Nostalgia for the Former GDR - Assignment Example

CONTEMPORARY GERMANY Building a Cordless Vacuum Cleaner Customer Inserts His/Her Name Customer Inserts Grade Course Customer Inserts Tutor’s Name 23, 10, 2011 Table of Content Media on Ostalgie or nostalgia for the former GDR 1 Post-national identity project as advanced by some German thinkers 4 Germans as victims: the mass rapes during the occupation of Germany by the Red Army 7 Reference List 10 Media on Ostalgie or nostalgia for the former GDR To start with, let us borrow the knowledge of the word nostalgia as provided by Hofer. The scholar has contributed much on this topic in his dissertations and he is unpopular for his unapologetic critics. He clearly put that regardless of most writers being constrained to this word, he had his own way to put it since he realized that the term nostalgia had more to do with physiological problem. In his writings to attempt describing nostalgia, he wrote; Nor in truth, deliberating on a name, did a more suitable one occur to me, defining the thing to be explained, more concisely than the word Nostalgias, Greek in origin and indeed composed of two sounds, the one of which is Nostos, return to the native land; the other Algos, signifies suffering or grief; so that thus far it is possible from the force of the sound Nostalgia to define the sad mood originating from the desire to return to one’s native land. (Hofer 1934, p. 380). Ostalgie is a symptom in eastern Germans who are longing to rejoin the GDR or else eager for authoritarian rule (Boyer, 2003). According to Boyer, there is close relationship between and neologism history and sociology. He therefore express the importance of this aspect as it show their significant moment which they associate with the nation. The issue of algos in relation to the nation have much significance to why there is nostalgia in contemporary Germany. Therefore, to some extent, this term is appropriate in describing the situation in GDR. Boyer tried to compare both the western and eastern German and it was clear that much contrast occurred between the two in terms of change of culture among other contentious issues such as unification. He further illustrates the unexpected trend that has carried the former East Germany by a storm. Given the history of eastern German, nobody expected there would many changes in future that have influenced effects politically and socially to West Germany. Both Native and foreigners must have observed the transitions in Eastern Germany (Boyer, 2001 a). The difference between western and eastern German have deepened in terms of culture and politics and the future of the eastern German have disturbed many people living there who feels that the future may come with changes they will not accommodate in their culture and politically. This is evident from one of publication in when a journalist with New York Times wrote an article “strange mood of nostalgia in eastern Germany." His concern was the trend in fashion especially when some people wore T-shirts written “born-in-the G.D.R” in other instances; they collected Trabants, competed in Ossi-Quiz that contains East German pop culture related questions among other (Bernstein 2004). Similarly, the issue of music and film industries have their contributions to Ostalgie. TVs and radio stations have tried to tackle this issue by playing music from Britain and America as one way to forget the past. Irony comes in when commercial breaks mostly reflect much of history records repeatedly (Adelt 2005, pp. 280-81). Some people criticise the modernisation brought by the television sets. They argued that, televisions were likely to bring moral and cultural destructions as well as affecting the consumers’ policies that existed in Nazism (Perry 2007, pp. 560-61). This phenomenon of Ostalgie have been triggered by news relayed by media or watching of some related movies on the past of German such as award winning film goodbye Lenin! (Boyer, 2003). This have raised point of interest to people without much background knowledge of Germany and also make them wonder why eastern Germans covets the German Democratic Republic. According to Dale (2007), films like Das Leben der Anderen had more impact to East Germans than sonnenalle and goodbye Lenin! since it romanticized the former state. This made most of them fantasise the GDR without putting into consideration of the oppressions and injustice that took place in past (Dale 2007, p. 167). Boyer further associates this nostalgia emanating from the post-war experienced in Germany. There has been Grief and pain in remembrance of the third Reich that has rich history on ethnological inheritance. Regardless of the unification of 1990 where there was one country with one history and burden, there existed a landmark of social imagination where cold war politics remained in memories of many. It is worth noting that politically and culturally, there have been Ostalgie in Germany currently. This is evidential in massive magazines sale such as super Illu and the widely renowned movie goodbye Lenin, among other works done by journalist and novelist. With this division between the west and east, unity among the two is essential since their political and cultural principles difference may hinder future development. Ostalgie hinders unification due to past obsession of the eastern Germans who becomes burden to unification. Peter Zacher’s proposal for establishment of secular Jewish cultural club in Dresden city of East Germany failed after a long time of wait. The authority harshly welcomed his plans since they did not want to