East Germany Research Articles

Capturing dissent: forensic photography of graffiti in the late German Democratic Republic

ABSTRACT Through a document analysis of archival materials, this paper explores visual landscapes of graffiti, produced by the German Democratic Republic’s Ministry for State Security (MfS) photographers in Leipzig from 1980 to 1989. Capturing visual dissent through forensic photography and its subsequent displacement from public view are two entwined territorial practices that appear to concern aesthetics yet are inherently political. Four selected photographs illustrate the main findings: First, a logic of invisibilisation as a means of deterritorialisation, and second, contradictions in MfS photo practices that highlight the contingent character of repairs to the brittle architecture of state sovereignty in the late GDR.

Enlargement as high politics: New insights on the integration of the German Democratic Republic into the European Community

An essential part of the restructuring of the European security order after the Cold War is the Eastern enlargement of the European Community (EC). This article provides the hitherto missing explanation for the integration of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) into the EC. In alignment with neoclassical realism, I claim that high politics took precedence in this exceptional enlargement. Established theories underestimate the importance of security and power and, thereby, fall short in accounting for the fast-track accession of the GDR to the EC. I argue that the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) pressed for a rapid reunification including the automatic accession of the GDR to the EC. Motivated by internal factors, the FRG’s government ventured a take-it-or-leave-it-offer that the other EC states acquiesced to under the threat of a German withdrawal from the EC with unforeseeable geopolitical consequences. The analysis builds on recently declassified, original documents collected from different archives.

‘The Patriarchy Is Finished’: Broadcasting Women’s Emancipation on RIAS Berlin

Abstract This article examines a sudden shift in women’s radio programming in the late 1950s at RIAS Berlin (Radio in the American Sector Berlin). The American-led propaganda radio station had been established in 1946 to support democracy in West Berlin and then also to combat Communism in East Germany. From its initial broadcast day, RIAS targeted female audiences with a mix of household tips and political analysis that highlighted the ways the Communist regime worked against women. However, in 1957 the women’s division began to critique conservative gender norms in arguing for female equality in West Germany. RIAS introduced a new program, the soap opera Gaby and Franz, that modelled a more companionate form of marriage. At the same time, its established women’s programs, including Can You Spare 5 Minutes?, highlighted obstacles to the full realization of legal reforms such as the Law for the Protection of Mothers of 1952 and the Equal Rights Law of 1957. To promote women’s rights in the Federal Republic, the women’s division adapted the presentation style designed to fight East German Communism. Drawing upon scripts held by Deutschlandfunk Kultur, the successor station to RIAS, the article argues that radio offered an ideal medium for women to press for gender equality at the micro level of the home and the macro level of policy well before the women’s rights movement of the late 1960s.

The Division Wall in Mind: An Analysis of the Continuous East-West Divide in Germany after Reunification

Abstract: German elections have attracted the attention of stakeholders from all over the world over the past few decades. This article will focus on the important role played by the Alternative fr Deutschland (AfD) party in the German election process. German Alternative fr Deutschlands support in national polls, as well as its success in regional elections, has posed an alarming threat for many Germans. Ruling parties and foreign countries have unanimously expressed their concern over this mass-based success, labeling it as the turning point of German politics. The paper will attribute the contrasting support rates in the East and West Germany to the lasting regional divide in economy, society and culture, and reveal the historical reasons behind respectively. There is no coincidence that the Right ideology is again gaining grounds in German politics, since the division period and reunification policies have both left irreversible impacts on the unified country, making voters vulnerable to AfD promises.

Institutionalised Pre-School Childcare and Reported Maltreatment: A Survey in East Germany

Child abuse increases the risk of adult mental health problems. Limited research explores the association of early institutional childhood care in the GDR with experienced childhood abuse and mediates anxiety and depression in adulthood. The sample includes N=1743 individuals born in the GDR (1949-1983). In multi-group path analyses (stratified men/women), we analysed the influence of pre-school care as a predictor and experienced child abuse (CTS) as a mediator variable for anxiety (GAD-7) and depression (PHQ-9) in adulthood. There are no direct effects of pre-school care on anxiety and depression. Childhood trauma significantly affected current mental health (women β=0.253-0.610; men β=0.092-0.439). Analyses suggest no link between early institutional care and childhood abuse. Considering other contextual factors in childcare is crucial for establishing population-wide prevention strategies for child safety.

