Abstract
Abstract The article outlines a new framework for the study of communicative taboos in repressive political regimes such as the GDR. The concept goes beyond the somewhat reductive position that understands political taboos as mere silencing. The approach developed here aims at refining our understanding of discursive regimes in dictatorial regimes, where one dominant ideology has become deeply ingrained in most aspects of society. It starts with the observation that the discursive sphere in the periphery of the taboo, characterized by corrupted speech, and the silence in its core are complementary elements of the taboo. I develop my concept with reference to three political taboos: the official discourse on betrayal of members of communist resistance groups during the Third Reich, expulsions after the Second World War, and the uprising of 17 June 1953. The discussion shows that a precise conception of the general appearance of communicative taboos—including distinguishing between core and periphery, comprehensive analysis of the gamut of linguistic and semantic distortions, study of privileged speakers able to transgress taboos, and paying attention to the perceived taboo—provides a promising starting point for the historical study of tabooing, including its modifications and transformations.
Highlights
Bill Niven came across several contemporary witnesses who claimed that the German mass flight from eastern Europe at the end of the Second World War was a taboo, and yet the topic was displayed in many East German films and novels
Various communicative practices were used in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in encounters with sensitive issues
It was impossible to avoid explaining the tragic failure of almost all communist resistance organizations—which in most cases involved communist traitors
Summary
I am not the first to encounter the complex reality of political taboos in the GDR. Richard Millington, for instance, was confronted with paradoxical views when he interviewed East Germans about the uprising of 1953. Many interviewees remembered that the uprising was always mentioned at school but insisted that it was a taboo subject.[12] Bill Niven came across several contemporary witnesses who claimed that the German mass flight from eastern Europe at the end of the Second World War was a taboo, and yet the topic was displayed in many East German films and novels. Both historians have analysed how these problematic topics are represented. Without a thorough examination of the potential threat of the censored content, there is a risk that censorship procedures appear as an abstract practice
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