In this study the author elaborates a comparative framework for analysing literary texts from
the Third Reich and the GDR in terms of the extent of assent and or dissent expressed through
them towards the National Socialist and SED regimes. The author maps out areas of similarity
and difference in the workings of cultural policy in the two dictatorships. In the second part
of the study Günter Eich's work for the Nazi radio system and Bertolt Brecht's cultural
activities in the GDR act as case studies to illuminate the patterns of interdependent assent
and dissent generated under the conditions of dictatorship.
