Separation After Unification? The Crisis of National Identity in Eastern Germany Andreas Staab Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy London School of Economics and Political Science University of London December 1996 i UMI Number: U615798 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615798 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 I S F 7379 OF POLITICAL AND S&uutZ Acknowledgements I would like to express my thanks to George Schopflin for having taken the time and patience to supervise my work. His professional advice have been of immense assistance. I have also greatly benefited from the support and knowledge of Brendan O’Leary, Jens Bastian, Nelson Gonzalez, Abigail Innes, Adam Steinhouse and Richard Heffeman. I am also grateful to Dieter Roth for granting me access to the data of the ‘Forschungsgruppe Wahlen ’. Heidi Dorn at the ‘Zentralarchiv fur Empirische Sozialforschung ’in Cologne deserves special thanks for her ready co-operation and cracking sense of humour. I have also been very fortunate to have received advice from Colm O’Muircheartaigh from the LSE’s Methodology Institute. Without the support and generosity of my family I would not have been able to complete this project. I therefore owe them a deep debt of gratitude. I am however mostly indebted to my partner Michela. Her patience, moral support and intellectual encouragement made all the difference. It is to her that I dedicate this dissertation. 2 ABSTRACT On October 3, 1990 Germany was formally reunified through an extension of the legal, political and economic structures of West Germany into the former GDR. For East Germans this transformation represented a challenging process. Former values, orientations and standards were subject to severe scrutiny which affected virtually every realm of an individual’s life. The thesis analyses the development from the divided to the unified Germany and asks to what extent East Germans have adopted a collective orientation in line with that of the western part. Such identity markers are conceptualized into five distinct categories consisting of orientations in the realm of territory, economics, ethnicity, mass culture, as well as in the civic-political sphere. The study relies to some extent on public opinion surveys and on qualitative data including media sources, literature and impressionistic accounts. Political-historical analyses of the identities of the Federal and the German Democratic Republic are followed by interrogations into the state of the East German identity as it evolved between 1990 and 1996. The study provides a deeper understanding of those processes and determinants which brought continuity or change to the German political system. Although interrogations into national identities are neither able to determine the precise moment of change, nor the precise scope and direction of political action they offer well-defined tracks along which political decisions are received in a supportive or oppositional manner. The study of national identity therefore does not represent the universal remedy for the explanation of complex political phenomena. Nonetheless, it is indispensable in enhancing the explanatory power and predictive capacity of political analyses since it broadens understanding and enriches political sensitivity. The thesis identifies a significant range of commonalties, as well as striking features of mutually exclusive areas which prevent the establishment of a common national identity shared by east and west. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 7 CHAPTER TWO: TERRITORY 26 2.1. Conceptualising Territory 26 2.2. The Federal Republic 30 2.3. The German Democratic Republic 33 2.4. Conclusion 36 CHAPTER THREE: ECONOMICS / 38 3.1. Conceptualising Economics I 3 8 3.2. The German Democratic Republic I 42 3.3. The Federal Republic \ 56 3.4. The New Lander ^ 65 3.5. Conclusion 86 CHAPTER FOUR: CITIZENSHIP 95 4.1. Conceptualising Citizenship 95 4.2. The German Democratic Republic 100 4.2.1. Participation 100 4.2.2. State-Citizen Relations 114 4.3. The Federal Republic 123 4.3.1. The Era Adenauer 123 4.3.2. Participation After 1960 126 4.3.3. State-Citizen Relations After 1960 132 4.4. The New Lander 145 4.4.1 Participation 145 4.4.2. State-Citizen Relations 171 4.5. Conclusion 185 CHAPTER FIVE: MASS CULTURE 199 5.1. Conceptualising Mass Culture 199 5.2. The German Democratic Republic 204 5.3. The Federal Republic 220 5.4. The New