Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Thesis final draft PDF.pdf (3.76 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Humor and Cynicism in the German Democratic Republic

Heili, Benjamin J
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1383309234

Abstract Details

2013, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, German/History (dual).
Beth Griech-Polelle and Theodore Rippey, Advisors This thesis examines three aspects of humor in the German Democratic Republic (GDR): political jokes shared among the general population; three film comedies with varying political attitudes (Spur der Steine, 1966; Till Eulenspiegel, 1975; Hasenherz; 1987) from the DEFA studio; and the 1961, 1968 and 1987 volumes of the East German satire magazine Eulenspiegel. These examinations involve textual analysis of the primary sources and supplemental information from secondary scholarship. These sources represent a cynicism that permeated the attitudes of many individuals involved in the GDR's political process and everyday life. Humor provided an outlet for stresses caused by the GDR's oppression and inefficiencies. The various forms through which humor was transmitted reflected a complex mixture of individual motivations. Because formal media was created and published by the Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands (SED), these individual motivations often collided and interacted with the goals of the party leadership. The SED even tried to wield humor as a tool to advance its goals, but the results were deeply conflicted.
Beth Griech-Polelle, Dr. (Advisor)
Theodore Rippey, Dr. (Advisor)
Douglas Forsyth, Dr. (Committee Member)
Geoffrey Howes, Dr. (Committee Member)
119 p.
Germanic Literature; History
GDR; Eulenspiegel; Spur der Steine; Hasenherz; Till Eulenspiegel; Humor; Comedy; Jokes; Political Jokes; Cynicism

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Heili, B. J. (2013). Humor and Cynicism in the German Democratic Republic [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1383309234

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Heili, Benjamin. Humor and Cynicism in the German Democratic Republic. 2013. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1383309234.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Heili, Benjamin. "Humor and Cynicism in the German Democratic Republic." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1383309234

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1383309234
2,913
© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.