Abstract

At first glance, it does not seem very plausible to apply concepts like the sacralization of politics, political religion, or charismatic domination to the East German party-state regime. Certainly there have been few political leaders less charismatic than Ulbricht or Honecker. Yet although their efforts to legitimize authority and integrate society relied upon Marxism-Leninism, an almost paradigmatic example of profane ideology, this ideology at the same time resembled a secular-religious vision based on the faith in science. Similarly, the political rituals and cults that the party established, as well as the mass festivals and demonstrations that it institutionalized, may be…