West German Population Research Articles

Sex- and Regionalspecific Differences in Child Abuse and Violence Before the German Reunification. Results from GESA, a Multi-Cohort Study

Results from a population-based study suggest sex-specific patterns of self-reported child maltreatment, more frequently reported in former West than East Germany. Aim of the current study was to examine these patterns in two regional samples of the former East- (SHIP, 2008 - 2012) and West German (KORA, 2013 - 2014) population. Child maltreatment was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Screener (CTS). Overall, child maltreatment was less often reported in the East German sample, compared to the West German sample. The most prominent differences were identified in self-rated emotional violence (east 6.1%, west 8.7%), physical violence (east 5.7%, west 10.3%) and physical neglect (east 10.0%, west 19.2%). However, we could not find differences in sex-specific patterns between the East and West German samples. Results were discussed within a historical context, since the events took place before the German reunification in two oppose political systems.

Socio-political context as determinant of childhood maltreatment: a population-based study among women and men in East and West Germany

Abstract Aim Being subjected to childhood maltreatment has devastating long-term adverse effects and is a major risk factor for mental health problems in adult life. There is empirical support that socio-political factors can be risk factors for childhood maltreatment. Here we examine whether socio-political context predicts self-rated childhood maltreatment in a sample of the German population. Methods Data were drawn from surveys of representative samples of the East and West German population, including participants born 1980 or earlier (5836 participants; 3146 women). Childhood maltreatment was assessed using the Childhood Trauma Screener, the German short screening version of the childhood trauma questionnaire. To examine whether socio-political context is a predictor of childhood maltreatment in women and men, we conducted logistic regression analyses. Results We found that in women, socio-political context (West Germany) significantly predicted childhood maltreatment (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 1.7 [1.2–2.5], 1.6 [1.1–2.3], 2.5 [1.6–4.1] and 1.8 [1.3–2.5] for emotional neglect, and emotional, physical and sexual violence, respectively). In men, the socio-political context (West Germany) was a predictor of physical and sexual violence (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 1.8 [1.2–2.7] and 2.5 [1.4–4.5]), respectively. Concerning emotional neglect and violence, socio-political context was not a significant predictor in men. The examination of differential item functioning revealed that our results could not be attributed to differential response behaviour between East and West Germans caused by item bias. Conclusions The results suggest that socio-political context is an important determinant to consider when examining childhood maltreatment. Future research should continue to focus on risk and protective factors at the societal level, such as legal frameworks addressing gender equality and child protection laws, to create further evidence for population-wide prevention strategies ensuring safe, nurturing and thriving environments for children and families.

Later-life depressive symptoms and anxiety attacks in displaced and nondisplaced populations

• Forced displacement is associated with higher rates of anxiety in later life. • Depending on the socio-political context, forced displacement is associated with increased depressive symptomatology. • The socio-political context is a potential predisposing factor for later-life anxiety or depression after forced displacement. Forced displacement has been suggested as a potential cause for depression and anxiety in later life. Little research has been done on the influence of the host country's socio-political system. Here we examine whether the later-life effects of displacement on mental health (i.e. depressive symptoms and anxiety attacks) differ between socio-political contexts. We hypothesized that between-group differences (displaced vs. nondisplaced) in self-rated depression scores and frequencies of anxiety attacks are more pronounced in East versus West German populations. Datasets from three representative nationwide surveys (2002, 2003, 2007) were analyzed; study participants born 1946 and earlier were included. The final sample comprised 2239 participants, including 1235 women. The depression and anxiety modules of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-D) were used to assess current anxiety and depression. Of the total sample, 15.4% reported WW2 displacement, 18.9% ( n = 129) in the East and 13.9% ( n = 216) in the West German sample. Concerning depression, we found significant between-group differences (displaced vs. nondisplaced) in the East (but not West) German sample. Concerning anxiety, both displaced East and West Germans reported a significantly higher frequency of anxiety attacks, as compared to nondisplaced individuals. Differences between effect sizes (East vs. West) were significant for depression, and anxiety after controlling for age and sex. Limitations include the self-rated assessment, not controlling for the confounding impact of the German reunification, and the cross-sectional study design. Results corroborate the assumption of an unsupportive socio-political context as a potential predisposing factor for later-life anxiety or depression after forced displacement.

