Denying Difference to the Post-Socialist Other: Bernhard Heisig and the Changing Reception of an East German Artist

Post Colonial ◽

East And West Germany ◽

Before And After ◽

This article traces the reception of East German artist Bernhard Heisig’s life and art—first in East Germany and then in the Federal Republic of Germany before and after the Wall. Drawing on post-colonial and post-socialist scholarship, it argues that Heisig’s reception exemplifies a western tendency to deny cultural and ideological difference in what the post-socialist scholar Piotr Piotrowski calls the “close Other.” This denial of difference to artists from the eastern bloc has shaped western understandings of Heisig’s life and art since reunification. Once perceived as an intellectually engaged, political artist, both in East and West Germany, after the fall of the Wall and German unification, Heisig was reinterpreted as a traumatized victim of two dictatorships, distorting not only our understanding of the artist and his work, but also of the nature of art and the role of the artist in East Germany.

The Effect of the Post-Socialist Transition on Inequality of Educational Opportunity: Evidence from German Unification

European Sociological Review ◽

10.1093/esr/jcz012 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 461-473

Author(s):

Bastian A Betthäuser

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Educational Opportunity ◽

Educational Inequality ◽

East Germany ◽

West Germany ◽

German Unification ◽

Inequality Of Educational Opportunity

East And West Germany ◽

East And West ◽

Abstract In 1990, German unification led to an abrupt and extensive restructuring of the educational system and economy of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) as the latter was reintegrated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). However, the consequences of this large-scale institutional change for the educational inequality between children from different social class backgrounds in East Germany continue to be poorly understood. This article seeks to shed new light on this question by using a quasi-experimental approach to examine the difference in educational inequality between East and West Germany before and after German unification. We compare changes in the class gradient in the attainment of comparable school and university qualifications in East and West Germany across six birth cohorts, including three cohorts of individuals who completed their schooling after unification. We find that before unification, inequality of educational opportunity at the mid-secondary, upper-secondary and tertiary level was substantially lower in East Germany than in West Germany and that unification led to a substantial and sustained convergence of the level of inequality of educational opportunity in East Germany towards that of West Germany.

The Effect of the Post-Socialist Transition on Inequality of Educational Opportunity: Evidence from German Unification

10.31235/osf.io/bythr ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Bastian Andreas Betthäuser

Keyword(s):

Large Scale ◽

Educational Opportunity ◽

Educational Inequality ◽

East Germany ◽

West Germany ◽

German Unification ◽

Birth Cohorts ◽

East And West Germany ◽

East And West

In 1990, German unification led to an abrupt and extensive restructuring of the educational system and economy of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) as the latter was reintegrated into the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). However, the consequences of this large- scale institutional change for the educational inequality between children from different social class backgrounds in East Germany continue to be poorly understood. This article seeks to shed new light on this question by using a quasi-experimental approach to examine the difference in educational inequality between East and West Germany before and after German unification. We compare changes in the class gradient in educational attainment in East and West Germany across six birth cohorts, including three cohorts of individuals who completed their schooling after unification. Contrasting with past findings, our results show that before unification, educational inequality at the mid-secondary, upper-secondary and tertiary level was substantially lower in East Germany than in West Germany and that unification led to a substantial and sustained convergence of the level of educational inequality in East Germany towards that of West Germany.

Wage Adjustment, Competitiveness and Unemployment – East Germany after Unification

Jahrbücher für Nationalökonomie und Statistik ◽

10.1515/jbnst-2009-2-304 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 229 (2-3) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Werner Smolny

Keyword(s):

Labor Market ◽

East Germany ◽

German Economy ◽

West Germany ◽

Relative Wage ◽

Wage Setting ◽

East And West Germany ◽

Market Situation ◽

East German ◽

Wage Adjustment

SummaryNearly 20 years after unification large differences of the labor market situation in East and West Germany persist. Wages are still considerably lower, the unemployment rate is about twice of the West German level, and the competitiveness of the East German economy seems to be low. This paper analyzes the process of (relative) wage adjustment in East Germany and the resulting development of competitiveness and unemployment differentials. We present estimates of the wage adjustment in East vs. West Germany based on wage convergence and effects of unemployment on wage growth. The central focus of the paper is the empirical analysis of the interaction of the development of competitiveness and the labor market situation. The results reveal large equilibrium gaps for wages and unemployment which are based on the wage-setting process, the behavior of competitiveness and the adjustment of unemployment.