Consistent Egalitarianism or Heterogeneous Belief Patterns? Gender Ideologies in Contemporary East and West Germany

Abstract Studying gender ideologies is crucial for understanding the work and family related behaviors of women and men. This paper analyzes the gender ideologies of respondents living in East and West Germany, and whether these belief patterns differ by socio-demographic characteristics. To this end, latent class analysis is applied to eight gender role items from the FReDA 2021 survey. The results show the presence of a consistent and widespread egalitarian gender ideology in both regions, as well as a less prevalent traditional one in the West. Additionally, heterogeneous gender ideologies are to be found with egalitarian essentialism present in both regions, and intensive parenting only in the West. Respondents with a lower level of education and males have higher chances of holding non-egalitarian ideologies. The findings align with the literature on persisting East-West differences in gender ideology, and with research on the diversification of gender ideology.

Training Future Comrades: Gender Pedagogy and Model Train Sets in the German Democratic Republic

This article investigates how model train sets became a medium for the marketing and development of East German technological utopianism, particularly in order to recruit women into the technical workforce. It begins by contextualizing the role of women in the GDR and their recruitment into engineering. From there, it explores the pedagogical power of East German train sets as well as its cultural impact on children. Finally, this article examines how technological utopianism shaped East German culture and how the model train was only one such effort on the road to the socialist utopia in East Germany.

Does Society Influence the Gender Gap in Risk Attitudes? Evidence from East and West Germany

Previous international research suggests that women are on average more risk averse than men. This gives rise to the question of whether the gender gap in risk attitudes is shaped by the social environment. We address this question by examining risk attitudes among East and West Germans. Even many years after reunification, East Germans have much more equal gender roles than West Germans. Thus, if the gender gap reflects socially constructed norms, it should be smaller among East Germans. Using data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), our empirical analysis confirms this prediction. Specifically with respect to career and financial matters, the gender gap in risk tolerance is smaller among East Germans. We find no evidence that the East German gender gap has converged to the higher West German level after reunification. By contrast, our estimates provide some cautious indications that the West German gap has narrowed over time.

What works to reduce regional health inequalities? A case of East vs West Germany post reunification

Abstract Regional inequalities in mortality are rising across the globe. The case of German reunification offers a unique opportunity to explore how such inequalities can be reduced, or even eliminated: following reunification, a long-standing life expectancy gap between East and West Germany was closed for women and markedly reduced for men in a period of less than 15 years. Drawing from theory on health inequalities, we investigate the contribution of material, behavioural and psychosocial factors likely related to the narrowing of the life expectancy gap between East and West Germany following reunification. We used regional data from official national statistics covering the period 1994-2020 for 15 regions in East and West Germany. Using fixed-effects models with an interaction term for regions in the East, we investigated whether within-region changes in key hypothesised factors (social security expenditure, healthcare improvements, changes in alcohol consumption, and life satisfaction), have had differential impacts on life expectancy at birth and at 65 years. We find that increases in social security benefits in the East following reunification has been the most important factor for lowering inequalities between the two parts of Germany: for every standard deviation increase in social security benefits, life expectancy at birth increased by an additional 0.20 [0.07,0.33] years for males and by 0.15 [-0.01,0.31] years for females in East relative to West Germany. We find the protective effect of social security benefits also for women at 65 years (additional 0.14 years [0.006,0.268]) but not for men. Overall, our findings suggest that increasing social security expenditure could be an effective policy-based tool for reducing health disparities across regions with different levels of economic development. This provides additional support for the relevance of the materialist hypothesis and the political economy of root causes of health inequalities. Key messages • Our findings suggest that increasing social security expenditure could be an effective policy-based tool for reducing regional health disparities. • We find support for the materialist and political economy approaches to explaining health inequalities.

A Metamorphosis: From HGW XX/7 to a Good Man

This paper explores the transformative power of music on psychological and political ideologies through the lens of the film The Lives of Others. It examines the character of Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler, a Stasi agent whose life undergoes profound changes after encountering the piece Sonata for a Good Man. Integrating insights from musicology, psychology, Sufism, and political science, the paper delves into how music transcends ideological boundaries, enabling deep personal introspection and connection. Unlike prior studies that focus broadly on art, this paper focuses specifically on music as a transformative force, offering a deeper exploration of how music incites psychological and ideological change. The analysis argues that music creates a liminal space where conventional boundaries dissolve, fostering a critical re-evaluation of one’s beliefs and perceptions. This transformation is evident in Wiesler’s shift from a loyal ideologue to a compassionate individual, impacting his emotional and cognitive states as well as his actions and ideologies. The paper highlights the capacity of music to challenge and alter both political and personal landscapes, emphasizing its role in facilitating ideological and emotional liberation. The paper contributes to a broader understanding of art’s impact on human behaviour and societal structures by examining the intersection of music and transformation within the context of East Germany. Through Wiesler’s story, the paper illustrates how art, particularly music, can be a potent force in challenging and reshaping ideological confines and nurturing human connection and empathy.

