The book by Sociologist Stephen Mau “Instead of United. Because the East remains different, ”is presented at the Thessaloniki International Book Fair. Why are East and West Germany still different? Reportage from Thessaloniki

The German reunion of 1990 may have been formally completed, but in fact, 35 years later, the situation remains strongly different and the need to explain the differences between East and West Germany remains intense.

Indeed, Professor of Sociology at Humboldt University in Berlin Stephen Mau proposes to accept this inequality, so that these differences can be somewhat alleviated, in his book, which he presents at the 21st Thessaloniki International Book Fair, along with his journalist

The distortions between East and West Germany

In Germany, since the 1990s, there is a dialogue that the East must be adapted to the West to achieve the “inner unity”. But this is probably an illusion, as there are differences that do not simply disappear. What inspired the writer? “Whether it is social structure, demography, electoral behavior or political culture, inequalities have been established. Because this is the case and why we have to change our perspective, I try to explain it to the book. I myself was born in East Germany, so it always struck me how West Germany is often considered the model and the point of reference. I wanted to show why, even in the section, the differences continue to exist, “he said, speaking to Deutsche Welle O Stephen Mau.

Many believe that the differences between East and West Germany are solely due to the previous separation of the country. Of course, there is an impact on the regime of the former East Germany, but even after 1989 there have been very different experiences on both sides. Regarding social and economic differences between East and West, the author explains: “In the West there has been economic boom, while in the East there was an economic collapse, mass unemployment and migration of millions of people.

Many East Germans feel second -class citizens to date and do not exceed devaluations and insults. It was, after all, a great experiment to move the rapid transition from state socialism to free economy and democracy under difficult economic conditions. Today it is interesting to see how strong the structures and attitudes are rooting and that there is even a new East -German feeling, “the German professor said.

Tough inequality

Mau observes that the belief that “must be united what belongs together” has covered the differences that arose from the history of the LDG and the ORG, which were gradually consolidated. It refers to the “asymmetric conditions of reunification”, which evolved into “harsh inequalities”. Thus, they came to the fore and “post -socialist dynamics”, such as Treuhand or the beginning of the return before compensation, which also did not contribute to the unity.

The author uses terms that are easily reflected in memory, such as “internal German ghost border” or “inability to structure civil society”. It recognizes that the West is much less interested in the East than the East would want and makes us clear that there is no real West German identity. People in the West are more identical to their loud state.

Will the East remain “different”?

“Part of the differences will be smoothed. However, the problem is the distance of East Germans from democratic institutions. The party system is less established, people in the East prefer to take to the streets to demonstrate rather than participate in a party, “explains the German social expert. He observes that the Alternative Party for Germany (AfD) has identified this gap of representation and exploits dissatisfaction, promoting himself as an anti -systemic party.

“The other parties should finally understand that they must be present and active on the ground to reach people,” the German sociologist says. For many West Germans, reunification has already been completed, this is not the case for many in the East. As a solution to dissatisfaction, Mau in his book proposes the institutionalization of civil councils as a form of direct democracy that could work very well in the East, where people wish to have a say in decisions.

AFD is gaining ground in the old western states, but it remains much stronger in the East, where in many areas it is even the strongest party, even after its recent designation by the Constitution Protection Service as an open far -right party (a temporarily suspended AFD). “With the next elections in the eastern states, the situation will probably worsen and become more difficult to form governments,” Stephen Mau is worried.

His concern is growing, but without losing his hope that “the new government under Friedrich Mertz will be able to maintain the country’s cohesion on critical issues,” he says. At the moment, a Japanese version of his book is being prepared. If there is interest in translating the book in Greece, it would be very happy. “After all, there are differences in Greece between the north and the south,” he points out.