Everyday life in the East German Socialist Unity Party revolved heavily around maintaining the “party line” in all areas of society, whether through direct authority or corruption. Spanning a long period of the GDR’s history, from 1946 through 1989, Rüdiger Bergien presents the first study that examines the complexities of the central party’s communist apparatus. He focuses on their role as ideological watchdogs, as they fostered an underbelly and “inner life” for their employees to integrate the party’s pillars throughout East German society. Inside Party Headquarters reviews not only the party’s modes power and state interaction, but also the processes of negotiation and disputation preceding formal Politburo decisions, advancing the available detail and discourse surrounding this formative and volatile stretch of German history.

"Inside Party Headquarters. Organizational Culture and Practice of Rule in the Socialist Unity Party of Germany" ist 2017 unter dem Titel "Im »Generalstab der Partei«. Organisationskultur und Herrschaftspraxis in der SED-Zentrale (1946-1989)" am ZZF in der Reihe Kommunismus und Gesellschaft erschienen.

Der Autor Rüdiger Bergien war von 2009 bis 2019 wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter in der Abteilung I: Kommunismus und Gesellschaft am ZZF. Seit Nov. 2019 ist er Professor für Geschichte der Nachrichtendienste am Fachbereich Nachrichtendienste der Hochschule des Bundes für öffentliche Verwaltung.