European University Institute Library

Life among the ruins, cityscape and sexuality in Cold War Berlin, Jennifer V. Evans

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Life among the ruins

bibliography

711777347

Jennifer V. Evans

'From mothers sheltering in bunkers, children playing in the ruins, and rent boys plying their trade at train stations, to teenagers courting at the Wannsee, Jennifer Evans brings the experiences of Berliners alive. This is a fascinating book, which should be read by all those with an interest in the social history of the early Cold War.' - Josie McLellan, University of Bristol, UK 'A compelling and imaginative experiment in joining the history of urban space with the histories of social deviance and cultural reconstruction, Evans' book provides a richly detailed portrait of a radically dislocated world.' - Dagmar Herzog, author of Sexuality in Europe: A Twentieth-Century History

Genders and sexualities in history series

cityscape and sexuality in Cold War Berlin

As home to 1920s excess and Hitler's Final Solution, Berlin's physical and symbolic landscape was an important staging ground for the highs and lows of modernity. In Cold War Berlin, social and political boundaries were porous, and the rubble gave refuge to a re-emerging gay and lesbian scene, youth gangs, prostitutes, hoods, and hustlers., As home to 1920s debauchery and excess and Hitler's Final Solution, Berlin's physical and symbolic landscape was an important staging ground for the highs and lows of modernity. Life among the Ruins asks how postwar attempts to rebuild infrastructure and identity necessitated an engagement with past practices set in motion long before 1945. Berliners were forced to adapt swiftly to changing historical circumstances. City spaces could be enabling as well as restrictive, sites of danger and desire, places of crime and adventure. As expats, soldiers, visitors, and citizens navigated the ruined urban landscape in search of what once was, they discovered signs of destruction but also signs of life. Although a symbol of defeat and destruction, the rubble gave refuge to a reemerging gay and lesbian scene, while youth gangs, prostitutes, hoods, and hustlers sought shelter and community there. As a metaphor for a modernity both feared and desired, the book questions what became of this history in the years leading up to the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961 when Cold War confrontation meant the city continued to occupy a unique place in 20th century European history

Introduction -- The cellar and the bunker -- The street -- The train station -- Bars, cafés, clubs -- Home -- Conclusion : borders and boundaries