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John Peet (1915–1988): An Englishman in the GDR
Author(s) -
Berger Stefan,
Laporte Norman
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.12
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1468-229X
pISSN - 0018-2648
DOI - 10.1111/j.0018-2648.2004.00287.x
Subject(s) - german , communism , dictatorship , democracy , politics , socialism , political science , economic history , loyalty , history , law , archaeology
John Peet was the most important interlocutor between Britain and the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Through his journal, Democratic German Report ( DGR ), which he edited between 1952 and 1975, Peet had considerable influence among left‐of‐centre public opinion in Britain. His positive portrayal of the GDR was among the GDR's most believable and powerful propaganda in Britain. This articles reassesses Peet's decision to live and work in the GDR and his subsequent disillusionment with ‘really existing socialism’ in eastern Europe. Making use of Peet's personal papers and the archival holdings about Peet located in various German archives, the article presents Peet as a ‘liberal communist’ who was deeply influenced in his political choices by his experiences in inter‐war Britain and by his fight against fascism in Spain. Although he came to dislike many things about the GDR, his loyalty to the ideals of communism always remained stronger than his desire to criticize the eastern European dictatorships.