Arrest Matters: The Pragmatics of Vulnerability in Phone Calls to the Stasi

Using Conversation Analysis (CA), this article focuses on the ways in which participants invoke vulnerability in phone calls to the former East German State Security Service, better known as the Stasi. The calls were made in the late 1970s and the 1980s and pertained in one way or the other to political arrests. The main aim is to understand the linkage between vulnerability as an attribute of an institutional setting and vulnerability as the mutual achievement of a social interaction with an organization. The data represent different ways of addressing experiences of vulnerabilisation and different complications, each with a specific interactional character (failed request for help, self-protection or expression of indignation about one’s own treatment). Starting with an ambiguous case and focusing on how participants work to describe experiences of arrest in other cases documented and available in the Stasi tape archive, the article describes the sequential unfolding of vulnerability in different formats, depending on how the recipient designs them and the communicative tasks that participants tackle in their interactions.

Socialist Wardens and Guards in Czechoslovakia and East Germany: The Replacement and Political Indoctrination of Prison Staff

Abstract This article focuses on the replacement of prison staff in Czechoslovakia and East Germany, later the German Democratic Republic after 1945. The main focus is on the question of how the replacement of prison staff took place, what strategies Czechoslovakia and East Germany used to accomplish this task, and the extent to which local conditions and the overall evolution of the prison systems of the two countries played a role in the process. The other aim of the article is to understand the place of political indoctrination in the staffing of prisons in the two socialist countries and to show how the system of teaching new members of the prison staff changed over time. Comparing the replacement of prison staff shows that although both states were under Soviet influence and transformed their prison systems according to the Soviet model, the implementation of staff changes greatly depended on the distinct political, economic and social conditions of the two states.

DILUTED POST‐SOCIALISM: Urban Policymaking in East Germany, Poland and Ukraine

<scp>DILUTED POST</scp>‐<scp>SOCIALISM</scp>: Urban Policymaking in East Germany, Poland and Ukraine

Oral history in geographischer Forschung: Emotionen und Verlust in Erfahrungsgeschichten ehemaliger Werftarbeiter:innen erforschen

Abstract. This article presents a spatially sensitive approach to the narratives of transformation processes, employing oral history to explore the connection between loss, emotions, and memory in the context of changing shipyard work in East Germany since 1989. The former place of work, the shipyard, serves as a central place where loss, emotions and memory condense. The method of oral history enables the subjective narration of past experiences and forms the basis for recording and analyzing narratives of experiences. Empirically, the article draws on oral history interviews with former shipyard workers to gain deeper insights into their memories, experiences and the emotional impact of the loss or impending loss of their jobs. This research contributes to understanding the social and emotional effects of transformation processes, emphasizing the importance of oral history in incorporating the subjective experiences of those affected in geographical research.

Converging mothers' employment trajectories between East and West Germany? A focus on the 2008‐childcare‐reform

AbstractObjectiveAiming to generate evidence on how contextual conditions shape individuals' opportunities and constraints and, ultimately, life courses, we focus on a period of childcare expansion in reunified Germany. We investigate differences in employment trajectories around mothers' first childbirths to identify potential East–West convergence.BackgroundDuring Germany's division (1949–1990), universal public childcare and female full‐time employment were the norm in East Germany, while the male breadwinner model was dominant in the West. These differences, although declining, persisted even decades after reunification. In 2008, a reform aimed at expanding childcare availability to facilitate mothers' employment throughout the country.MethodsWe measure East–West differences in employment trajectories around childbirth pre‐ (1990–2007) and post‐reform (2008–2021) in terms of timing, order, and duration of events over time. We use data on 359 East and 986 West German first‐time‐mothers from the German Socio‐Economic Panel and sequence analysis tools.ResultsBefore the reform, employment trajectories between East and West German mothers differed both in timing and duration of employment states. After the reform, these differences decreased, showing a general convergence in the prevalence of post‐birth part‐time employment. Nonetheless, longer maternity leave is still more prevalent among West German mothers, while East German mothers are more likely to maintain full‐time jobs.ConclusionOur findings show how policy settings and reforms shape life courses in a context‐dependent fashion. They illustrate the importance of a methodological approach that focuses on process outcomes and supports a theoretical perspective that highlights how historical time and place shape life courses.