Salmon migration and fertility in East Germany – An analysis of birth dynamics around German reunification

Zeitschrift für Familienforschung ◽

10.3224/zff.v30i3.02 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 30 (3-2018) ◽

pp. 247-268

Author(s):

Michaela Kreyenfeld ◽

Anja Vatterrott

Keyword(s):

East Germany ◽

Large Fraction ◽

West Germany ◽

German Population ◽

German Reunification ◽

Region Of Origin ◽

Regional Mobility ◽

Deutsche Rentenversicherung ◽

This paper uses rich administrative data from the Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German Pension Fund) to describe changes in the timing and the spacing of births that occurred in the period following German reunification. We examine differences in the birth dynamics of East Germans, West Germans, and women who migrated between the two parts of Germany in these years. As the pension registers provide monthly records on whether a person is living in East or West Germany, they also allow us to examine the role of regional mobility in birth behaviour. In particular, we test the “salmon hypothesis”, which suggests that migrants are likely to postpone having a child until after or around the time they return to their region of origin. Our investigation shows that a large fraction of the cohorts born in 1965-74 migrated to West Germany after reunification, but that around 50% of these migrants returned to East Germany before reaching age 40. The first birth risks of those who returned were elevated, which suggests that the salmon hypothesis explains the behaviour of a significant fraction of the East German population in the period following German reunification.

Between familial imprinting and institutional regulation: Family related employment interruptions of women in Germany before and after the German reunification

10.31235/osf.io/haq3r ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Katrin Drasch

Keyword(s):

Parental Leave ◽

West Germany ◽

Childhood And Adolescence ◽

German Reunification ◽

East And West Germany ◽

Career Interruptions ◽

Before And After ◽

New States ◽

Research Questions

In this paper, I examine how family related employment interruptions for women in the FRG (Federal Republic of Germany) and the GDR (German Democratic Republic) looked like in the period prior to German reunification. Furthermore, I investigate how career interruptions developed after the German reunification in the old and new states and whether a convergence of re-entry behaviour can be observed. Following research questions are addressed: Which factors are more important: attitudes towards the employment of mothers, which were transferred through socialisation in childhood and adolescence, or institutional arrangements shaped by parental leave regulations? Based on data from the IAB ALWA study (‘Working and Learning in a Changing World’), the results show that even twenty years after the German reunification, significant differences between women in East and West Germany are found to exist with respect to family related employment interruptions.

Catching-up of East German Labour Productivity in the 1990s

German Economic Review ◽

10.1111/1468-0475.00014 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 1 (3) ◽

pp. 271-297 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Ray Barrell ◽

Dirk Willem te Velde

Keyword(s):

East Germany ◽

Labour Productivity ◽

West Germany ◽

Foreign Firms ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

East And West Germany ◽

Catching Up ◽

East German ◽

East And West ◽

Organization Of Production

Abstract We provide empirical evidence for exogenous and endogenous catching-up of East German labour productivity to West German levels. We argue that labour productivity in East Germany has caught up faster than has happened elsewhere. The sudden formation of the German Monetary Union was followed by large transfers to East Germany, migration of workers to West Germany, reorganization and privatization of East German firms. This has quickly led to a partial closing of the organizational, idea and object gaps that existed between East and West Germany. This paper analyses labour productivity in East and West Germany using both aggregate German data and unbalanced panel analysis of developments in East and West Germany. Factors affecting the organization of production, and especially privatization and `foreign' firms, are found to be particularly important in this context.

Öffentliche Haushalte in Ost- und Westdeutschland nach 30 Jahren – Vergleichende Bestandsaufnahme aus finanzwissenschaftlicher Perspektive

Sozialer Fortschritt ◽

10.3790/sfo.69.6-7.395 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 69 (6-7) ◽

pp. 395-416

Author(s):

Mario Hesse ◽

Thomas Lenk ◽

Philipp Glinka

Keyword(s):

Public Finance ◽

East Germany ◽

West Germany ◽

German Unification ◽

Fiscal Equalization ◽

East And West Germany ◽

30Th Anniversary ◽

Degree Of Equivalence ◽

East And West ◽

High Degree

Zusammenfassung Das 30-jährige Jubiläum der Deutschen Einheit gibt Anlass zu einer Erfolgsanalyse. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht verschiedene Aspekte der Angleichung zwischen Ost- und Westdeutschland aus einer finanzwissenschaftlichen Perspektive. Der Fokus liegt auf der Entwicklung der Länder- und kommunalen Haushalte. Einnahmenseitig haben sich das System des bundesstaatlichen Finanzausgleichs in Verbindung mit den Solidarpakten I und II sowie die kommunalen Finanzausgleichssysteme als besonders leistungsfähige Mechanismen erwiesen, um ein hohes Maß an Gleichwertigkeit zu erreichen. Zugleich sind die ostdeutschen Länder bis an den aktuellen Rand und voraussichtlich auch künftig auf hohe Finanzausgleichsmittel angewiesen, um ihre öffentlichen Aufgaben angemessen erfüllen zu können. Darüber hinaus beleuchtet der Beitrag die Entwicklung der Ausgaben- und der Verschuldungsniveaus Ost- und Westdeutschlands. Insgesamt zeigt sich, dass die deutsche Teilung weiterhin nicht vollständig überwunden ist. Abstract: Public Budgets in East and West Germany After 30 Years – Stocktaking and Success Analysis From A Perspective of Public Finance The 30th anniversary of German unification gives cause for a success analysis. This article examines various aspects of the alignment between East and West Germany from a perspective of public finance. The focus is on the development of state and municipal budgets. On the revenue side, the system of federal fiscal equalization in conjunction with the Solidarity Pacts I and II and the municipal fiscal equalization systems have proven to be particularly effective mechanisms for achieving a high degree of equivalence. At the same time, East Germany is, and will probably continue to be, dependent on high levels of fiscal equalisation in order to adequately fulfil their public tasks. In addition, the article examines the development of expenditure and debt levels in East and West Germany. Overall, it shows that the division of Germany is still not completely finished.

