Eva Kolinsky, Mike Dennis. United and Divided: Germany since 1990. Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2004. 282 S. $60.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-57181-513-2.

Reviewed by Kai Artur Diers (Austin College)
Published on H-German (January, 2005)

Bricks in the Wall

This collection of essays, analyzing the blatant disunity of Germany, is highly useful because of the diversity of the contributors' backgrounds. It ultimately delivers a severe but also well-founded criticism of the almost exclusive practice of imposing West German structures and processes on all of the former GDR. The Western model, in many fields, did not necessarily mean improvement but was nevertheless presumed as such. This had to have devastating consequences for the East Germans' attitudes towards the West and for the self-esteem of many who apparently had been conditioned more thoroughly by circumstances in the GDR than expected by the West. The result of this conditioning is a distinctive East German character even further aloof from what the West wants. What is more, continuing East German alienation from the West oftentimes leads to hesitation to implement undoubtedly urgent innovations and refusal on both sides to accept valid criticism. Mike Dennis and Eva Kolinsky have compiled a set of essays that facilitates the comprehension of exactly this phenomenon. In addition, this book also offers valuable ideas that might help to make comprehensible important issues like salient xenophobia in Eastern Germany or sweeping changes in the East German educational system. A substantial part of this compilation is an analysis of the obstacles on the macro- and microeconomic level that are far from being conquered.

Dennis surmises that the implemented "thorough" way of dealing with the communist past is influenced by the "determination not to repeat the many shortcomings in West Germany's dealing with the legacy of the 'Third Reich'" (p. 18). It is questionable whether this insight is the main reason for this endeavor. Finishing off the communist East would not necessarily challenge the foundations of the West, which make it much easier to criticize and patronize and which, therefore, could be the main impetus. Since this impetus for this way of coming to terms with the past has mainly come from West Germans it is not surprising that there will be discrepancies on how to go about dealing with the past. Dennis describes lucidly how this dynamic leads to a rewriting and re-evaluation of the East German past, which is not necessarily the kind of Vergangenheitsbewaeltigung that seemed and seems adequate to those for whom it was originally intended. Former dissident Bärbel Bohley's reaction to the events is symptomatic: "they expected justice but instead got the rule of law" (p. 19). There were indeed attempts at a historiography from an East German point of view made by members of the Association of Independent Historians as well as other various historiographic approaches to the GDR among East Germans including many aspects of analyzing the past. It is evident that the GDR was a totalitarian state, but Dennis cautions against reducing all analysis to this factor, as such a discourse neglects the biographies of individuals in the GDR. Dennis has an excellent point here. Acknowledging these personal daily life accounts could help to establish an appreciation of personal biographies, which is of paramount importance after years of constant erosion of the collective self-esteem.

Christopher Flockton's contribution to this volume is unique. In two essays, he makes clear that the unification of Germany was a seriously underestimated challenge. Fateful decisions were made in haste. What is more, an inappropriate and almost absurd likening of the West German economic miracle to potential economic developments within the former GDR contributed to the stark discrepancies between expectations and reality. Medium-sized businesses, traditionally an important factor in the German economy, have faced financial uncertainty. Flockton illuminates the role of the Treuhandanstalt, the biggest and earliest symbol of a faulty colonization-style transformation disaster in the wake of unification. Total public transfers to East Germany will soon total over one trillion Euros. Although the profitability of East German firms has increased satisfactorily, the East German contribution to the overall GDP cannot yet alleviate the additional burden for the welfare state created by the East. Recent allegations that financial resources intended to serve the Solidarity Pact were diverted from their intended use are counterproductive. It was the West German political will that determined to create economic unification, and Flockton shows how the West has not yet lived up to its commitment to this goal.

Peter Barker reminds readers that, in the current situation, the successor party to the SED has become the almost sole political voice of the East. He indicates that several theories explain this development: a positive attitude toward certain features of life in the former East, the East's role as a "loser" in unification, and an identification of the PDS as the only genuine representation, since it is home-grown and fulfills desires for an authentic left party, now missing in the German political spectrum. Barker's observation could indeed be seen as verified by the results of the recent elections in Brandenburg and Saxony.

Anthony Glees touches upon an issue often forgotten by the media and never pursued thoroughly enough by many political parties. Helmut Kohl's corruption scandal must have sent a devastating message to East Germans, who now see that lawmakers also function as law breakers. As Glees mentions, it is highly disturbing that Helmut Kohl was proud of putting his dubious service to his party over the service to his country. Glees identifies a problem for many East Germans: to what extent (for instance) should East Germans condemn Egon Krenz if Helmut Kohl similarly refused to abide by the constitution? For Glees it is clear that "Kohl's unlawfulness is not on par with forty years of systematic human rights abuses under Communism" (p. 87). Yet, what is most precarious and ironic is that his misdeeds were uncovered by illegal Stasi wiretaps.

Two essays on the situation of higher education illuminate the problematic imposition, both for staff and for students, of West German structures on East German universities. Although intellectual and political paternalism ceased, East German students, for example, still tend to progress more rapidly through their degree programs than their West German counterparts. Despite improvements in terms of free speech and thought in the educational system, some structural aspects of disputable value, as Rosalind Pritchard shows, were transferred from West to East. Marianne Kriszio describes the complicated position of women in East German universities today, especially in middle-level tenured posts, which were affected by the new Western system. New ranks were filled with men and West German applicants.

Co-editor Eva Kolinsky's description of the treatment of immigration in the GDR versus the old FRG sets the stage for understanding the way in which East Germany and East Germans today cope with immigrants. Kolinsky employs impressive empirical data showing that East Germans' attitude towards immigrants differ considerably from that of West Germans. Negative classifications are not only confined to ethnic groups present, but also to those who are not; in general young Easterners have very limited contact with non-Germans. Here we can see the beginning of an explanation for widespread anti-foreigner sentiment.

Karin Weiss's article appears slightly detached in terms of the overall message of the volume, although offering valuable insights. She describes an interesting phenomenon in post-war Germany, which is not confined solely to East Germany: The collapse of the Soviet Union enabled and also, in many cases, forced Russian Jews to leave their homeland, not only for the United States or Israel but also for Germany. Indeed, after England and France, Germany now has the biggest Jewish population in Europe. Weiss points out factors that complicate integration: immigrants of advanced age with poor knowledge of German have poor prospects on the German labor market. Right-wing extremism complicates their problems, as Weiss correctly notes. Another difficulty, however, emerged with the influx of these immigrants: their lack of a Jewish identity has not yet allowed them to foster a new German Jewish culture, while the rigid policy of existing Jewish communities allows only Jewish family members to participate in community life. There are both quantitative and qualitative differences between East and West: East German Jewish communities are rather small and new, whereas West German Jewish communities are well-established but face the problem of skyrocketing membership numbers.

This book illuminates successfully the flawed unification process by stringing together a variety of different aspects of society, making the divided nature of Germany today unambiguously clear. As editor Dennis points out, a dismantling of the wall in people's heads remains a distant goal as long as the attitude prevails that easterners must catch up with the norms and values of their western counterparts (p. 32).

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Citation: Kai Artur Diers. Review of Eva Kolinsky; Mike Dennis, United and Divided: Germany since 1990. H-German, H-Net Reviews. January, 2005.
URL: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=10161

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