To Former East Germans & West Germans.?

Question

Do you prefer life now under unification or the way it was before the wall fell? I have heard many views from my friends and am curious how you feel. There is no wrong or right answer, it is total opinion based here so please no thumbs down all answers are correct for it is your own opinion. I personally am glad the Wall came down or I would not know the people I know now or lived the life I have now. This can not be said for all though. What is your view and why?

Answer 1

As much as I am proud to be an Ossi, I would not want to live in the GDR for all the material and non-material goods in the world.

I love travelling and the idea of not being able to horrifies me. I also feel that growing up in the GDR has made me appreciate the Grundgesetz (Germany's constitution to you), democracy and freedom much more than West Germans of my generation.

What I kindly ask however is more respect for East German history and more understanding from West Germans for East Germans and their (n)Ostalgia. Some answers by Hilmar I've read here have made me outright angry - it is exactly this kind of attitude that I hate.

Answer 2

I'm from West Germany, but I got to know some people from Leipzig in 1990, shortly after the wall had come down. I was pretty much surprised about their hospitality and openmindedness. But back then, the whole of Germany was on a wave of happiness that we were united again and the cold war was over.

However, soon there came disappointment in the east. The industry broke down, and companies from the west bought everything they could get their hands on for, as we say, "an apple and an egg". Unemployment, practically unknown in a socialist state, rised dramatically. Many eastern people got heavily in debt because they bought too much of those "beautiful" western things too fast. I understand that, however. You simply needed a new car (who wants to drive a Trabbi?), a decent TV and VCR, and a satellite dish.

The political mistake back then was that they didn't give the GDR's economy any chance to recover. Instead they raised another tax on anyone's salary (west AND east), the "Soli" (Solidaritätszuschlag, "solidarity surcharge"), to finance public investment in the east. Of course, this made people angry, and of course, the other side was guilty. For the easterner, the Wessis had overrun and plundered them, for the westerners, the Ossis had come in in hordes and were now stealing their money.

Neither of that came even close to the truth. Many a political mistake was made in the heat of the moment, and many an economic investment in the east proved as a failure in the end. But it took some years for the people to fully recognize that. Except for the usual few who can't free themselves from yesterdays thinking, German unity now is a fact you don't even talk about any longer. When some politician holds a speech on TV on Oct 3rd, our new national holiday ("unification day"), you grab the remote and switch channels. "Yes, we know we're united. So what?"

I wouldn't say the east and the west already have a common culture. Maybe they'll never have, but I don't see a problem in that. The west German south is completely different from the north, and that never has been a problem. Maybe our current government is unwantedly doing us a favor by making very unpopular decisions: Nothing unites a people more than a common enemy.

Despite all the problems there have been and still are, I think nobody really wishes to have the wall back. "I wish the wall were still there" may sometimes be said in anger, but it's in no way meant serious.

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edit:

@mg, I didn't want to write this, but I think it's important. So I do.

I had that female friend from Leipzig in 1990, with her 4 year old son. We drove in my car towards Leipzig from western Germany. We had to cross a bridge to enter the Autobahn; below us were some police cars with their blue lights flashing, as there was an accident or something.

The 4-year-old suddenly asked,

"Mama, wen holen die ab?"

("Mom, whom are they arresting?")

I pulled over into the next parking lot and cried. A 4-year-old taught me more about what it meant to live under constant surveillance than any literature could have taught me.

Answer 3

..."keep a little more of the "positive" achievements like the larger availability of public child care"

As pretty much everything has already been said, I don't have a lot to add to this. Look up the very recently published study on what German teenagers today still know about the DDR, that really shocked me, it's not like that was 100 years ago... ugh.

Thing is, many positive things on first glance turn out to be very different when looking behind the facade. The childacre system was great, yeah. Moms handing their three months old kids over to professionals... probably a matter of how mommy-ish you are. The state "taking care" of kids - yes, to make sure the "right" kind of mental frame gets "installed" from an early age.

Please never, ever forget the German Democratic Republic was NEVER democratic.

I understand "Ostalgie" to a certain extent, but people have the tendency to see things in a rather romantic light when looking back, leaving all the bad things out. :)

Answer 4

I met Germans from both 'sides' if you will. The GDR seem to be a bit more polite, for lack of a better term, but even the 'wessi's' were very nice.

As an American, I am glad I had the opportunity to travel thru Germany and meet many wonderful people. As far as here in the US, the 'north' and 'south' seem to be at odds, especially the southerners refering to us as 'd**n yankees' still. It doesn't bother me though, as I just smile and say "I'm sorry. I thought the war was over".....lol

Answer 5

I am glad the separation of both German countries ended after 40 years. From the moment I learned details about the GDR and people's life there I was outraged. I was 9 years old and to me the whole state resembled a prison ( I felt like in a prison during my only visit to the GDR in 1988 - observed by (inofficial) STASI-agents and depressed by the sadness of many people there. This one week trip also gave me an idea how life in the Third Reich must have been. Sorry, to say that).

However, I think it would have been an advantage for the "new" unified Germany if the last GDR administration would have demanded e.g. to keep a little more of the "positive" achievements like the larger availability of public child care, the SERO-system (recycling system for plastic containers) etc.

To me it was a big mistake/lie of our chancellor Kohl to promise that the former GDR would have become a "blooming country" only 10 years after the unification. All people tend to believe "fairy tales" and he must have known that this could not be achieved that fast because in many aspects the GDR was 40 years behind the FRG (Western Germany) and completely bankrupt in 1989. By saying so Mr. Kohl triggered the discontent of so many people from the former GDR. My guess was and still is that it will take as many years as the separation lasted (40 years) to really "unify" both parts.

Answer 6

I prefer it the way it is now.

And i do prefer it not only for the East Germans but also for the rest of Eastern Europe

Unlike Maia I am not 'proud to be a wessi' that is pure coincidence.

@ Maia respect is always necesary on both sides as long as you only ask respect from others and don't respect them you will never reach unity.I try to respect everyone but I don't think it is a good thing not to view reality clearly your point of view often sees only one side the one you want to see .

I just put on here my personal experiences and not like many others do prejudices and as we still live in a free country you need to learn to tolerate others having a different opinion.

I missed you answering on tis one ...

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;...

Edit: Some East Germans seem to forget that the price of freedom is that there is no 'Big Brother State ' anymore caring about all problems at any time so the price for FREEDOM is to be responsible for your own life.I admit that to some people it may feel better having Big Brother caring for everything to me it does not I prefere to be responsible for my own life myself .For that reason it may sometimes be hard for me to understand my East German cocitizens.

EDIT: For the above reason it is hard to understand how somone who lived under comunist rule  can vote in free elections a comunist party or even worse a far right party.

These together have about a third of all votes in the eastern part of Germany a fact that simply horifies me and is not understandable.