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- Title
Auf der Suche nach der ostdeutschen Identität: Judith C. Enders / Raj Kollmorgen / Ilko-Sascha Kowalczuk (Hrsg.), Deutschland ist eins: vieles: Bilanz und Perspektiven von Transformation und Vereinigung. Frankfurt/ New York: Campus Verlag 2021, 550 S., gb., 39,95 €
- Authors
Best, Heinrich
- Abstract
The article discusses the transformation and reunification of Germany and its impact on the social sciences. It is noted that the upheaval came unprepared for the social sciences and that there was a lack of valid knowledge about East German society. It is argued that the East German transformation was seen as an adaptation process to the West German norm and that East German social scientists were marginalized. The article proposes the establishment of a research institute for transformation history and research on East Germany. It emphasizes that the marginalization of these scientists is not due to a West German takeover, but rather to the limited research opportunities in East Germany. The authors of the text argue that the experience of reunification and the specific suffering of the East have produced an East German identity with psychological consequences. However, the following contributions do not support the thesis of an intergenerationally fixed East German identity. It is emphasized that the differences between East and West are becoming less significant and that regional heterogeneity should be taken into account. It is also pointed out that the division of German society into East and West identities is less attributable to objectively measurable parameters, but rather to social constructions. The authors call for breaking down identity stereotypes and asking the question of a unified German identity. The text deals with various aspects of German reunification and transformation. Historian K. Brückweh examines the rules and practices of establishing and redistributing housing ownership in East Germany before, during, and after reunification. She argues that bourgeois-liberal ideas of ownership were also present in East Germany and that the disputes over housing ownership between East and West Germans were exaggerated. Authors W. Schroeder and D. Buhr examine the "institutional transfer" in the field of collective bargaining autonomy and healthcare. They find that there were unplanned adjustments, but also recognition of East German institutions. The role of the federal states is largely ignored in the contributions, although they have a significant influence on the transformation and representation in East Germany. The volume does not provide a final assessment of the transformation and reunification, and there is a lack of a summary statement on the contributions to the debates and controversies. It is argued that specialized research on East Germany and reunification is not necessary, but rather an intertemporal and interregional comparative regional research that transcends national borders. It is also noted that it is increasingly difficult to define East Germans as identification levels are diverse. Author Heinrich Best reports on Yendell's opinion that an identity politics that focuses exclusively on the East confirms and reinforces the division of Germany into a Western and an Eastern part. This identity politics underpins the distinction between the old and new federal states. The exact source of the quote is not given.
- Subjects
GERMANY (East); DEUTSCHLAND ist eins: vieles: Bilanz und Perspektiven von Transformation und Vereinigung (Book); ENDERS, Judith C.; GERMAN Unification, 1990; EAST German history; KOLLMORGEN, Raj; KOWALCZUK, Ilko-Sascha; SOCIAL scientists; IDENTITY politics; POLITICAL change; SOCIAL impact; NONFICTION; RATIONAL choice theory
- Publication
Soziologische Revue, 2023, Vol 46, Issue 1, p19
- ISSN
0343-4109
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1515/srsr-2023-2008