Out of the East: From PDS to Left Party in Unified Germany

Chronicles how the PDS, as successor to the widely vilified East German SED, first transformed itself into a successful regional political party and then into a viable national one.

What happened to the ruling communist party of East Germany after the collapse of the Berlin Wall? Out of the East describes the party’s metamorphosis after its fall from power. Over the last twenty years it has transformed many times, from the Socialist Unity Party to the Party of Democratic Socialism to, finally, the successful Left Party. David F. Pattonmakes sense of these transitions, and reveals how a pariah party managed to survive and thrive in democracy.