"We didn't have bananas, but social security."
Ostalgie is a catch-all term, made up of the German words Osten (East) and Nostalgie (nostalgia ). The neologism was probably coined by a Dresden cabaret performer who commented, not without irony, on a trend he observed in his country in the 1990s: a certain spleen spreading to the East. Since then, the definition of the word "Ostalgie" has been elastic. It's a vague concept that can refer to a tender relationship with the GDR and childhood memories. It can also refer to an infatuation with Made In GDR places and objects, a vintage movement that can be observed elsewhere. But it can also be seen as the affirmation of an identity after reunification, the failures of which are still being felt today. It's a form of defiance against West German condescension. Indeed, the harshness of reunification, with its batch of factory closures and redundancies, is enough to make us miss the East German welfare state, where employment was guaranteed. The introduction of the free market has condemned many citizens to unemployment, while rising rents have forced them to move ever further from city centers.
The ostalgy, object of analysis by historians
According to Andreas Rödder, the Ostalgie that emerged in the 1990s is "a utopian desire for security [...] in the face of the harsh winds of the market economy and the hurricanes of globalization". For this West German historian, it's a denial of reality, revealing a desire to assert another identity in order to distinguish oneself from the West and compensate for the feeling of being part of the underprivileged. He sees Ostalgie as an illusory refuge. Andreas Rödder can be criticized for analyzing the consequences of reunification with a certain complacency, downplaying the impact and shock of the transition for East Germans. French historian Nicolas Offenstadt, on the other hand, observes Ostalgie with less severity. And he helps us to better grasp its meaning and stakes. This second-hand goods surveyor has devoted himself toUrbex (Urban Exploration) in the GDR, and has produced a formidable account entitled Le Pays disparu, in search of the "traces" left by the GDR. Ostalgie can be seen as a rejection of the binary history that demonizes the GDR, the better to praise and legitimize reunification. Nicolas Offenstadt uses the term "ostalgie" with great caution, considering that it often tends to discredit East German discourse, placing it inexorably on the side of sentimental nostalgia orentertainment for West Germans. Nicolas Offenstadt listens to East German voices and takes them seriously. Their indulgence or tenderness towards the GDR can be understood as a desire to emancipate themselves from the majority discourse held after reunification. These East Germans refuse to be portrayed as victims, and disapprove of the discourse that demonizes the GDR and simplistically glorifies the FRG.
Ostaltic phenomenon and the glamour of Made in GDR
Since the early 1990s, this "Ostalgic phenomenon" has taken many forms. We have already mentioned the speeches opposing the unilateral condemnation of the GDR. The most visible part of this Ostalgic moment is undoubtedly the notoriety of Made in GDR (German Democratic Republic) objects. The popularity of flea markets and second-hand shops didn't wait for the fall of the Wall, but the disappearance of the GDR saw the fame of objects produced in the vanished country soar. To this day, Made in GDR objects enjoy a veritable craze at Berlin's flea markets (Flohmarkt am Boxhagner Platz, Flohmarkt am Mauerpark). Some of the GDR's most emblematic products are still made today, and their survival demonstrates a certain attachment to the preservation of this endangered past: Halloren chocolates and Knusperflocken, Rotkäppchen sparkling wine, Vita Cola, not forgetting the famous Spreewald-Gurken, the pickles popularized by the film Good Bye Lenin! This 2003 film alone crystallizes all the ambivalence of the Ostal phenomenon. Alex brings the GDR back to life in the apartment of his bedridden mother, loyal to her country, to spare her the shock of reunification. The film has been criticized for being a piece of entertainment, tailor-made to satisfy West German complacency. On the other hand, there's no denying that the film pays homage to East German aesthetics and gives them their letters of nobility. Mention should also be made here of the Weißensee series, featuring two families in the GDR between 1980 and 1990. Many East Germans gave this series a warm welcome, as its complex and subtle portrayal of a wide range of people avoids caricature.
"Disappearance of Tracks" (Nicolas Offenstadt)
It has to be said that the "vestiges" of the GDR are getting smaller by the year. Many emblematic GDR landmarks disappeared after reunification. These include the Palast der Republik, destroyed in 2006, and the statue of Lenin in Friedrichshain, removed in 1991. Many street names were changed in East Berlin, removing the memory of the heroes of the workers' movements that the GDR intended to celebrate at the heart of what could be called a socialist geography. Voices have been raised in favor of keeping GDR memorials in the public arena. Perhaps it was the extremely rapid disappearance of the GDR between the fall of the Wall and reunification that prompted many people to mobilize to save the vestiges of the past. The wave of closures of these "ostalgic" places continues to this day. The Sibylle café on Karl-Marx-Allee had to close down, and the Ostel youth hostel followed the same fate. Has the Ostal phenomenon run out of steam, or has it been stifled by its commercial hijacking? Not all sites associated with the GDR have disappeared, and visitors can rest assured that some of the city's landmarks still retain the aesthetics of the past. Alexanderplatz is undeniably one of these places. Completely destroyed by bombing, the district was given new proportions after the war, making it the heart of the East German capital. The World Clock and the Park Inn hotel, as well as the many blocks of flats all around the district, still retain a hint of Ostalgie. Even more emblematic of the GDR and its determination to show what it could do, the Fernsehturm (Television Tower) rises to 368 meters. Inaugurated in 1969, it remains Germany's tallest building to this day. The Karl-Marx-Allee alone bears witness to the monumental aesthetics of socialism. The statues of workers and peasants on some of the facades reveal the new role played by the working classes in GDR society, but the avenue still retains a certain architectural pomp reminiscent of other monumental buildings in Warsaw and Moscow. Finally, there are the many socialist memorials built in East Germany. In Prenzlauer Berg's Ernst-Thälmann-Park , there is a monumental statue dedicated to this KPD chairman, Reichtag deputy and resistance fighter against Nazism. The memorial has been a listed monument since 2014.
The Ostalgie in the ballot box
The concrete wall that separated the town for 28 years has left its mark. In German, we speak of the Mauer in den Köpfen, the "wall in the minds". In Berlin's outlying districts, there has been none of the mix that Prenzlauer Berg or Mitte enjoyed. Today, there are few East Berliners in Reinickendorf or Spandau, and probably even fewer West Berliners in Marzahn or Lichtenberg. This difference between the different parts of the city is particularly visible in election results (and remains so to this day). In the September 2016 elections - for the renewal of the Berlin Chamber of Deputies, which in this city-state are in a way both regional and municipal elections - the left-wing Die Linke party (inherited from the SED) came out on top in the majority of East Berlin constituencies. Die Linke achieved its best results (between 20 and 30% of the vote) in the districts of Lichtenberg, Pankow, Marzahn-Hellersdorf and Treptow-Köpenick, all in the eastern part of the city. Although the demise of the GDR - more than thirty years ago - takes it further away from us every year, it has not ceased to fascinate us. These forty years of communism in East Germany captivate the curiosity of visitors to Berlin, eager to discover the authentic East Berlin, the one "before", probably as vainly as archaeologists searching for Atlantis.
