Decades after Germany’s reunification, views still differ on its cultural divide

Carolin Würfel expresses her disappointment about West Germans’ ignorance concerning East German writers (East German culture has been ignored for too long. Until we embrace it, our country will remain dangerously divided, 20 August). She expressly mentioned two of them, both women: Brigitte Reimann and Jenny Erpenbeck. Both, she states, were until recently unknown to West Germans and ignored by West German publishing houses.
Being (West) German myself (born in 1958), I can only disagree. Besides, there are so many other East German authors, among them Sarah Kirsch, Stefan Heym, Erwin Strittmatter and Jurek Becker (and many more) that she does not mention. They were all represented by (West) German publishers. I read them myself.
I am old enough to have witnessed the process of reunification of the two Germanies. It was, and still is, a bumpy ride – for both sides. The West has invested tremendous amounts of money into the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), trying hard to equalise the standard of living in both parts – not always accomplishing its goals. There is no doubt about it. West Germans were forced to pay the so called “Soli”, a special tax raised in order to help financing this Herculean task. This tax still exists for those with higher income.
Despite these efforts, East Germans have had and some still have a tendency to complain that they were not treated nicely and are to this day disadvantaged. That’s why they have been called by some people in the West as “Jammer-Ossis”, East Germans who whine.
It’s quite daring to blame the rise of the rightwing Alternative für Deutschland party on the West Germans and their lack of appreciation of East German culture. I am afraid the problem is much more complicated than that.Ruth StrasslMunich, Germany
Carolin Würfel’s article is a welcome, if belated, reminder of how the 40 years of the German Democratic Republic has been written out of the historical narrative, and goes some way in explaining the sudden popularity of the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
When the GDR was incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany in 1990, the political leaders carried out what they failed to do after the defeat of nazism in 1945: they sacked and replaced the whole highly educated administrative, intellectual and academic forces in the GDR. From then on, the whole narrative about the former GDR was dominated and determined by West Germans. Even films made about the GDR, like the much-lauded The Lives of Others, were made almost exclusively by western directors who had no first-hand knowledge of what life in the GDR was really like. Everything was turned into a “Stasi” narrative.
I spent several years living, studying and working in the GDR, and can vouch that this mainstream narrative as propounded by West Germans bears little relationship to the reality I experienced. Stasi State or Socialist Paradise?, a book I co-wrote that was published in 2015, attempts to redress that distortion of history and explain what actually happened to the GDR after reunification. Although it has been reprinted several times and is still selling well, it has been given little acknowledgment by mainstream historians.
The upcoming elections next month in the former East German regions of Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg will almost certainly reveal strong support for the AfD. The way East Germans have been treated and their lives written out of history will be reflected in their rejection of the mainstream parties.John GreenEaling, London