Don’t Smoke, Take Drink in Moderation, Do Walk a Lot and Do Not Gorge Yourself beyond Your Satiation: Health Education by Television in West Germany from the 1960s to the 1980s

This article discusses health education through television in West Germany, with a focus on nutrition and physical activity. Public health initiatives on television contributed to the fitness boom of the late 1960s and 1970s that aimed to counterbalance post-war lifestyle changes within the West German population. The article uses individual TV programme formats and campaigns as examples to show that the 1970s marked the beginning of behaviour-oriented health education in West Germany. The ZDF health telemagazine Gesundheitsmagazin Praxis gave advice, for example on proper food and conveyed how the audience was increasingly requested to actively participate, in order to encourage health-conscious behaviour.

Intersecting aims, divergent paths: The Allensbach Institute, the Institute for Social Research, and the making of public opinion research in 1950s West Germany

After 1945, both the Western Allies in Germany and some German social scientists embraced empirical public opinion research. This article examines the rhetoric, practices, and collaborative professional efforts of two of the most significant institutions conducting opinion research in West Germany in the 1950s: the Allensbach Institute and the Institute for Social Research in Frankfurt. Although the political stances of these institutions differed, they were motivated to apply empirical research methods associated with Anglo-American social research to the West German population by shared concerns about the fragility of democracy, faith in the empirical sciences as an antidote to Nazi-era thought patterns, and the need to form a united front against doubters within West Germany. Even while declaring their desire to incorporate the latest empirical advances from the United States, however, they sought to articulate the meaning of their methods and findings in terms of the specific challenges faced by West Germany.

Local populations and inaccuracies: Determining the relevant mitochondrial haplotype distributions for North West European cats

Typing of different portions of the feline mitochondrial control region has illustrated pronounced differences in haplotype distributions between cats from the Netherlands and other parts of the world. To gain a better understanding of the haplotype distribution of North West Continental Europe, 605bp of mitochondrial DNA was typed from randomly selected cats from the Netherlands (N=146), Belgium (N=64) and South West Germany (N=128). The genetic differences between these randomly sampled European populations correlate to the geographical distances, with the Dutch and the South West German populations furthest apart and the Belgian population as an intermediate (Fst values 0.01–0.03).Comparison of North West European mainland distributions to published feline mitochondrial haplotype distributions illustrated moderate to large genetic differentiation (Fst values 0.01–0.32). In this comparison, the correlation between geographical and genetic distance was absent, leading to founder effects and human impact on cat population structure and dispersion being considered as important parameters.When an accurate estimation of feline haplotype distribution is required in forensics, care should be taken when deciding whether extrapolating the frequency data from a certain source to a larger area (country/continent) is justified or whether additional typing of local populations is necessary. This may differ from case to case as local frequencies can be relevant, but can also be deceitful. To improve the applicability of forensic feline mitochondrial DNA studies, documentation and publishing of sampling strategies is advised, as is the implementation of measures to help eliminate potentially erroneous haplotypes.

Occurrence and Spread of the Invasive Asian Bush Mosquito Aedes japonicus japonicus (Diptera: Culicidae) in West and North Germany since Detection in 2012 and 2013, Respectively.