Hidden Behind the Wall: West German State Building and the Emergence of the Iron Curtain

Central European History ◽

10.1017/s0008938911000410 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 44 (3) ◽

pp. 506-535 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sagi Schaefer

Keyword(s):

German Economy ◽

State Building ◽

West Germany ◽

State Agencies ◽

Iron Curtain ◽

Berlin Wall ◽

German State ◽

East And West Germany ◽

It is widely accepted that the inter-German border was constructed by East German authorities to halt the emigration to the west, which had damaged the East German economy and undermined the East German state agencies' power. This article argues that this is an inaccurate understanding, which mistakenly treats perceptions and insights gained from studying the Berlin Wall as representative of the mostly rural border between East and West Germany. It emphasizes crucial transformations of frontier society during the 1950s, highlighting the important role of western as well as eastern policy in shaping them.

‘Another brick in the wall’. On the origins of nationalism in the ‘new’ federal states of Germany

Moscow University Bulletin of World Politics ◽

10.48015/2076-7404-2021-13-2-87-125 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 87-125

Author(s):

A. V. Belinskii ◽

M. V. Khorol’skaya

Keyword(s):

Democratic Party ◽

East Germany ◽

Local Population ◽

German Economy ◽

West Germany ◽

Right Wing ◽

Federal States ◽

Wide Range ◽

A relatively broad support enjoyed by the populist and nationalist parties and movements (AfD, National Democratic Party of Germany, PEGIDA), as well as a higher rate of hate crimes in the eastern part of the Federal Republic of Germany raise a question on the nature of nationalism in this region. The present paper examines the causes of widespread xenophobic and nationalist sentiments in the ‘new’ federal states. To this end, the authors address a wide range of social-political and psychological factors, focusing on the historical roots and causes of the recent rise of nationalism in East Germany. Particularly, the authors show that the right-wing parties took advantage of popular frustration caused by the collapse of the East German economy after the country’s reuniﬁcation and massive unemployment by putting all the blame on migrants. Nevertheless, the causes of growing xenophobia in East Germany were far from being solely economic. For example, the authors underline the role of the politics of memory in the GDR and primarily the approaches of its leaders to the issues of the Nazi past and their attempts to draw on the country’s history to shape a new national identity. However, the failure of the state to provide an unbiased view on the national history, rigid oﬃcial ideology and its alienation from the popular demands have led to the growing nationalism in the GDR. Besides, a number of other aspects is pointed out which have also fostered xenophobic sentiments in this part of the country. Unlike West Germany which started to accept labour migrants from Italy, Turkey and Yugoslavia back in 1950s, the GDR saw few foreigners and contacts between them and local population were limited. As a result, the paper not only helps to create a more detailed image of the East German nationalism but also to identify the underlying causes of the growing popularity of right-wing populist parties and movements in the FRG, most notably, the unﬁnished process of the country’s reuniﬁcation and structural imbalances between the ‘old’ and the ‘new’ federal states.

Human Capital, Job Tasks and Technology in East Germany After Reunification

National Institute Economic Review ◽

10.1177/0027950107083054 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 201 ◽

pp. 97-106 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alexandra Spitz-Oener

Keyword(s):

East Germany ◽

Age Groups ◽

West Germany ◽

Historical Event ◽

Berlin Wall ◽

The West ◽

Job Tasks ◽

East And West Germany ◽

East German ◽

Surprising Finding

At the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall, employees in East Germany were at least as well educated as employees in West Germany in terms of formal educational qualifications. However, it is unclear to what extent the skills and knowledge acquired through the East German education system, and through employment in a socialist labour market, are transferable to the new market-based economy. This study aims to shed light on this issue by giving a comprehensive description of the work of those employees who remained employed after the first phase of restructuring (i.e. in 1991) in East Germany, and comparing it with work in West Germany. Overall, the similarity between workplaces in East and West Germany soon after reunicication is striking. In addition, the patterns of task changes between 1991 and 1999 were very similar in both parts of Germany. Neither the level of task inputs in1991 nor the changes in task inputs between 1991 and 1999 were driven by cohort effects, a surprising finding given how differently the age groups were affected by the historical event. The Largest difference between the east and the west exists in terms of workplace computerisation. Although East Germany has caught up rapidly, it was still lagging behind the west in terms of computer use in 1999.