Back in the GDR? East Germans fear a return to socialism

As half of East Germans say recent negative developments in their country remind them of the post-war era of socialism, Germany has become the sick man of Europe, warns Rainer Zitelmann

The German government has been increasingly intervening in the economy. Many Germans have been outraged by government mandates dictating which heating systems they are allowed to use. And for possibly the first time in history, a country has voluntarily banned its number one product: cars with combustion motors. As per an EU directive, such vehicles will no longer be eligible for registration after 2035, resulting in a severe crisis within the German automotive industry. The Volkswagen Group (VW) is currently facing a profound crisis. Germany is the sick man of Europe.

But it’s not just the economy. Freedom of speech is also being curtailed by political correctness and cancel culture in Germany. Several recent surveys have indicated that a majority of Germans no longer believe they can freely express their opinions, particularly on the topic of migration. One poll conducted by the Allensbach Institute revealed that only 40 percent of Germans feel able to really express their political opinions. Public television in Germany is dominated by the left; other opinions are hardly given a platform. And anyone who criticizes the fact that millions of immigrants in Germany rely on welfare payments is quickly labelled a right-wing extremist.

People who used to live in socialist East Germany (the GDR in English and DDR in German) are particularly alarmed by recent development. This has been confirmed for the first time by the renowned opinion research institute INSA in a poll for a newly published book by Katja Adler, a member of parliament from the Free Democratic Party FDP, called Rolle rückwärts DDR (literally: Rolling Back to the GDR). INSA interviewed a representative sample of adults born in the former GDR before 1976. This means that the youngest respondents were around 14 years old when the Berlin Wall was torn down, the GDR collapsed, and East and West Germany were reunified.

The overwhelming majority of respondents were full of hope when socialism came to an end in 1990. As the survey reports, 81 per cent agreed with the following statement: “After the peaceful revolution in the GDR, I hoped that things would only get better.” Only 13 percent did not share these hopeful expectations at the time and the rest were unsure. Those who identify as “left of center” politically were also optimistic, with 78 per cent agreeing with the above statement. However, the figure was significantly higher among those who place themselves “right of center,” at 94 per cent.

However, almost half of these ex-GDR citizens, 46 per cent to be precise, now believe that, “Many of the negative developments in Germany today remind me of socialist East Germany”. In contrast, 43 per cent disagree. The proportion of men who agree is even higher at 51 per cent, while the proportion of women who are not reminded of the GDR is slightly higher at 46, compared to 41 per cent who see echoes of their former socialist country in modern Germany.

Perceptions also vary significantly between those on the left and those on the right of the political spectrum. A majority of respondents who identify as being on the right say they are reminded of the GDR, while only one third of those on the left share this sentiment.

When respondents who say they are reminded of the GDR are asked in which areas this is particularly true,  71 per cent say excessive government regulations dictating citizens’ lifestyles; 68 per cent say fear of voicing their opinions freely; 60 per cent say pro-federal government propaganda on public TV and radio and 56 per cent say excessive government intervention in the economy.

Another finding that stands out is that respondents who now live in West Germany are significantly more apprehensive about expressing their opinions (76 per cent), whereas those living in East Germany are particularly worried about government propaganda on public TV and radio (63 per cent) and state intervention in the economy (58 per cent).

“I am shocked by these results,” says Katja Adler. “However, they do confirm my personal impressions: many of the people who were born in the former GDR feel the same way I do. They had high hopes, yet their hopes were only partially fulfilled. They have seen Germany gradually regress toward increased government intervention in social and economic spheres. The government is intruding in citizens’ lives in areas where it simply does not belong.”

Dr Rainer Zitelmann is a German historian, sociologist and author