Ostalgie: A reflection on Professor Wong’s Discussion with Dr. Ina Gamila

Last week during our class time, we had the privilege of reviewing a conversation between Professor Wong and Dr. Gamila, who was born in the former state of East Germany, during which we were able to hear about the touching experience of an individual who spent her teenage years living through the transitional period during the fall of the Berlin Wall. During the talk, Ina shared information about her former life in East Germany, where her family operated a cheese factory. We learned about the production limitations set on businesses, price controls, and also the frequent lack of supply for commodity goods like coffee. It was interesting to hear about this different lifestyle, and the adaptive skills that families used to make their way through life in East Germany. Though Ina also touched on some of the significant drawbacks of living in the former state, she also shared her feelings of nostalgia, as many everyday foods were no longer accessible after the wall came down and much of the East German production shuttered. These feelings, commonly known as Ostalgie, or a longing for the East German past, continue to be prominent for many. As someone who moved away from my rural hometown in Ohio, where things weren’t always great, I can resonate. I find that despite the negative experiences I had sometimes, I can still miss my home and the sense of familiarity offered by the local restaurants I would always visit as a child. Since I often experience significant feelings of nostalgia, I truly enjoyed the heartwarming discussion Dr. Ina Gamila was able to share with us, and I am grateful to have received such a meaningful understanding of life for East Germans before and after the fall of the wall.