Universe earth man
Weltall Erde Mensch is a compilation published in the GDR , which, with a circulation of around four million copies, is considered to be "the most widely distributed printed matter in the GDR". Because of its anti-religious and atheistic attitude, it was given away to young people between 1954 and 1974, preferably for youth consecration .
Structure and edition
The work was published from 1954 to 1974 in a total of 22 editions by Verlag Neues Leben in Berlin . It is a large-format work with over 500 pages and rich graphics, diagrams and drawings. From 1975 it was replaced by the book Socialism, Your World and from 1983 by the work From the meaning of our life . The illustrations come from Zdeněk Burian and Eberhard Binder-Staßfurt , who also designed the dust jacket, and other draftsmen. Printing took place at VEB Interdruck , processing at VEB Leipziger Großbuchbinderei .
The work should represent a "comprehensive system of nature and society according to the Marxist-Leninist model". Its aim was to highlight the advantages of scientific and technical progress in order to "fight for progress, truth and justice, against exploitation, oppression and lies." .
content
The foreword comes from Walter Ulbricht , who introduces with the sentence: "This book is the book of truth". This is followed by an article by Alfred Kosing entitled How do we see our world? on. It deals with the question of whether a scientific worldview is required. He also explains the importance of dialectical materialism for science and practice. This is followed by a total of three chapters with contributions from different authors, including Robert Havemann's editions from the 1950s , e. B. The structure of matter that was later missing after Havemann fell out of favor as a dissident in 1965.
The content was determined by an atheist creed:
"Such a scientific conception, which is based on dialectical and historical materialism , does not allow a fairy tale of the creator , world spirit and ruler of the world."
Chapter 1: The Universe
The national prize winner Rolf Dörge gives an introduction to atomic physics under the title Die Eroberung des Atoms and explains, among other things, the basic structure and structure of atoms. The astronomer Diedrich Wattenberg then explains the heliocentric view of the world under the title The Structure of the Universe , gives an insight into the structure of telescopes and observatories and explains the formation of the solar system and the Milky Way .
Chapter 2: The Earth and the Development of Life
The chemical and material structure of the earth is the subject of Rudolf Jubelt's first contribution under the title Our Earth . He describes rock formations , changes in the earth caused by volcanism , for example, and goes into the essential development phases of the earth's history . Another topic is the extraction of raw materials and their importance for the economic development of a country. Jacob Segal explains in his section What is Life? the evolution , while Konrad Senglaub under the title The World of organisms of plant diversity and animal life in the biogenesis represents. It describes the development from single-celled organisms to higher living beings, such as vertebrates . The large-format, fold-out illustrations of prehistory come from Zdeněk Burian . Wolfgang Padberg deals with the history of mankind under the title The Path of Man and Human Society and also goes into gentile society . RF Schmiedt's contribution The class society asks why there are classes or antagonists within society. Heinrich Scheel then goes into the life and work of Marx and Engels under the title Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels - the founders of the scientific worldview .
Chapter 3: A New Age Begins
Arnold Reisberg describes the life and work of Lenin under the title Vladimir Ilyich Lenin - the leader of the world proletariat . Then Lothar Berthold goes into The Struggle of the Communist Party of Germany for the Happiness of the Nation on the October and November Revolutions and the founding of the KPD. In his section The German Democratic Republic - the future of the German nation, Stefan Doernberg describes the time after the Second World War and the circumstances that led to the founding of the SED . Under the title The Scientific and Technical Revolution in Socialist Society , Otto Reinhold and Gerhard Schulz introduce the scientific and technical revolution and describe the essential principles of the GDR as an industrial state. Wolfgang Weichelt presents the tasks of a socialist society under Our Socialist Democracy , while Fred Staufenbiel explains the educational system under the title The Socialist Cultural Revolution . The chapter concludes with an article by Herbert Stony The communism - the future of humanity .
An explanation of the technical terms and foreign words used in the book as well as a reference to the sources of the quotations and photos including further references can be found at the end of the work.
literature
- Author collective: Universe Earth Man . 16th edited edition. New Life Berlin publishing house, Berlin 1968.
- Stefan Wolle: Departure into stagnation - the GDR in the sixties . 1st edition. Federal Agency for Civic Education, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-89331-588-8 .
- Heike Acker: Marxist thinking in education. Inaugural dissertation . Fernuniversität Hagen 2010 ( PDF file; 1.84 MB ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Stefan Wolle: Departure into stagnation - The GDR in the sixties . 1st edition. Federal Agency for Civic Education, Bonn 2005, ISBN 3-89331-588-8 .
- ↑ De- Christianization. Jugendweihe - for drunkenness, socialism & the Soviet Union WELT-online, May 15, 2015 .; Rolf Bauerdick: When God disappears, man disappears: a defense of faith.
- ^ Igor J. Polianski : The GDR riddle and the world riddle. Center for Contemporary History Potsdam ( PDF file ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. , Accessed on June 6, 2012).
- ↑ Jürgen Gruhle : Without God and Sunshine , Volume 4. P. 77.