The invasive Asian bush mosquito Aedes japonicus japonicus was first recognised as established in Germany in 2008. In addition to the first known and quickly expanding population in the southwestern part of the country, three separate populations were discovered in West, North and southeastern Germany in 2012, 2013 and 2015, respectively, by means of the ‘Mueckenatlas’, a German instrument of passive mosquito surveillance. Since the first findings of mosquito specimens in West and North Germany, these regions were checked annually for continuing colonisation and spread of the species. Both affected areas were covered by a virtual 10x10km2 grid pattern in the cells of which cemeteries were screened for immature stages of the mosquito. The cells were considered populated as soon as larvae or pupae were detected, whereas they were classified as negative when no mosquito stages were found in the cemeteries of at least three different towns or villages. Presence was also recorded when Ae. j. japonicus adults were submitted to the ‘Mueckenatlas’ from the respective cell or when there was evidence of local occurrence in localities other than cemeteries. Based on this approach, a significant expansion of the populated area was documented in West Germany since the first detection of Ae. j. japonicus in 2012 (increase in positive grid cells by more than 400%), while the North German population appears not to be expanding so far (reduction of positive grid cells by ca. 30% since 2013). As Ae. j. japonicus finds suitable climatic and ecological conditions in Germany, the differential expansion of the two populations might be attributed to the West German population being older and thus more firmly established than the closely related but younger North German population that might still be in its founder phase. However, geographic spread of all German populations in the future is anticipated. Continuous surveillance is recommended, as Ae. j. japonicus is a competent vector of several pathogens in the laboratory.

Reconstruction of two colonisation pathways of Mantis religiosa (Mantodea) in Germany using four mitochondrial markers.

Past and recent climatic changes induced shifts in species ranges. Mantis religiosa has also expanded its range across Germany within the past decades. To determine the ancestry of German M. religiosa we sequenced four mitochondrial genes (COI, COII, Cyt b, ND4) of European M. religiosa populations. We found an east, central and west European lineage of M. religiosa. These distinct lineages are consistent with genetic isolation by distance during glacial periods, and the re-colonization of northern parts of Europe by species from different refugia. Within Germany, we found haplotypes clustering to the central and west European lineage suggesting that M. religiosa immigrated from two directions into Germany. Mismatch distributions, and negative Tajima's D and Fu's Fs values indicate a current range expansion of the central and west European lineage. We hypothesise that ongoing global warming which increases the availability of thermally favourable areas in Germany for M. religiosa adds to its current range expansion. In conclusion, M. religiosa colonized Germany via two directions: west German populations descended from French populations and east German populations from Czech populations.

The Mauthausen Trial: American Military Justice in Germany

The Mauthausen Trial is a well researched, carefully crafted and thought-provoking book. This concise volume would have been even more compelling if the author had provided additional comparative context and developed a more sharply profiled assessment of his case study. In 1946, a US military commission court tried sixty-one Nazis for war crimes committed in the Mauthausen concentration camp. Having spent an average of four hours on each case, the court handed down fifty-eight death sentences. Forty-nine of the defendants were executed in May 1947, turning the proceedings into the most deadly trial in US legal history. The nine remaining defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment but quickly set free, along with many other German war criminals in Allied custody. The West German population and its elected officials had insisted on the release of the Nazi criminals in exchange for West German allegiance in the Cold War. Tomaz Jardim clearly acknowledges the shortcomings of the Mauthausen trial. The military commission court operated according to what Jardim euphemistically calls ‘relaxed rules of evidence’ (p 115). It accepted testimony based on hearsay, evidence about crimes not covered by the courts’ mandate, and confessions extracted under dubious circumstances. Moreover, the sentences were not subject to an independent appellate process and instead reviewed within the army chain of command. Finally, as a result of the trial strategy developed by the prosecution and accepted by the court, ‘the burden of proof shifted onto the accused’ rendering the charges ‘virtually unchallengeable’ (pp. 172, 170).

Explaining Ethnic Inequality in the German Labor Market: Labor Market Institutions, Context of Reception, and Boundaries

The descendants of immigrants comprise nearly a third of the West German population under the age of 25 years and will soon become a substantial proportion of the native born labor force. Owing to the young age of this group, and a lack of governmental data on parental place of birth, there is currently little research that compares the labor market outcomes of the second generation of different origins. Exploiting the first data set to allow the disaggregation of all immigrant groups in Germany, this article draws on the concepts of context of reception and boundary crossing to explain variation in the labor market performance of different immigrant origin groups. Positively received ethnic Germans consistently perform better than negatively received guest worker origin groups. Labor market inequality is greatest among men and in obtaining employment. Ethnic differences are more compressed among women and for occupational attainment among the employed. The boundary crossing mechanisms of naturalization and intermarriage have modest association with labor market success. Findings suggest that successful integration in Germany is influenced by labor market institutions, which encourage inequality in unemployment while diminishing inequality amongst the employed.