revive the Jewish culture and history (Garanata 2009, p. 60). Post-national identity project as advanced by some German thinkers After the fateful time of Second World War, Germany ended up with two states, whose ideologies and politics differed a lot. East German opted for soviet socialism and antifascism while West German adopted post-war economic growth. The two states took divergent approaches with regard to their common past and constructed new identities from their collective memory. East Germany denied its Nazi past and hence its responsibility for the war crimes. In contrast, West Germany accepted the burdens of Nazi crimes and identified itself as the successor of the Third Reich. There was much concern after the unification on whether this could satisfy the success of the predecessor. Unfortunately, the first Germany republic triggered dictatorship, genocide, and word war that affected economy and politics (Larose & Wittlinger 2007, p. 481). Recognition and acceptance of the past were necessary for the political and economic reincorporation of West Germany to the Western community although they failed to predict successor to Hitler in West Germans. Negative identity influenced a trauma, the first post-war generation marked burdened memory in West Germany, and that made them feel guilty of the history (Kattago 2001, pp. 39-41). Guiltiness took the debate centre-stage some years after the war. What the historian and thinkers have been wondering is whether the country should deal with the guilt associated to the state. The suggested solutions include bearing the burden of guilt, connecting the past to the present, or forgetting the past marching ahead (Kattago 2001, p. 39-41). Antifascism played a significant role in posing western world identity to Germans in order to make them forget the Holocaust history. German Chancellor Willy Brandt’s kneeling before the monument of victims in the Warsaw ghetto in 1972 to some thinkers showed the acceptance of the past though to some extent guilt was with the Germans (Kattago 2001, pp. 42-44). In addition to this, some inhuman cases reported in recent past showed careless killings occurrence and culprits walked free. A good example is the case where a plain-cloth police officer shot Ohnesorg. The students’ attempts to demonstrate faced challenged to authority hence raised a concern over the existence of democracy in West Germany. These series of killing is a good indication of high influence of Nazism that surrounded the West Germany (Thomas 2003, p. 107). In one event that have triggered much concern to thinkers was the commemorations, monuments, and museums that expressed the Nazi past. Museums in Berlin and Bonn have of concern to thinkers who challenges Chancellor Kohl decision in 1980’s. Although these museums had the inner meaning to the chancellor, some have viewed the construction as form of history between Nazism and other periods in history (Kattago 2001, p .52). Some thinkers believe that the West Germany did this in due to the anxiety that surrounded them but not for cultural heritage purpose. In other events that have triggered such debates was the President Reagan’s visit to Bitburg. Most thinkers perceived the city of Bitburg as military cemetery for both German and SS soldiers and hence the meeting between Reagan and Kohl should not have taken in that place. This in one way or the other can hinder the country’s attempts to forget the burden of the past since they are demoralized by such event given the American soldiers played a role during Nazism hence the choice of meeting place was not right (Fulbrook 1999, pp. 95–102). What meant as the end of the singularity of the Holocaust in German in attempt to gain national identity received much suffering because of war (Rabinbach 1990, p. 59). The struggle undergone by the West German in the 1980’s is an indication of a shift signalled to normalisation and painting another picture of West German national identity different from Nazism. This shift have a deep concern to thinkers and historians whose perception to this matter as just rich history for both west German and the world as a whole that is vital in understanding to history (Penev 2007). In my opinion, the national identity project achievement is minimal since most intellectuals and historian discouraged this attempt either in their favour or for country’s interest. Ernst Nolte, Andreas Hillgruber, and Michael Stürmer have challenged the National Socialism as hindrance to history analysis (Kattago 2001, p .62). Some thinkers such as German historian Martin Broszat perceived Third Reich as special and an event that defeats historians’ knowledge hence proposed integration of Nazism to history examinations in order to provide a fair ground for erasing negative myths and memories. In his views, Wartime Germany would provide a platform for historical analysis on daily issues encounters under Nazi regime (Fulbrook 1999, pp. 127 – 128). However, Bitburg and the historians’ debates among other events during the 1980’s achieved a positive national identity soon after Germans’ confrontation to past Nazi regime. The new National identity transformed West Germany from guilt to a normal proud European. It is my opinion that, although West German embraced the new identity, the reoccurrence of Nazism revival in Germany may hinder these achievements. Germany should instead focus on other matters of interest such as empowering their self-defence to prevent the same happenings in future. Germans as victims: the mass rapes during the occupation of Germany by the Red Army It is sad to note that