielefeld University
  9. ^ Research project consumer society under Khrushchev at Bielefeld University
  10. ^ Research project Sovietization and De-Stalinization at Bielefeld University
personal data
SURNAME Merl, Stephan
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German historian
DATE OF BIRTH September 7, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Hamburg