Lander 230 5.5. Conclusion 248 CHAPTER SIX: ETHNICITY 256 6.1. Conceptualising Ethnicity 256 6.2. The German Democratic Republic 263 6.3. The Federal Republic 274 6.4. The New Lander 287 6.5. Conclusion 304 CHAPTER SEVEN: CONCLUSION 313 BIBLIOGRAPHY 333 4 LIST OF TABLES Chapter One: Introduction 1.1. Conceptualising National Identity in Eastern Germany 16 Chapter Two: Territory 2.1. West Germans and the Prospect of Unification 3 0 2.2. West Germans and the Likelihood of Unification 31 Chapter Three: Economics 3.1. Approval of Market Economy in West Germany 5 7 3.2. Attitudes Towards Work in West Germany 58 3.3. Unemployment in West Germany 62 3.4. New Businesses in the New Lands and East Berlin 65 3.5. East Germans and the Approximation of Living Standards 71 3.6. Evaluation of Economic Situation in Comparison to GDR 72 3.7. East German Attitudes Towards the Federal Government 73 3.8. East German’s Evaluation of the Treuhand 74 3.9. East German’s Evaluation of Personal Situation and General Economic 75 Situation 3.10. Ranking of Entrepreneurial Skills Amongst East German Managers 78 3.11. Working Morale in East and West 79 3.12. Commutes to Work (from East to West) 80 3.13. Unemployment in East and West 81 3.14. ‘ABM’ and Part-Time Work in the New Lands 82 3.15. Perceived Security of Employment Amongst Easterners 82 3.16. Perceived Social Safety in Eastern Germany 84 Chapter Four: Citizenship 4.1. Membership Figures of the SED 101 4.2. Membership in Block Parties 105 4.3. Membership in Mass Organisations 106 4.4. Allocation of Seats in the Volkskammer 107 4.5. Participation in West German Elections 124 4.6. Attitudes Towards Freedom of Political Expression in West Germany 128 4.7. Political Interest in West Germany 129 4.8. Potential Protest Against Unjust Action in West Germany 133 4.9. Attitudes Towards Political Institutions in West Germany 139 4.10. Confidence in the Legal System in West Germany 143 4.11. Political Interest in the New Lander 146 5 4.12. Participation of East Germans in Elections 147 4.13. The Transformation of the Eastern Party Landscape 149 4.14. Membership in Political Parties in East and West 150 4.15. Party Identification in the New Lands 155 4.16. Percentage of Votes for the PDS 159 4.17. Membership in Unions: East Versus West 166 4.18. Membership in Civic Groups in 1994 168 4.19. Satisfaction with Democracy in East and West 171 4.20. Perceived Personal Freedom in the East 172 4.21. Attitudes Towards Public Administration 175 4.22. Political Protest in the New Lands 177 4.23. Handling the Stasi Past 180 4.24. Criminal Prosecution Against Stasi Members 182 Chapter Five: Mass Culture 5.1. Provision of Consumer Products in the GDR 204 5.2. Use of Media in the GDR 215 5.3. Radio Broadcasts in the GDR 216 5.4. East Germans Watching Western Television 217 5.5. East Germans Consuming Eastern and Western Media 218 5.6. Source of Political Information for Young East Germans 219 5.7. Consumer Products in West German Households 221 5.8. Travel Expenses and Destinations in West Germany 225 5.9. West Germans Watching Television 228 5.10. Consumer Products in Households, East and West 230 5.11. Attitudes Towards Beauty, East and West 237 5.12. Attitudes Towards Social Relations in the East 239 5.13. Leisure Opportunities, East and West 240 5.14. Leisure Activities, East and West, 1994 241 5.15. Destination of Main Holiday, East and West 243 5.16. Television Consumption, East and West 245 5.17. Radio Consumption, East and West 246 5.18. Print Media Preferences, East and West, 1995 247 Chapter Six: Ethnicity 6.1. Foreigners in the Federal Republic (1961-1990) 281 6.2. Rejecting Attitudes Towards Guest Workers in West Germany 284 6.3. Foreigners in the Federal Republic (1990-1993) 287 6.4. Foreigners in the Federal Republic, East and West, 1993 288 6.5. Attitudes Towards Immigration, East and West 289 6.6. Violent Legal Offences with Extremist Background, East and West 291 6.7. Legal Offences with Anti-Foreign Motivation, East and West 292 6.8. Attitudes towards Foreigners in Germany, East and West 294 6.9. Attitudes Towards International Understanding 295 6 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Press Officer One has to ask whether it's really right that we've basically taken a different system and forced it on these people. I don’t know how the 'Wessis ’ would have reacted whether they would have been able to show as much let's call it endurance as some of the 'Ossis' have had to have.