Red Prometheus : Engineering and Dictatorship in East Germany, 1945-1990
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| Title: | Red Prometheus : Engineering and Dictatorship in East Germany, 1945-1990 |
|---|---|
| Description: | This analysis of the relationship between science and totalitarian rule in one of the most technically advanced countries in the East bloc examines professional autonomy under dictatorship and the place of technology in Communist ideology.In Cold War-era East Germany, the German tradition of science-based technology merged with a socialist system that made technological progress central to its ideology. Technology became an important part of East German socialist identity—crucial to how Communists saw their system and how citizens saw their state. In Red Prometheus, Dolores Augustine examines the relationship between a dictatorial system and the scientific and engineering communities in East Germany from the end of the Second World War through the 1980s.Drawing on newly opened archives and extensive interviews, Augustine looks in detail at individual scientists'interactions with the East German system, examining the effectiveness of their resistance against the party's totalitarian impulses. She explains why many German scientists and engineers who were deported to the Soviet Union after World War II returned to East Germany rather than defecting to the capitalist West, traces scientists'attempts to hold on to some aspects of professional autonomy, and describes challenges to their professional identity on the factory floor. Augustine examines the quality of science and technology produced under Communist rule, looking at failed research projects and clashing cultures of innovation. She looks at technological myth-building in science fiction and propaganda. She explores individual career strategies, including the role played by gender in high-tech professions, and the ways that both enterprises and individuals responded to increasing state and party control of research during the 1980s. We cannot understand the economic choices made by East Germany, Augustine argues, unless we understand the cultural values reflected in the East German belief in technology as indispensable to progress and industrial development. |
| Authors: | Dolores L. Augustine |
| Resource Type: | eBook. |
| Subjects: | Technology--Germany (East)--History--20th century, Engineering--Germany (East)--History--20th century |
| Categories: | SCIENCE / History, HISTORY / Europe / Germany |
| Database: | eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) |
| FullText | Links: – Type: ebook-pdf Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Red Prometheus : Engineering and Dictatorship in East Germany, 1945-1990 – Name: Abstract Label: Description Group: Ab Data: This analysis of the relationship between science and totalitarian rule in one of the most technically advanced countries in the East bloc examines professional autonomy under dictatorship and the place of technology in Communist ideology.In Cold War-era East Germany, the German tradition of science-based technology merged with a socialist system that made technological progress central to its ideology. Technology became an important part of East German socialist identity—crucial to how Communists saw their system and how citizens saw their state. In Red Prometheus, Dolores Augustine examines the relationship between a dictatorial system and the scientific and engineering communities in East Germany from the end of the Second World War through the 1980s.Drawing on newly opened archives and extensive interviews, Augustine looks in detail at individual scientists'interactions with the East German system, examining the effectiveness of their resistance against the party's totalitarian impulses. She explains why many German scientists and engineers who were deported to the Soviet Union after World War II returned to East Germany rather than defecting to the capitalist West, traces scientists'attempts to hold on to some aspects of professional autonomy, and describes challenges to their professional identity on the factory floor. Augustine examines the quality of science and technology produced under Communist rule, looking at failed research projects and clashing cultures of innovation. She looks at technological myth-building in science fiction and propaganda. She explores individual career strategies, including the role played by gender in high-tech professions, and the ways that both enterprises and individuals responded to increasing state and party control of research during the 1980s. We cannot understand the economic choices made by East Germany, Augustine argues, unless we understand the cultural values reflected in the East German belief in technology as indispensable to progress and industrial development. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Dolores+L%2E+Augustine%22">Dolores L. Augustine</searchLink> – Name: TypePub Label: Resource Type Group: TypPub Data: eBook. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Technology--Germany+%28East%29--History--20th+century%22">Technology--Germany (East)--History--20th century</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Engineering--Germany+%28East%29--History--20th+century%22">Engineering--Germany (East)--History--20th century</searchLink> – Name: SubjectBISAC Label: Categories Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22SCIENCE+%2F+History%22">SCIENCE / History</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22HISTORY+%2F+Europe+%2F+Germany%22">HISTORY / Europe / Germany</searchLink> |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Classifications: – Code: 620.009431 Scheme: ddc Type: prePub Languages: – Code: eng Text: English Subjects: – SubjectFull: Technology--Germany (East)--History--20th century Type: general – SubjectFull: Engineering--Germany (East)--History--20th century Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Red Prometheus : Engineering and Dictatorship in East Germany, 1945-1990 Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Dolores L. Augustine – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Dolores L. Augustine IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2007 – D: 04 M: 02 Type: profile Y: 2014 Identifiers: – Type: isbn-print Value: 9780262012362 – Type: isbn-electronic Value: 9780262267458 Titles: – TitleFull: Red Prometheus : Engineering and Dictatorship in East Germany, 1945-1990 Type: main |
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