German Public Opinion

The present compilation is a commented overview of post-1945 public opinion surveys in Germany, focused on contents, regularity and availability of the surveys. The compilation breaks down into seven chapters. Following the introduction on the use of public opinion surveys in social science research, the presentation follows a chronological structure, starting with public opinion polls in early post-war Germany. The overview proceeds with a chapter on public opinion surveys in the former GDR, and a chapter on political science and elections studies in the FRG. Thereafter, a number of public opinion surveys in unified Germany are presented. The last empirical chapter deals with cross-national public opinion barometers in which Germany, Austria and Switzerland participate. The overview concludes with a discussion about the merits and shortcomings as well as the contents of the different public opinion surveys conducted in Germany.