Masks with Hairdryers? Middle-Class Lives in 20th Century Dictatorships

What was the experience of the European middle class, shaped by the liberal ideas of the 19th century, in the dictatorships of the 20th century? How did citizens respond to the pressures of totalitarian regimes? Historians examine the biographies of eight representatives of bourgeois culture, including pianist Svjatoslav Richter, scholars Victor Klemperer and Jürgen Kuczynski, zoo director Curt Heinrich Dathe, and physician Ingeborg Rapoport.

All of them experienced various systems of rule: from the Tsarist Empire and the German Empire to the Nazi and Stalinist dictatorships, and finally to the socialist regimes of East Germany and Poland. The knowledgeable introduction to the volume provides insight into the history of the Central and Eastern European bourgeoisie. The contributions demonstrate that bourgeois identity was not a fixed entity, but rather a mutable cultural code. Although freedom, the rule of law, and economic independence were severely restricted, many bourgeois orientations proved to be surprisingly adaptable in all dictatorships.