Words: Lorcan Adams (he/him)
The physical separation may be gone, but the wall’s presence continues
The Berlin Wall fell 37 years ago. For many younger people, born long after reunification, it feels like a distant piece of history, a remnant of time gone by. Today, the wall is nothing more than a tourist attraction; the colourful murals are a ‘must see’ for any visitors of the German capital. Yet, despite the collapse of the hard border almost four decades ago, divides between East and West persist. A glaring gulf exists between the economy, politics, and culture of both regions. The physical separation may be gone, but the wall’s presence continues in the hearts and minds of many Germans. This is a phenomenon so widely recognised that the Germans even invented a phrase for it: ‘Die Mauer im Kopf.’ The Wall in the Head.
Following the end of WWII, Germany was divided into the FRG in the West and the GDR in the East. The two nations quickly became a focal point of the Cold War, acting as a microcosm for the struggle between Western capitalism and Soviet socialism. By the late eighties though, the USSR was struggling. Soviet backed governments across Eastern Europe fell one by one, and on the 9th of November 1989, so did the Berlin Wall. Thousands of elated Berliners reunited with one another in celebration, negotiations began soon after, and in less than a year formal reunification was completed.
Initial optimism regarding Germany’s fate was quickly stifled by the actions of the West, who sought to rapidly integrate East Germany into the West’s market economy. To do this they created the Truehandanstalt, an agency whose sole goal was to privatise the former GDR’s state industries in a process of neoliberal “shock therapy.” 94% of Eastern industries were sold to Western companies at discounted prices and many were closed or stripped of their assets. Millions of people became unemployed as a result of this policy. Overnight, the stable jobs which had been provided for citizens under socialism disappeared and poverty exploded. Rather than a prosperous reunification built by and for a single German people, the West had devoured the East, with a distinct lack of care for the people within it.
Divisions created by many years of separation and intensified through harsh reunification don’t go away easily. Despite a unified state and institutions, outcomes for individuals contrast heavily depending on where they reside. Average incomes in East German states, with the exception of Berlin, are considerably lower than their Western counterparts. Germany’s largest companies are also overwhelmingly located in the West. Although the East German economy has grown extensively in the last couple of decades, it has not yet reached parity with the West. The ongoing disparity between East and West plays a major role in people’s lived experience. Life satisfaction scores are significantly lower in the East, and, among young people, westward migration is common.
Because of this economic inequality, a strong divide in culture and identity prevails. The identities of “Wessis” and “Ossis” remain distinct. Easterners are still characterised as ever complaining “Jammerossi” and viewed with disdain by some in the West. Government surveys have shown that 57% of East Germans feel like second-class citizens, and shockingly, only 38% consider reunification successful. Instead of reuniting the people, reunification has fueled resentment among many, a resentment that the far-right has been eager to manipulate.
Following reunification, neo-nazi groups found relative success in the destitute East by playing on people’s economic and social insecurity. Where the political divide is most explicit however is in the rise of the AfD. The party has seen explosive growth across Germany, but most prominently in the East, where it was the largest party in almost all states in the last federal election. By utilising the neglect felt by many, the AfD have found a platform for their hatred and racism. Left on the political periphery to be ignored, desperate and angry citizens turned to more extreme groups in hopes of change. We’ve seen the same exact thing with Trump and disenchanted Rust Belt voters, and are currently seeing it with Reform’s popularity in former industrial areas of the UK. Time and time again, the far-right is able to capitalise off of the communities that get left behind.
The Berlin Wall isn’t a relic of some distant past. It’s a physical monument that divided Germany and continues to haunt it to this day. You won’t see this divide on a map of Europe. You probably won’t see it when talking to an average person in Cologne or Munich. Only by scratching beneath the surface can you see this souvenir; by looking at people’s lives and listening to their stories. Only by seeing the wall as an ongoing part of Germany’s history can you then understand the divide; and hope to combat those exploiting it.
