The Lost GDR

20 Years Of German Unity by Patrick Chappatte

"On 9 November 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down I realised German unification would soon follow, which it did a year later. This meant the end of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the country in which I was born, grew up, gave birth to my two children, gained my doctorate and enjoyed a fulfilling job as a lecturer in English literature at Potsdam University. Of course, unification brought with it the freedom to travel the world and, for some, more material wealth, but it also brought social breakdown, widespread unemployment, blacklisting, a crass materialism and an "elbow society" as well as a demonisation of the country I lived in and helped shape. Despite the advantages, for many it was more a disaster than a celebratory event." (De la Motte, 2009)

Chappatte, P. (2010) 20 Years Of German Unity. [Online] http://www.globecartoon.com/ [22/10/2010]

De la Motte, B. (2009) East Germans lost much in 1989. [Online] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/nov/08/1989-berlin-wall [22/10/2010]

Chancellor's East German Habits

German chancellor Angela Merkel, who spent her first 35 years in communist East Germany, where people often queued for food, has admitted that the fear of running short of consumer goods continues to haunt her 20 years after unification.

In an interview with the magazine SUPERillu, "founded in East Germany and continues to focus on issues affecting former East Germans" (Connolly, 2010), the German chancellor Angela Merkel admitted that she cannot break her East German habit, where she lived for the first 35 years of her life: "I still buy something as soon as I see it, even when I don't really need it. It's a deep-seated habit stemming from the fact that in an economy where things were scarce you just used to get what you could when you could" (Merkel, in Connolly, 2010).

Her diet continues to be eastern European, claimed the chancellor, "I'm particularly fond of solyanka (a meat and pickled vegetable soup), letcho (a Hungarian vegetable stew) and shashlik (a spicy kebab)," she said. She "has only just got used to the western word supermarket, preferring instead the East German term kaufhalle – literally buying hall" and still uses an East German brand of washing up liquid (Connolly, 2010)

"It took until the 15th or 16th year after German unification before the word supermarkt was able to pass my lips more easily" (Merkel, in Connolly, 2010)

"Merkel's candid remarks reflect just how strongly the planned economy of the GDR shaped the lives of its citizens and how hard many have found adjusting to life in a reunited country which bears little resemblance to their old lives... Merkel described reunification as being "all-in-all positive", but said the experience had been alienating for many. 'We saw the unravelling of everyday life as we knew it – from the world of consumption, through to bureaucracy and the labour market. Adjusting to all of that since 1990 amounts to an unbelievable achievement by East Germans.'" (Connolly, 2010)

Connolly, K. (2010) Angela Merkel reveals her East German food stockpiling habit. [Online]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/28/angela-merkel-stockpiling-food-east-germany [28/09/2010]

SUPERillu (2010) Kanzlerin zieht Persönliche Bilanz der Einheit: Merkels langer Abschied von der »Kaufhalle«. [Online] http://www.superillu.de/aktuell/Kanzlerin_zieht_persoenliche_Bilanz_der_Einheit_1800061.html [18/10/2010]

Wolff, J. & Baller, D. (2010) Angela Merkel im Exklusiv-Interview: »Eines Tages spricht man mehr von Nord und Süd als von Ost und West«. [Online] http://www.superillu.de/aktuell/Angela_Merkel_im_Exklusiv-Interview_1803138.html [18/10/2010]

Interview with Conductor Kurt Masur

SPIEGEL: Professor Masur, you're credited with being one of the people who kept the Monday demonstrations held in Leipzig in 1989 to protest the East German government from turning bloody. As the situation was threatening to escalate, loudspeakers in Leipzig broadcast your appeal, in which you asked the city's inhabitants: "We urgently request that you remain calm so as to make peaceful dialogue possible." And, as it turned out, the demonstrations did remain peaceful. What's left of the spirit of that era?

Kurt Masur: I'm reluctant to answer this question. The spirit of those days has pretty much been exhausted, and things haven't turned out well for everyone. In fact, for many people, reunification has meant more suffering than gain. And many are quite desperate.

SPIEGEL: What do you mean by desperate?

Masur: I know of people who decided to kill themselves because they'd lost everything dependable in their lives. Just look in the eyes of the young people: Just one year after reunification, most had lost their sparkle. On the one hand, there's unemployment and the feeling of being superfluous. On the other hand, many in this generation never even try to find a job. They figure out that they can live fairly well off government benefits and earning a little extra money on the side.

One of many who became dissatisfied with the "peaceful revolution" of 1989, Kurt Masur, describes how many East Germans lost hopes around the time of unification.

Kronsbein, J. & Thimm, K. (2010) Interview With Conductor Kurt Masur: 'The Spirit of 1989 Has Been Exhausted'. [Online] http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,721851,00.html#ref=nlint [17/10/2010]