As I have said before, reunification a work in progress. Whenever I read articles such as this I recall reading about a meeting between West and East German officials to discuss reunification. The expectations of the soon to be former DDR officials are crushed when the West German representative makes it clear that the only basis for negotiations is the West German constitution. Then there are official studies of just how bad were the SED, the Stasi, indeed the DDR. The people, their needs and concerns, an afterthought. As you have said before Merz et al have a few years to listen and where possible meet those needs and concerns. Good read Katja.
Thank you, Katja, for another excellent article containing important information by taking a minority view. Please let me add a few additional aspects. The constitution of the German Democratic Republic dated 7 October 1949, adopted five months after the constitution called “Basic Law” (Grundgesetz) of the Federal Republic of Germany dated 23 May 1949, still contained the concept of Germany, the German people and of one German citizenship. On 7 October 1974 a new constitution of the GDR was adopted that no longer contained any reference to Germany or the German people, but only to “the people of the German Democratic Republic” (“das Volk der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik”). No more “German people”, no adjective, only a genitive, “the people of the GDR”. In my view, that was a big mistake of the GDR leadership. Most of the GDR people wanted to be just Germans. This became clear in the slogans shouted at the big demonstrations in Leipzig and Berlin that led to the downfall of the GDR: “We are one people” (“Wir sind ein Volk”). However, in West Germany there were no longer only homogeneous Germans living as was the case in the GDR, but a population more and more mixed with people from Italy and Spain, from Turkey and from Arabic countries. West Germany had become an immigration country, but not so the GDR. In the GDR only German was spoken, while in West Germany ever more expressions were in American English. Most West Germans had never visited the GDR, but rather went to Mallorca, Italy and Spain, the USA and Thailand. Chancellor Kohl wisely decided not to ask for a popular vote of reunification which f. i. in Bavaria might not have obtained a majority, and not to draft a new all-German constitution in which the GDR people would have participated. What we call reunification really was a take-over by West German industry of the largely non-competitive GDR industry. Since then, much has been invested and built up in the territory of the former GDR, sometimes more than in some neglected areas of West Germany, but many former GDR citizens still feel to be treated as poor relatives and resent that. In West German schools the emphasis of history was on bad Nazi Germany, while in the GDR the positive German workers movements, Martin Luther, Thomas Müntzer and the peasants’ war were given importance. It will take more time for all people living in this beautiful country with its rich history and culture to grow together, become aware of themselves and contribute to the wealth of nations.
Maybe it doesn’t help that the five Länder that make up the old East Germany are still referred to as East Germany and the people as East Germans or Ossis as if the whole were a remote, inhabited planet somewhere in the Outer Rim. Some differentiation in nomenclature may help dispel feelings of alienation and not belonging as might referring to the individual Länder instead of treating them as a bloc.
That apart, and after several Zeitgeists on the subject, I’m still not clear what the problem with that area of Germany is, what are they not getting that they feel they should be getting. If the population of those Länder makes up 20% of the population of Germany then surely proportional representation voting should ensure they have 20% of the seats in the Bundestag, a not insubstantial figure. If the various parties in those Länder can’t get together for the good of the people, there’s little anyone else can do. The AfD have captured many votes - what is the party promising, a return to the type of authoritarian society that was the GDR and where people would feel protected by the state?
You say you don’t think that more representation in the government is the simple solution - what do you think is? As you also say many of the problems apparent in the old East Germany are present in other area of Germany, so the solution should be a national solution, not aimed at one specific region.
Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk suggests that because of their previous lack of political and personal freedoms East Germans have to learn to live in a society with fewer rules, something which makes living in a democracy more difficult. “Freedom and democracy are by far more difficult and stressful than any other societal form of living together*’. Presumably this problem will disappear over time. It’s a theory.
As I have said before, reunification a work in progress. Whenever I read articles such as this I recall reading about a meeting between West and East German officials to discuss reunification. The expectations of the soon to be former DDR officials are crushed when the West German representative makes it clear that the only basis for negotiations is the West German constitution. Then there are official studies of just how bad were the SED, the Stasi, indeed the DDR. The people, their needs and concerns, an afterthought. As you have said before Merz et al have a few years to listen and where possible meet those needs and concerns. Good read Katja.
Thank you, Katja, for another excellent article containing important information by taking a minority view. Please let me add a few additional aspects. The constitution of the German Democratic Republic dated 7 October 1949, adopted five months after the constitution called “Basic Law” (Grundgesetz) of the Federal Republic of Germany dated 23 May 1949, still contained the concept of Germany, the German people and of one German citizenship. On 7 October 1974 a new constitution of the GDR was adopted that no longer contained any reference to Germany or the German people, but only to “the people of the German Democratic Republic” (“das Volk der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik”). No more “German people”, no adjective, only a genitive, “the people of the GDR”. In my view, that was a big mistake of the GDR leadership. Most of the GDR people wanted to be just Germans. This became clear in the slogans shouted at the big demonstrations in Leipzig and Berlin that led to the downfall of the GDR: “We are one people” (“Wir sind ein Volk”). However, in West Germany there were no longer only homogeneous Germans living as was the case in the GDR, but a population more and more mixed with people from Italy and Spain, from Turkey and from Arabic countries. West Germany had become an immigration country, but not so the GDR. In the GDR only German was spoken, while in West Germany ever more expressions were in American English. Most West Germans had never visited the GDR, but rather went to Mallorca, Italy and Spain, the USA and Thailand. Chancellor Kohl wisely decided not to ask for a popular vote of reunification which f. i. in Bavaria might not have obtained a majority, and not to draft a new all-German constitution in which the GDR people would have participated. What we call reunification really was a take-over by West German industry of the largely non-competitive GDR industry. Since then, much has been invested and built up in the territory of the former GDR, sometimes more than in some neglected areas of West Germany, but many former GDR citizens still feel to be treated as poor relatives and resent that. In West German schools the emphasis of history was on bad Nazi Germany, while in the GDR the positive German workers movements, Martin Luther, Thomas Müntzer and the peasants’ war were given importance. It will take more time for all people living in this beautiful country with its rich history and culture to grow together, become aware of themselves and contribute to the wealth of nations.
Maybe it doesn’t help that the five Länder that make up the old East Germany are still referred to as East Germany and the people as East Germans or Ossis as if the whole were a remote, inhabited planet somewhere in the Outer Rim. Some differentiation in nomenclature may help dispel feelings of alienation and not belonging as might referring to the individual Länder instead of treating them as a bloc.
That apart, and after several Zeitgeists on the subject, I’m still not clear what the problem with that area of Germany is, what are they not getting that they feel they should be getting. If the population of those Länder makes up 20% of the population of Germany then surely proportional representation voting should ensure they have 20% of the seats in the Bundestag, a not insubstantial figure. If the various parties in those Länder can’t get together for the good of the people, there’s little anyone else can do. The AfD have captured many votes - what is the party promising, a return to the type of authoritarian society that was the GDR and where people would feel protected by the state?
You say you don’t think that more representation in the government is the simple solution - what do you think is? As you also say many of the problems apparent in the old East Germany are present in other area of Germany, so the solution should be a national solution, not aimed at one specific region.
Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk suggests that because of their previous lack of political and personal freedoms East Germans have to learn to live in a society with fewer rules, something which makes living in a democracy more difficult. “Freedom and democracy are by far more difficult and stressful than any other societal form of living together*’. Presumably this problem will disappear over time. It’s a theory.
* My translation from ‘Freiheits Schock’ p210