Publikationen
A Comparison Across the Iron Curtain
Berth, Felix (2024):
A Comparison Across the Iron Curtain. Continuities and Discontinuities of Residential Care in the Two German States.
In: Balkanistic Forum
Jahrg.: 33, H. 3, S. 122-138
This article analyses the history of residential care for babies and toddlers in the two German states between the 1950s and the 1980s. A comparative perspective is employed to delineate similarities and differences in their developmental trajectories. Initially, parallel trends could be observed: in the first period, infant homes for babies and toddlers exhibited significant growth in East and West Germany, and the scientific discourse manifested conformity in both. Substantial disparities emerged only in the 1960s. In capitalist West Germany, these institutions were rapidly dismantled due to alarming findings from scientific research. In contrast, within socialist East Germany, the infant homes for babies and toddlers gradually vanished from public discourse while simultaneously enduring as an institution for residential care until the collapse of the German Wall in 1989.
A Comparison Across the Iron Curtain. Continuities and Discontinuities of Residential Care in the Two German States.
In: Balkanistic Forum
Jahrg.: 33, H. 3, S. 122-138
This article analyses the history of residential care for babies and toddlers in the two German states between the 1950s and the 1980s. A comparative perspective is employed to delineate similarities and differences in their developmental trajectories. Initially, parallel trends could be observed: in the first period, infant homes for babies and toddlers exhibited significant growth in East and West Germany, and the scientific discourse manifested conformity in both. Substantial disparities emerged only in the 1960s. In capitalist West Germany, these institutions were rapidly dismantled due to alarming findings from scientific research. In contrast, within socialist East Germany, the infant homes for babies and toddlers gradually vanished from public discourse while simultaneously enduring as an institution for residential care until the collapse of the German Wall in 1989.
