East Germany is a mysterious environment, created by the yearning to camouflage into the greyness

Western influences in East Germany were not just visible in the renamed streets and towns, or the renovated apartment houses, new shopping malls and stores; it was also in the exploitation of East Germany as a tourist attraction. West German’s ventured East so that they could see artifacts of the old GDR that they’d heard and read about. Even Hensel’s memories had been westernized in their retelling and commodified as part of the tourist experience, as she told token GDR stories that she thought Western visitors would want to hear even though they shed no light on the everyday life in East

At the film's opening, we learn of the first East German shot into space, surely an apotheosis of what a state can achieve, its grasp extending to the stars. But behind the curtain of this vast achievement we can see how it is brought about through the utter bending of citizens to the states will. Alex's mother Christiane, who we first assume the innocent of the piece, is interrogated by the Stasi for her husband has fled the country. We learn he was unable to live with a state he detested, the ordeal of the interrogation so testing for Christiane it sends her into a coma. Her husband and the children?s father absent, she finds a kinship with the state, now one of its most vociferous supporters. The absence of the father is particularly imbued with purpose. Later, Becker seeks to equate the death of communism with the return of the father for the two are so inextricably connected. Only when the German Democratic Republic (GDR) is laid to rest can this dark chapter

Within Germany, a country torn between the rise of a totalitarian party that determined a superior race, Nazism, and the survival of the oppressed, young Germans face a test between a sense of self and society. Individuality would be suppressed within this new type of society, and being different would be the deadliest obstruction to life. The violations of the rights to life, religion, and speech are relived through the stories of the German youth that lived through this haunting time, whose name would be tarnished in their struggle to survive. In their fight, their morals would be challenged and influenced until the Nazi regime ended, and the violation of human dignity would leave them wondering if life was worth living after all. The Nazi Party grew under its leader, Adolf Hitler, which struggled not to use violence against those that disagreed with their views, starting with armed groups known as the Strum Abteilung, who pledged to be ready to sacrifice their life in the aims of the Nazi Party and absolute loyalty to their leader. Their cruel intolerance began by their strong nationalism and their hatred of democracy and communism, and they gained power through the economic depressions around the world, controlling the media by instilling fear and propaganda that influenced a strong belief in their leaders. This belief in the leaders would soon seem to override Church influence when the official body of the Church failed to do anything significant

Informers were rewarded by the construction of the wall. Their lifestyle within East Germany was advantageous, as they were secured a state of superiority and their loved ones protected. They had nothing to fear, as they were given importance and a role in the sheltered social construct that was Stasiland. Proponents of Communism like the heavily supported and respected public figure Herr von Schnitzler were proud and protective of the Iron Curtain, and believed that its construction was beneficial for the population of East Germany. This biased view of Funder that The Wall benefitted Informers as they did not have to struggle or fear the manipulation and scrutiny of the Stasi themselves is also exemplified through the character of Herr Winz. Funder senses he misses his past life as he accuses the West of propaganda, obviously implying that Funder won’t provide an objective view of GDR history: ‘I am here to tell you about the excellent work—the masterful work—of the Stasi in counter espionage. That is where I spent my life’. These men’s views, professions, purposes and very existence were defined by the wall.

‘Stasiland’ is a non-fiction text written by Anna Funder and follows the personal recounts and experiences of those who lived throughout the GDR prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall. While the book primarily revolves around the conversations and reflections which Funder holds in relation to these stories, it is the authors remarkable use of symbolism which enables her to go beyond mere conversation delve into the complexities of not just other’s but her own experience in Stasiland. The use of physical motifs such as Hagen Koch’s Stasi plate are representative of the unrelenting oppression and control

In the book Frauen: German Women Recall the Third Reich by Alison Owings, we are provided with plenty of women who describe their lives before, during and after Hitler received power. This book provides us with different views of the time era and as well as how the impact of Hitler affected every woman differently through social class, age, marital status and etc. This paper will explore the lives of three German women who seem to be in the Grey area during the over control of Hitler but mostly with the killings of the Jews. This paper will further explore the complicity and the different levels of resistance that these three women had during this time era which is 1933-1945. The three women that will be discussed in this paper are Margarete (Margrit) Fischer, Ellen Frey, and Christine (Tini) Weihs. When looking into the lives of all three women these women it seems as though women didn’t have much of a responsibility for the events that were happening around them. Although these women seemed to be complaint to a certain degree with the events there were going on around them. These women would have been complaint due to the fear of what happened to Germans when they stood against the events that took part.

