A Gendered Analysis of the Social Care System in the GDR

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The East German Democratic Republic (GDR) closely related social care provision to what it meant to be a socialist citizen, leading historian Konrad Jarausch to characterize it as a 'welfare dictatorship'. My PhD investigates a crucial dimension of GDR history that has not yet been explored: how the social care system created gendered citizens, constructing political legitimacy and social belonging in gendered ways. I will investigate women's experiences of childcare, care for families, and reproductive health, using an interdisciplinary approach that combines analysis of unpublished archival sources and representations of the social care system in selected films and television programmes.