The 'ost' in Nostalgia

Research Paper # 11171

History > European - 20th Century
Political Science > Communism

How the phenomenon of nostalgia has overtaken many aspects of the Eastern German cultural experience.

4,149 words () | 21 sources | APA | 2002 Canada

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the phenomena of "ostalgie", nostalgia for the old East German state, that has been a part of the reunification process in Germany since the Berlin Wall came down. The paper focuses first on the reasons why former East Germans would reminisce about the GDR, and then shifts to examine how ostalgie is affecting life in reunified Germany. Both the origins and manifestations of ostalgie are looked at in terms of political, economic, and social ramifications.

From the Paper:

"When the Berlin Wall opened in November 1989, a sense of fulfillment of the German historical destiny was in the air. Finally, after a tragic and terrible past, a new Germany was rising, full of hope and aware of its potential. This jubilant period was well documented in international press; contemporaries will surely never forget the moment. But a lesser-known reality soon set in for the new Germans. West and East Germans confronted the actualities of the "other" culture and it became apparent that the integration of the old German Democratic Republic into the Federal Republic of Germany would be quite difficult. As the situation for easterners has failed to live up to westerners' promises, many citizens of the old GDR question the unification. Much of the eastern German population feels the unification has not done anything to make conditions better. In some cases, they believe conditions have worsened there is a higher unemployment rate, their intimate attachment to their eastern history and culture is being severed, and they have lost their political voice. This disillusionment with their present state has caused many easterners to reminisce about the "simpler times" of the GDR, in which they were assured a job, a house, and a safe environment."