Promotional Information

Praise for the original German edition: "A wonderful book. -- Uwe Wessel, "Zeit Online" Praise for the original German edition: "Brilliant... It's astonishing what [Markovits] unearthed... The history of East German law will never be written in a more readable or deeply likeable way ... or with such freshness and proximity to the subject. -- Michael Stolleis, "Frankfurter Allgemeine" This is a marvelous book. It is beautifully written--Markovits has a wonderful, elegant, moving style; and the whole enterprise is informed by a passion for understanding, a gift for generalization, and a deep knowledge of the society and its people. It is a delight to read. There is nothing quite like this book in the literature. -- Lawrence M. Friedman, Stanford Law School Justice in Luritz provides a fascinating perspective on everyday life in East Germany--its petty squabbles, its dictatorial character, and its citizens' efforts to carve out a space for themselves. Engagingly written and discerning, this is a major accomplishment. -- Konrad H. Jarausch, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix CHAPTER 1: The Files 1 CHAPTER 2: The Beginning 8 CHAPTER 3: People 16 CHAPTER 4: Property 26 CHAPTER 5: Work 42 CHAPTER 6: Families 69 CHAPTER 7: Punishments 92 CHAPTER 8: The Party 141 CHAPTER 9: Hopes and Lies 182 CHAPTER 10: The End 219 Notes 243

About the Author

Inga Markovits holds the "Friends of Jamail" Regents Chair in Law at the University of Texas, Austin. She is the author of Imperfect Justice: An East-West German Diary.

Reviews

Co-Winner of the 2011 James Willard Hurst Prize for Sociolegal History, Law and Society Association