From beacon of hope to scapegoat. The Trust Agency between economic expectations and political constraints (1989-1991)

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The objective of the study is to conduct an empirical analysis of the origins, working methods and significance of the Trust Agency (Treuhandanstalt, THA), which will allow the historicisation of an institution that remains controversial to this day. The study addresses the expectations and economic-political ideas that were connected with the foundation of the Trust Agency, casts an analytical glance at the interior life of an institution that was charged with organising the privatisation of the state-controlled collectives and operations of the GDR, and gauges the scope for action and the predicament of the THA in the political force field that existed between the two Germanys. The analysis of the scope for action of the THA produces a differentiated picture of this central authority in its political, social and economic context. Thus this study makes a genuine contribution to research into the historical phase of upheaval between dictatorship and democracy, and analyses the transition from a Soviet-style centrally-organised economy to a social market economy. The study therefore aims to contribute to the economic history of the post-Socialist reconstruction of society 1989-1991, and at the same time initiate an academic discussion about the historical position of the THA. The history of the THA is examined primarily at the institutional and personal levels, concentrating on its origins and process of professionalization. Accordingly, the period of analysis ranges from autumn 1989, when the THA was created during Hans Modrows and Lothar de Maizieres terms in government, through the phase of the restructuring and reorientation of the THA after the economic, currency and social union under Detlev K. Rohwedder, to the beginning of Birgit Breuels term in office in April 1991. The study analyses the organisations profile, the working methods and the personnel structure of the THA. At its core is the institutional transformation of the THA after its foundation on 1 March 1990. The focus of the personnel policy was determined in the context of the substantial reorientation of the THA after July 1990. Of particular interest here are the initiatives by Rohwedder to recruit qualified staff, which were very successful after September 1990, compared to the foundation phase.Due to a lack of access to sources, but also in light of contrary political interpretations and media-effective attributions, there has been very little research into the history of the Trust Agency, 25 years after its foundation. This intended analysis of the initial phase from 1989 until 1991 serves as an entry to historical research on the THA.