Paul Hockenos Boeken

"Over the course of his long and controversial career; Joschka Fischer evolved from an archetypal 1960s radical - a firebrand street activist - into a shrewd political insider, operating at the heights of German politics. In the 1980s he was one of the first elected Greens and went on to become Germany's foreign minister from 1998 to 2005. His famous challenge to Donald Rumsfeld's case for invading Iraq - "Excuse me, I am not convinced"--Won him worldwide recognition and the Bush administration's contempt." "Here is both a lively biography of Joschka Fischer and a history "from below" of postwar Germany. Paul Hockenos begins in the ruins of postwar Germany and guides us through the flash points of the late 1960s and 1970s, from the student protests and the terrorism of the Baader-Meinhof group to the evolution of Europe's premier Green Party, and brings us up to the present in the united Germany. He shows how the grassroots movements that became the German Greens challenged and changed the republic's status quo, making postwar Germany more democratic, liberal, and worldly along the way. Despite the ideological twists and turns of Fischer and his peers, the lessons of the Holocaust and the Nazi terror remained their constant coordinates. Hockenos traces that political journey, providing readers with unique insight into the impact that these movements and the Greens have had on Germany."--Jacket

The narrative captures the vibrant subcultures and chaotic energy in Berlin following the fall of the Wall, focusing on street artists, punk rockers, and underground activists. Paul Hockenos provides a unique perspective on the 1989 "peaceful revolution" that dismantled East Germany's communism, exploring the subsequent artistic explosion and the rise of alternative lifestyles. This account delves into the intersection of protest, idealism, and the burgeoning techno scene, offering an exhilarating glimpse into a transformative period in Berlin's history.

Berlin Calling is a gripping account of the 1989 'peaceful revolution' in East Germany that upended communism and the tumultuous years of artistic ferment, political improvisation, and pirate utopias that followed. It's the story of a newly undivided Berlin when protest and punk rock, bohemia and direct democracy, techno and free theatre were the order of the day. Berlin Calling is a unique account of how Berlin became hip, and of why it continues to attract creative types from the world over.

Over the last ten years, many commentators have tried to explain the bloody conflicts that tore Yugoslavia apart. But in all these attempts to make sense of the wars and ethnic violence, one crucial factor has been overlooked―the fundamental roles played by exile groups and émigré communities in fanning the flames of nationalism and territorial ambition. Based in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and South America, some groups helped provide the ideologies, the leadership, the money, and in many cases, the military hardware that fueled the violent conflicts. Atypical were the dissenting voices who drew upon their experiences in western democracies to stem the tide of war. In spite of the diasporas' power and influence, their story has never before been told, partly because it is so difficult, even dangerous to unravel. Paul Hockenos, a Berlin-based American journalist and political analyst, has traveled through several continents and interviewed scores of key figures, many of whom had never previously talked about their activities. In Homeland Calling , Hockenos investigates the borderless international networks that diaspora organizations rely on to export political agendas back to their native homelands―agendas that at times blatantly undermined the foreign policy objectives of their adopted countries. Hockenos tells an extraordinary story, with elements of farce as well as tragedy, a story of single-minded obsession and double-dealing, of high aspirations and low cunning. The figures he profiles include individuals as disparate as a Canadian pizza baker and an Albanian urologist who played instrumental roles in the conflicts, as well as other men and women who rose boldly to the occasion when their homelands called out for help.