Judging the past in unified Germany

"Over the past decade, no moden democracy has taken more aggressive steps to come to terms with a legacy of dictatorship than has the Federal Republic of Germany with the crimes and injustices of communist East Germany. In this book, A. James McAdams provides a comprehensive and engaging examination of the four most prominent instances of this policy: criminal trials for the killings at the Berlin Wall, the disqualification of administrative personnel for secret police ties, parliamentary truth-telling commissions, and the restitution of private property. On the basis of extensive research and interviews in Bonn and Berlin over the 1990s, McAdams gives new insight into the difficulties faced by German politicians, judges, bureaucrats, and public officials in their attempt to pass judgment on the affairs of another state. He argues provocatively that the success of their policies must be measured in terms of their ability to use East German history to justify their actions."--Jacket.