The contributions of this anthology are concerned, on the one hand, with the theories, strategies and practices employed to ensure order and security; on the other hand, with the existence of deviance and delinquency in state socialism. Specifically, they look at the role of the police and their depiction in films, the penal system as well as youth and white-collar crime, and other forms of deviant behavior. The main emphasis is put on presumed or truly "nonpolitically" motivated violations of norms or laws as well as on how such crimes were prevented and punished. These are very important themes when discussing the social history of state socialism.

Doc. PhDr. Michal Pullmann, PhD. ist Leiter des Instituts für Wirtschafts- und Sozialgeschichte an der Karls-Universität Prag. Dr. Volker Zimmermann ist Wiss. Mitarbeiter am Collegium Carolinum in München und ao. Professor der Heinrich-Heine-Universität.