Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship

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Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship
Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur
Flag of East Germany with cut out emblem.svg
Foundation logo: East German flag with the emblem cut out.
Agency overview
Formed5 June 1998
Jurisdiction Government of Germany
Headquarters Berlin
Website www.bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de

The Federal Foundation for the Reappraisal of the SED Dictatorship [1] [2] (German : Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, alternatively translated as "(Federal) Foundation for the Study of Communist Dictatorship in East Germany" [3] [4] ) is a government-funded organisation established in 1998 by the German parliament.

Its mandate is to assess the history (1949–1990) of the socialist regime of the German Democratic Republic (GDR, commonly known as East Germany), and its impact on the now reunified Germany.

As its logo, the foundation uses the former East German flag minus its coat of arms. In the final months of the GDR, many East German citizens cut out the flag's emblem in this manner.

The foundation also initiated a project "Aufbruch 1989" [5] in which 17 organisations cooperated, including the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung which is affiliated with the SED successor party, Die Linke. This was rejected by Hubertus Knabe, and after it was made public, [6] by a public letter [7] signed by Bärbel Bohley, Werner Schulz, Lutz Rathenow, Joachim Walther  [ de ], Ralph Giordano, Erich Loest and others, with support by Lea Rosh and Michael Wolffsohn. [8] [9] [10]

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References

  1. ↑ "Dictatorship an Democracy in the age of Extremes: Spotlights on the History of Europe in the Twentieth Century". Foundation for the Study of Communist Dictatorship in East Germany. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  2. ↑ Anna Saunders (2018). Memorializing the GDR: Monuments and Memory after 1989. Berghahn. p. 11.
  3. ↑ "Exhibitions". Foundation for the Study of Communist Dictatorship in East Germany. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  4. ↑ Marcel Fürstenau (15 October 2018). "Understanding East Germany: A never-ending look at the past". DW.
  5. ↑ ""Stipendienprogramm Aufbruch 1989"".
  6. ↑ "Zwist unter Aufarbeitern", Die Welt , 30 June 2007 (in German)
  7. ↑ "Der Verherrlichung der SED-Diktatur entgegentreten!" Archived 2008-03-18 at the Wayback Machine (Open letter to the foundation) (in German)
  8. ↑ "Streit unter SED-Opfern", Focus (in German)
  9. ↑ "PR-inside: SED-Opfer kritisieren Zusammenarbeit mit Luxemburg-Stiftung". Archived from the original on October 10, 2007.
  10. ↑ "Märkische Allgemeine of 6 July 2007".
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