most of the Germans suffered a lot in hand of either the native people or the foreigners during and after the wars. Women and children were the most susceptible to these dangers, as authority captured men. In the play The Miracle of Bern, it is sad to observe that the boy in the play grew to an age of nine without knowing who his father was. This is just but one case that may represent other incidences that occurred in real life where capturing of men was rampant during Second World War to enable soldier carry out rape easily (Molitorisz 2005). The Second World War left much destruction on life and properties but Most remarkable was the animosity carried on innocent citizens who knew little about the wars and they could not understand why they had to be mistreated in that manner. The late stages of Second World War will remain in the history of Germany because that is when Allied troops captured its territory and mercilessly raped residents around the areas. Blame befell Red Army soldiers for this act whose composition included non–white troop whose origin was Far East and central Asian republics of Soviet Union. This could happen during the combat operations as well as later occupation that were to take several years. Documentations reveal mass rape that soviet service members committed. The rapes that were fortunately documented varied from hundreds thousands to approximately two million. This marked one of the 20th century high profile crimes against women in the history (Strom 1994). Judeo-Communist carried out this mass rape as a celebration their victory in 1945 as well as a sign of conquering women of Europe. Besides being brutal to residents, they got permission and “motivation” to indulge in rapes from policies that influenced much hatred to Germany and its affiliated countries in anti-communist bloc. Hatred towards Germany as a country made her citizens mostly women and young girls suffer in hands of brutal and beasty foreign soldier troops. Advancement of Red Army by 1945 had changed the demographic composition of the Berlin city that women were exceedingly more than men were. In fact, at that time, the population of women was 2 million out of the total population of 2.7 million civilians. This enabled the soldiers to carry out this mass rape without fear of facing much opposition. The situation led patients to either commit suicide or demanded poison for quick death, which overwhelmed doctors (Strom 1994). Haus Dehlem whose duty was to offer maternity services, foundling home, and an orphanage fallen a victim because soviet soldier did not show mercy to the expectant nor the mothers who had delivered as raping occurred repeatedly. Many rape cases might have failed documentation but estimations revealed that around 100,000 women aging between 10 years and 70 years in Berlin alone were rape victims. In another incidence, rape on 182 catholic nuns happened in Neisse, Silesia where in diocese of Kattowitz, 66 nuns became pregnant because of rape. The most uncomfortable moment was in incidence where a Russian soldier lost life during the rape process. Time magazine reported on June 11 1945 that such retaliation to the incidence was by killing 50 Germans for each Russian soldier killed (Strom 1994). German and Australian women ended up being sexual slaveries that who received few pennies that were not even enough to feed themselves. The weekly review of London, for October 25, 1945 indicated that Girls and some women opted to offer their bodies for sex since the starvation was rampant and that was the only way to survive (Strom 1994). Reference List Adelt, U 2005, ‘Ich bin der Rock’n’Roll-U¨ bermensch’, Globalization and Localization in German Music Television Popular Music and Society, vol. 28, no. 3, pp. 279–295. Bernstein, R 2004, ‘strange mood of nostalgia in eastern Germany’, New York times 11 January, p. 12. Boyer, D 2009, Ostalgie and the Politics of the Future in Eastern Germany, Duke University Press, New York. Dale, G 2007, ‘Heimat, “Ostalgie” and the Stasi: The GDR in German Cinema, 1999–2006’, Debatte, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 155-175. Fulbrook, M 1999, German National Identity after the Holocaust, Polity Press, Cambridge. Granata, C 2009, ‘The Cold War Politics of Cultural Minorities: Jews and Sorbs in the German Democratic Republic, 1976-1989’, German History, vol. 27, no.1, pp. 60–83. Hofer, J 1934, ‘Medical Dissertation on Nostalgia’, Bulletin of The Institute of the History of Medicine, Trans. Carolyn Kiser Anspach, vol. 2.6, no.1688, pp. 376-91. Kattago, S 2001, Ambiguous Memory: The Nazi Past and German National Identity, Praeger, Westport. Larose, M & Wittlinger, R 2007, ‘No Future for Germany’s Past? Collective Memory and German Foreign Policy German’, Politics, vol. 16, no.4, pp. 481–495. Molitorisz, S 2005, The Miracle of Bern, Motion Pictures, Documentary. Penev, O 2007, Breaking with Nazism: National Identity and Memory in West Germany after the Second World War. Available from: . [18 October 2011]. Perry, J 2007, ‘Healthy for Family Life: Television, Masculinity, and Domestic Modernity during West Germany’s Miracle Years’, German History, vol. 25, no. 4 pp. 560-595. Rabinbach, A 1990, ‘The Jewish Question in the German Question’ in Reworking the Past: Hitler, the Holocaust, and the Historians Debate, ed Peter Baldwin, Beacon Press, Boston, pp.45-76. Strom, KA 1994, App's Ravishing the Women of Conquered Europe. Available from: . [18 October 2011]. Thomas, N 2003, protest movements in 1960s West Germany: a social history of dissent and democracy, Berg Publishers, Oxford. Read More