Reflection on “Ostalgie”
Last class, Professor Wong hosted a discussion with Professor Ina Gamila, who was born in Saxony in 1981 before the Berlin Wall came down and West and East Germany were united. We learned a first hand account of what life was like in East Germany which was interesting in contrast to Herr Stoltz’ talk earlier in the semester where he had talked about growing up in West Germany. Ina discussed her childhood, what happened when the wall came down, and the East-West inequalities that persist today. We were also informed about the darker aspects of living in East Germany including violence in schools, the secret police, and black market economies for basic goods.
I was interested to learn about her childhood in East Germany and the camaraderie and collective identity felt in their communities. Ina talked about how everyone had the same clothes and toys, and therefore there were no feelings of jealousy or superiority. On the other hand, you had to censor what you said in class or to anyone because of the surveillance state. It was fascinating to hear about growing up and coming of age in East Germany because we learn about this in history books, but the people who lived through this time period are still alive. Hearing Ina’s accounts humanized what we learn in our history books.
Another aspect of the discussion that interested me was East Germany’s economy and economic transition. East Germany had fixed prices and quotas on quantity produced by firms. For example, Ina’s family had a small cheese farm and factory, and they could only produce so much, reporting their quantity produced. There was not much variety of products in the markets either, and food scarcity was common. In efforts to get “special” products like coffee or chocolate, families bartered with each other, which I can imagine required a high level of trust given the high level of surveillance. Ina further discussed the fall of the wall and the economic transition that occurred. The opening of the economy allowed access to West German products and products from around the world, with globalization and trade. This led to the shuttering of local East German businesses and a decline in the economy. Still, there is inequality between the former West and East German states. This divide has had impacts on politics and economic growth. Because of this talk, I will be exploring the topic of East-West inequality in my final paper. I am curious about policy that can boost East Germany’s economic growth and move toward closing the wage and unemployment gaps.
