Kultur 11

In the article, "Backward Southerners, Frigid Northerners; Germany's Real Divide" we learn of some of the minor tension between Northern and Southern Germany since the reunification of the East and West. Northern Germany is sometimes described as being "cool, practical, intellectual, industrialized, and liberal" as opposed to the "hick, funny talking, racist and backwards farmers" of the South. Even the Southern German mountains are made fun of, saying they make one feel claustrophobic. To a certain extent, northerners and southerners mistrust each other's food, dialects, politics, and religion.

In the article, "Breaking Down the Wall in the Head," we learn that many Germans still speak about the "Mauer im Kopf," or wall in the head. A quarter of West Germans wish the wall could be rebuilt, while 12 percent of say they don't want to live in a reunified Germany. Sterotypes that still remain between the East and West include the East's false perception of affluence in the West. West Germans are envious when they see how much money is transferred to the East. There is also a stereotype that pegs young Easterns that have not decided to move west to be lazy and unmotivated about their future prospects. This was mainly deemed to be false after a survey of young Eastern Germans revealed that they care more about equality and social justice rather than individual freedoms. It is also said that the younger generation of Easterners are not falling back into the basic attitude of depression, but are rather taking initiative.

The German term "Ostalgie" refers to nostalgia items of East Germany. Along with nostalgia from the east, Ostalgie was also inspired by the absence of unemployment and poverty in the DDR. The objects can include formerly defunct brands of East German foodstuffs, old recorded television programs, previously widespread Wartburg and Trabant cars, crosswalk lights from the East, etc. I found it interesting that when asked, 57 percent of former GDR inhabitants believe that the GDR had more good sides than bad.