Berlin's Black Market: 1939-1950 - Worlds of Consumption 1st ed. 2015 edition

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; This is a social history of Berlin's black market during World War II and the post-war period, looking at both its participants and their practices, the macroeconomic context in which the market operated and the everyday strategies that were deployed by individuals to navigate the market. Malte Zierenberg reveals the black market to be a complex structure, which is on the one hand a geographical space but on the other hand represents a conceptual category within an economy--; Provided by publisher.; This book puts the illegal economy of the German capital during and after World War II into context and provides a new interpretation of Germany's postwar history. The black market, it argues, served as a reference point for the beginnings of the two new German states--; Provided by publisher. Biographical Note: Malte Zierenberg is an Assistant Professor of twentieth-century European History at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. He specializes in Urban, Economic, and Transnational Media History. Table of Contents: 1. Prologues2. The Wartime Networks: The Martha Rebbien Case3. Destruction, Disorientation and New Patterns of Order: Changes in the Black Market Landscape during the Transition from War to Postwar4. Black Markets from the End of the War to the Currency Reform5. Stories of a New Beginning: The Economy of the Streets between the Currency Reform and the 'Economic Miracle'Conclusion: Black Market Trading as a Radical Experience of a Free MarketBrief Description: "This is a social history of Berlin's black market during World War II and the post-war period, looking at both its participants and their practices, the macroeconomic context in which the market operated and the everyday strategies that were deployed by individuals to navigate the market. Malte Zierenberg reveals the black market to be a complex structure, which is on the one hand a geographical space but on the other hand represents a conceptual category within an economy"--Brief Description: "This book puts the illegal economy of the German capital during and after World War II into context and provides a new interpretation of Germany's postwar history. The black market, it argues, served as a reference point for the beginnings of the two new German states"--