Evidence for a considerable decrease in total and cause-specific incidences of blindness in Germany

The objectives of this study are to estimate the recent population-based incidences of all-cause and cause-specific blindness in Germany and compare them with results from a similar study conducted in 1994-1998. All blindness allowance recipients newly registered between January 2008 and December 2009 in a region in southern Germany (population, approximately 3.5 million) were assessed and their ophthalmological reports reviewed. The main causes of blindness were identified and their incidences estimated. There were 572 newly registered cases of blindness allowance. The all-cause incidence of blindness (per 100,000 person-years) in the general population was 8.4 (95% confidence interval, 7.8-9.2), and the highest incidences were for macular degeneration (3.4; 3.0-3.9), diabetic retinopathy (0.8; 0.6-1.1) and glaucoma (0.7; 0.5-0.9). During the last two decades, blindness incidences decreased for all the main causes (standardised to the West German population 1991: 12.3; 11.9-12.7 in 1994-1998 vs. 7.3; 6.7-8.0 in 2008-2009). The highest absolute decrease was for macular degeneration and the highest relative decrease was for cataract. The most frequent main causes of blindness in Germany remained macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma. Our findings suggest a remarkable decrease in the incidences of blindness, probably because of new diagnostic options and effective treatments.

Perspectives on Postwar Silence: Psychoanalysis, Political Philosophy, and Economic Theory

Hannah Arendt and Alexander and Margarete Mitscherlich produced influential accounts of the postwar West-German population's silence or inarticuleteness. The Mitscherlichs claimed that this silence was symptomatic of a blocked process of mourning; Arendt saw it as a legacy of brutal totalitarian rule. However, both viewed the rapid economic recovery as evidence of the German inability to engage in discursively mediated therapeutic and political processes. Frantic busyness was a form of silence. This paper presents a critical reassessment of these approaches. By drawing on Albert Hirschman's theory of exit and voice, it argues that economic activity possesses a communicative dimension. The alleged retreat from politics is not a symptom of muteness but rather indicates people's preference for an alternative mode of communication. Arendt and the Mitscherlich may be right in assuming a correlation between the postwar economic recovery and ostensible political apathy, but lack the conceptual means to clarify the relationship.

Daring More Democracy? Internal Security and the Social Democratic Fight against West German Terrorism

Over the course of the 1970s, West Germans fought one another in an attempt to defend democracy. Frustrated with the seemingly ineffectual speeches and demonstrations of the 1960s protest movements, militant groups such as the Red Army Faction (RAF), June 2ndMovement, and the Red Cells took up arms. They declared war on the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) for its failure to rid itself of the vestiges of fascism, for its hierarchical-authoritarian structure, and for the abuses of western consumer society. Inspired by national liberation movements in the formerly colonized world, the groups aimed both to raise revolutionary consciousness among the West German population and to demonstrate the state's vulnerability through illegal action. The RAF, in particular, stressed the importance of violence as a simultaneous act of emancipation and defense—the latter understood as counterviolence necessitated by state-initiated violence. The repeated violation of norms would, its members argued, undermine Germans' traditional “habit of obedience” and, at the same time, force the state to reveal openly its fascism. These tough-love tactics, in short, aimed to save West Germans from themselves and thereby save German democracy.

The Holocaust and Catholic Conscience. Cardinal Aloisius Muench and the Guilt Question in Germany (review)