Switching location—shifting mindset? The attitude towards female employment of East–West migrants in Germany

The strong migration of former East German residents to the western part of Germany opens a unique way to study the impact of migration modifying gender-related attitudes towards division of labor. While in West Germany more traditional gender attitudes have been prevailing for decades, the East pursued more progressive attitudes regarding the home and labor domain. However, attitudes of East-to-West migrants are mostly unknown. Thus, this article aims at providing a first analysis regarding differing attitudes between domestic migrants and non-movers. Data from the German General Social Surveys (GGSS/ALLBUS) from 1992, 2004, and 2016, including 2428, 2099, and 1486 participants, respectively, were used. Group differences between permanent residents from West Germany (West–West) and from East Germany (East–East) as well as East-to-West migrants were estimated. Pooled regressions were conducted to predict the attitudes towards female employment. East–West migrants’ respective attitudes differed from both of the other groups. However, they were more similar to the more traditional West–West group than the more progressive East–East group. Furthermore, East–West migrants who had lived longer in the West exhibited more traditional attitudes than those who had lived there <10 years. Further, the diversity of East-to-West migrants was acknowledged by observing the year of migration (before 1961, 1961–1989, after 1989) which showed that those who migrated before the erection of the Berlin Wall were more traditional. The finding that East–West migrants’ attitudes were more similar to their place of residence, while the duration of residence was positively associated with the traditional attitude towards female employment prevalent in the West, gives impetus to further research attitudes of domestic migrants. Future research should test whether a selection effect or assimilation cause East–West migrants’ attitudes to resemble their society of residence.

From rivers to roads: the depiction of the Chinese revolution in East German documentaries

From rivers to roads: the depiction of the Chinese revolution in East German documentaries

Early state socialism and eugenics: Premarital medical certificates in Czechoslovakia, East Germany, and Poland in the aftermath of World War II

The article discusses the immediate post-war persistence and subsequent rejection of eugenics in East-Central European socialist states, exploring the case of premarital medical certificates. Building our analysis on published and archival sources, we show that immediately after the war, policies formulated at the governmental level were informed by eugenic ideas in medical expertise. Premarital medical certificates were aimed at combatting contagious diseases and thus securing a healthy population. Their legal status varied: in Poland, they were formally introduced; in the Soviet Occupied Zone and East Germany, Nazi law was abolished, but local officials still advocated for the introduction of certificates; and in Czechoslovakia, medical certificates were planned but not introduced. Despite these differences, after a short period between 1949 and 1950, the attempts to put a measure into practice ended in all three countries. We argue that the communist takeover and consolidation of power played a decisive role. After 1950, premarital medical certificates were not discussed again in Czechoslovakia or East Germany; in Poland, the debate re-emerged in 1959–60 during political liberalization.

Divided Care: Differences in the Agencies of Family Caregivers for Disabled Children in East and West Germany

Parents and their disabled children in both German states faced discrimination and severe challenges in the organisation of family life. In the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), from the 1960s onwards, parents achieved more far-reaching influence over the schooling and overall treatment of their children. The reasons for and avenues of parental empowerment were different on both sides of the border. In West Germany, collective action within a civil society framework was the major factor behind parental empowerment. In the GDR, parental protest tended to be more individualist and was often voiced via the petitioning system ( Eingaben) .

Trends in Women’s Educational Advantage and Divorce in East and West Germany

Couples in which wives have more education than their husbands have been found to be more likely than other couples to divorce. But this relationship varies across time and place. We compare the relationship between spouses’ relative education and marital dissolution across four birth cohorts born between 1951 and 1990 in East and West Germany using 37 waves of the German Socio-Economic Panel (1984-2021) and Cox proportional hazard models. The comparison between East and West Germany provides contrasting levels and trends in women’s education, employment, and gender cultures, with East Germany persistently being a more gender egalitarian context compared to West Germany. Our results show that marriages in which wives have more education than their husbands are less stable in West Germany, but not in East Germany, where the point estimates indicate that these couples are more stable than other couples, but this association is not statistically significant. We do not find evidence of cohort change in these associations in either East or West Germany. These findings are consistent with the idea that the consequences of non-traditional gender arrangements are weaker in more egalitarian contexts and confirm that notable differences between East and West Germany persist after reunification. * This article belongs to a special issue on “Changes in Educational Homogamy and Its Consequences”.