Kultur 11

Reading the two articles about Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall actually surprised me quite a bit. I had not figured that there was such a cultural and political divide that remained between West and East Germany. It does make perfect sense, however, that a national divide that was only very recently done away with would have such lingering effects. As the former Ossie Lutz states, his life in East Germany was secure and had a positive outlook, but now he doesn't feel as positive about his freedom. The way I see it, it's most likely a case of getting used to something and then having a change forced upon you. It's going to cause some animosity and distress. For the "youth" mentioned in the article (who arent exactly youth anymore), growing up with the East German system of government is what is engrained in their minds. Even more, views of West Germans as elitists still stick around.

On less serious note, however, Ostalgie is also very interesting. It's almost like the nostalgia that the american south feels for the confederacy after the civil war, but with a sense of pride instead of a sense of ignorance. Many people grew up in East Germany and were raised there to feel a sense of patriotism as anyone in the world is. To see that country essentially disappear with the falling of the Wall is naturally going to leave some lingering nostalgia or Ostalgie.