The Holocaust and Catholic Conscience. Cardinal Aloisius Muench and the Guilt Question in Germany. By Suzanne Brown-Fleming. (Notre Dame, Indiana: University of Notre Dame Press, in association with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 2006. Pp. xiv, 240. $45.00 clothbound; $20.00 paperback.) Suzanne Brown-Fleming's short study of the post-1945 career in Germany of Bishop, later Cardinal,Aloisius Muench seeks to rectify some shortcomings she finds in F. Colman Barry's biography written in the 1960's. In particular, she examines the Cardinal's record on the question of German guilt for the crimes of the Holocaust, and the underlying anti-Semitic attitudes shared by so many Germans. In her view, Muench, as the Vatican's leading representative in Germany from 1946 to 1959, contributed to the lack of self-examination and the perpetuation of anti-Semitic prejudices among German Catholics. In this way, he was emblematic of the Catholic Church's failure in this period to confront its own complicity in Nazism's anti-Jewish ideology. Brown-Fleming is quite right-even though not the first-to note the peculiar mentality which prevailed among the German established classes in the post1945 years. Many foreign observers, including this reviewer, recall very clearly the repellent mixture of self-justification and self-pity, based on a still vibrant nationalism, even racism, which concentrated on the Germans' suffering and aEeged mistreatment and ignored entirely the fate of others. Only a few stalwart voices called for acknowledgment of, and repentance for, the crimes committed in Germany's name. Bishop Muench was not among them. Instead, as an American envoy, he swallowed uncritically the Germans' self-assessment and did his best to promote his philo-German and anti-guilt ideology, based on his own deeply conservative and often anti-Semitic world-view But Brown-Fleming runs the risk of exaggerating Muench's influence. The regrettable attitudes she deplores were not his invention and indeed owed little to his advocacy. In fact, this German mood was founded on several fundamental points.The German elite had been badly scarred by the humiliations suffered in 1919; they now expected that their second defeat would lead to a super-Versailles. All shared a deeply-entrenched dread of Russian Communism, and many believed the Western allies' policy would also be based on revenge. German Catholics sought to defend their new-found national position as exemplified in the Concordat. When the Cold War broke out, the Western allies needed to recruit the west German population to their side. They therefore accepted the selfserving apologias proffered by this group and the accompanying amnesia about their Nazi past. Muench's views nicely fitted into this political reality. Why was Muench appointed, not only as the Vatican's representative but also as liaison adviser on Catholic affairs to the U.S. military government? He was born and brought up in the Catholic diaspora in Milwaukee, taught in the seminary, and was promoted to the small rural diocese of Fargo, North Dakota, in 1935. …

Seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) in former East and West Germany, 1997?1998

The aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) in representative samples of the total former East German (FEG) and total former West German (FWG) populations. Type-specific testing with the HSV-1 (gG1) and HSV-2 (gG2) indirect ELISA was performed on an age- and sex-stratified random subsample of 3,792 sera collected during the 1997-1998 German National Health Survey. Weighted seroprevalence estimates were calculated for the total FEG and FWG populations. The overall age-standardised seroprevalence of HSV-1 was 82.6% in Germany, 85.5% (95%CI, 83.4-87.3%) in FEG and 81.8% (95%CI, 79.9-83.6%) in FWG. The overall seroprevalence of HSV-2 was 13.3% (95%CI, 11.8-14.9) in Germany, 16.5% (95%CI, 14.1-18.9) in FEG and 12.6% (95%CI, 10.7-14.5%) in FWG. The difference between FEG and FWG was largely due to the significantly higher age-adjusted seroprevalence of HSV-1 and HSV-2 in women (but not men) in FEG as compared to FWG. The HSV seroprevalence estimates in this study are consistent with results of previous less representative seroprevalence studies in Germany. Differences in HSV-2 seroprevalence between FEG and FWG suggest differences in sexual behaviour that warrant further investigation.

The Biological Standard of Living in the Two Germanies

AbstractPhysical stature is used as a proxy for the biological standard of living in the two Germanies before and after unification in an analysis of a cross-sectional sample (1998) of adult heights, as well as among military recruits of the 1990s. West Germans tended to be taller than East Germans throughout the period under consideration. Contrary to official proclamations of a classless society, there were substantial social differences in physical stature in East Germany. Social differences in height were greater in the East among females, and less among males than in the West. The difficulties experienced by the East German population after 1961 is evident in the increase in social inequality of physical stature thereafter, as well as in the considerable gap relative to the height of the West German population. After unification, however, there is a tendency for East German males, but not of females, to catch up with their West German counterparts.

