‘The Era Has Passed, But it’s Nice to Remember’: Eastern Identifications with the GDR Past and Unified Germany

Abstract

The relationship between memories of the GDR and the existence of an east German identity since unification has proved to be controversial in academic literature on post-unification Germany, as demonstrated throughout this volume. This chapter analyses one of the key approaches among German academics, who tend to problematize east Germanness under the assumption that it challenges a so-called German identity. In 2000, ten years after unification, Rolf Reißig, an east German scholar who has carried out research on the GDR both before and since unification, published work examining perceptions of east Germanness among ‘a great deal of the pan-German elite’ (Reißig, 2000, p. 64). He summarizes their concerns about the supposed continuing disunity in Germany: ‘What is more, now a distinctive east German identity is forming, which could further endanger the inner unity of the Germans’ (Reißig, 2000, p. 64). This statement sheds light on the premises for German unity according to scholars who adopt this perspective — presenting east German identity as a danger to German unity implies that German unity can only occur if eastern identities cease to exist, which suggests that German identity is akin to a west German identity. For purposes of classification, scholars adopting this approach will be referred to as nationists throughout this chapter because of the significance they place on a national identity.