Occupational sex segregation in state socialist and market economies: Levels, patterns, and change in East and West Germany, 1980s and 1998

From 1949 to 1989, East Germany was a state socialist society, while West Germany remained capitalist. In 1990, the East again became one country with the West. What were the level and nature of occupational sex segregation in the former East and West Germany in the decade before reunification? How had East/West differences in occupational sex segregation changed by the end of the first decade after unification? Much of the discussion about changes with unification is based on the assumption that in the GDR compared with the West, there was less overall segregation and more integration especially of predominatelymale occupations because of the East's stronger ideology of gender equality and higher need for labor. Such arguments fail to take into consideration East Germany's higher rate of women's labor force participation, more extensive support for working mothers, and slower development of the service sector. In this paper we use detailed occupational information from 1980s East and West German population censuses and from the 1998 German micro-census. We recode occupations to be comparable across surveys using the 1988 International Standard Classification of Occupations. We find that before 1989, the East had a higher level of occupational gender segregation and more concentration in predominantly female occupations. It also had somewhat more integration of “male” jobs and a greater overall range of occupations for women than in West Germany. By 1998, these patterns had largely converged to those of the West.

Prevalence of eating disorders and weight control practices in Germany in 1990 and 1997.

To investigate whether the prevalence of bulimic behaviors and weight control practices changed between 1990 and 1997. In November 1997, we surveyed a representative sample of 2,130 adult subjects in West Germany and 2,155 subjects in East Germany. We asked subjects about binge eating, vomiting, use of laxatives, appetite suppressants and diuretics, and about dieting, weighing, and exercise. As the same questions had been used in a representative survey (N = 1,773) in autumn 1990 in West Germany, trend comparisons for prevalence between 1990 and 1997 are possible. The prevalence of severe eating binges twice a week dropped nonsignificantly between 1997 and 1990 from 3.1% to 2.4% in men and from 2.3% to 1.3% in women. In men, the prevalence of binge eating disorder dropped nonsignificantly from 2.4% to 1.5%, the prevalence of bulimia nervosa from 2.1% to 1.1%. In women, the prevalence of binge eating disorder dropped nonsignificantly from 1.5% to 0.7% and that of bulimia nervosa from 2.4% to 1.1%. The prevalence of bulimic behaviors decreased slightly during 1990 and 1997 in the West German population.

The Biological Standard of Living in the Two Germanies

Physical stature is used as a proxy for the biological standard of living in the two Germanies before and after unification in an analysis of a cross-sectional sample (1998) of adult heights, as well as among military recruits of the 1990s. West Germans tended to be taller than East Germans throughout the period under consideration. Contrary to official proclamations of a classless society, there were substantial differences in physical stature in East-Germany. Social differences in height were greater in the East among females, and less among males than in the West. Spatial inequality was greater in the East than in the West, pointing to the relatively underdeveloped nature of the East-German rural sector. The difficulties experienced by the East-German population after 1961 is evident in the increase in social inequality of physical stature thereafter, as well as in the increasing gap relative to the height of the West-German population. After unification, however, there is a tendency for East-German males, but not of females, to catch up with their West-German counterparts.

Risk Behavior of East and West Germans in Handling Personal Finances

When "Homo Economicus" stands for rationality of financial decision-making, then this is clearly an ideal state not found in real life. Instead, everyday financial decisions are made by using a number of risk-oriented behaviors, both positive and negative. We investigate the relationships between such personality traits and financial decisions following the theory of Brengelmann. We compare financial risk behavior between East and West German citizens using two kinds of samples. One type of sample is drawn from the general East and West German populations. The other is drawn from the readers of the leading business magazine in East and West Germany. It is assumed that West Germans are more risk-oriented than East Germans and that readers of the business magazine are more risk-oriented than the non-readers. The expectations were confirmed. In the general population, West Germans show higher risk excitement, but also a higher degree of strain than East Germans. East Germans are more likely to strive for property. Beyond that, business magazine readers differ from the average population. They show higher degrees of almost all relevant factors. In this subgroup, East Germans remind one of "Musterschuler" as far as handling finances is concerned: They show greater drive, control, and responsibility in financial matters, but feel less distracted than West Germans. These results may be explained by differences in socialization in the former FRG and GDR, where "capitalistic" and "socialistic" values, respectively, are supposed to have dominated theory and practice over long periods of time.