Imagine, that because of one decision that they make or not, determines if they are truly citizens, it causes a fear that someone doesn’t belong and it is a scary thought. This vote rigging is Larson taking time to develop the setting of Germany, by showing the vice-like grip that Hitler is developing on the German people only about ten months after his ascension to chancellor. As Germany spirals into a secret police state, people begin to worry about the omnipotent and all-hearing ear of the Gestapo. Larson shifts focus off of the Dodd’s to give the reader insight into the atmosphere of Germany: “Germans grew reluctant to stay in communal ski lodges, fearing they might talk in their sleep” (Larson 223). Larson makes this very plain, GErmans fear that whatever they say is being watched and scrutinized by the government. This fear is so consuming, that Germans put off not only vacation to ski-lodges, but medical operations, as they fear they might speak negatively of Hitler while under anesthesia. This paranoia of being caught for speaking and subsequently shot, is Larson deliberately involving the reader in the affairs of Germany on the whole, and making the reader feel as if they too are stuck in this dystopia. Later on Larson further develops the atmosphere of Berlin to further his theme of fear. After a putsch of all of Germany of Nazi enemies, Dodd remarks on the tense atmosphere in Germany, “At a time when hundreds of men

In Where the World Ended, Daphne Berdahl explores via ethnographic study the creation and evolution of identities in the town of Kella. Located within the 500-meter Schutzstreifen along the Grenze (the inter-German border during the Cold War) residents of Kella experienced strict surveillance from the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and lived with additional regulations. Berdahl presents Kella as floating between the East and West; however, the impenetrability of the inter-German border from 1952 to 1989 instituted Eastern economic and cultural practices in Kella until the entire GDR experienced the fall of socialism. In this paper, I will demonstrate that Berdahl operates under the flawed assumption that Kella’s geographic location within

In this story, the narrator’s biggest problem is finding employment. Germans are unable to go into a profession that they find interest in, rather they are forced to make due in hard labor like “clearing rubble and carrying rocks” or other underpaid jobs (125). He describes how “there was a time when they used to say it was unnecessary [to have a profession], all we needed was soldiers. But now they say you have to have a profession” (125). With total war, all the German people work for the war effort, whether that was as a soldier or working in factories making weapons and other resources. It is very difficult for them not only to have a positive attitude towards their new ways of life in occupied Germany, but it is most difficult to believe that you may never go back to the Germany that existed prior to Nazi Germany. German identity may never exist again and it is obvious that many Germans regret what emerged between 1939 and

For over 500 years of progression did a mess of positive outcomes, medicine, exploration and social advancement, yet a considerable measure of negatives happened as well, as all the more mass destruction weapons and the capacity to wipe ourselves out, However the reaction of this perfect was World War II, for instance, the world was confronting an ideology in Europe. Patriotism is the way the individuals started to end up firmly committed to their nation. It’s an immediate reason for the wars that happened in Europe from 1850 to 1950. The switch again into conservatism happened of mass murders, and casualties brought about by the different transformations for social change. The Nazi regin comes into power as Germany are drenched with corruption

When looking into the history of Germany and determining what led to the startling rise in Nazism in Germany and its detrimental effects on the social outcasts in Europe, it can be easy to deduce that the Nazi regime was one where Hitler walked in with his officials and took office by force. The truth is that, while the Nazi party is responsible for the atrocities that occurred before and during WWII, they would have not gotten far if it hadn’t been for the cooperation of the German people themselves. Life in the Third Reich provides proof through voting, youth programs and village life that the Nazi party rose into power with German support.

A critic of the reunification process Dumche spoke of colonisation of the GDR by a Western German power “as a range to missed opportunities that might have produced a more positive outcome” in reference of areas in raising tax money and dealing with new economic strategies for the East. These missed opportunities meant that the people’s dreams were not answered, but a cause of loss of faith in the German leadership.

In contrast to the desolate picture life in East Berlin painted, the economy of West Germany, which also included West Berlin, was rebounding and becoming quite strong. West Berlin’s businesses were booming, and their industry products were readily and rapidly bought by its resident who were eager to obtain the products and goods they had so long been deprived of previously, as a result of World War II.10 This new and heightening demand for goods pushed wages up quickly, and many new jobs were created with the development of new housing units and other construction enterprises.11 Movies, plays, and concerts were also available for West Berlin residents to enjoy, and overall life in West Berlin was good. However, life on the West side wasn’t all fun and games. Their city was still divided, and families were still separated. To the children of West Berlin residents, East Berlin was hidden from view and shrouded in mystery, their only knowledge of the other side coming through school or some form of media. It seemed they constantly asked themselves the question, “ Will the lives of East and West Germans forever be so vastly different and separate?”

Therefore, this film is not only a testimony about the German past but also the German present. It displays the irrational annihilation of six young Germans at the end of WWII, summoning up a very agonizing recollection of Nazi Germany’s futile effort to turn back the Allied invasion by hurling teenage boys into the

Along with every other nation around the globe, Germany has its own unique past. From the days previous to Bismarck to present time, the Germans have undergone significant trials and tribulations. Unfortunately for Germany the world will forever equate German history with Hitler and the Third Reich. As educated people, we need to be able to get past this stigma and appreciate the Germans for who they truly are. After the ending of the Second World War, Germany was divided in two: a free western Germany, and the communist East Germany. West Germany flourished while East Germany struggled to breathe under the heavy shadow of the Soviet Union. In 1990, after the Berlin Wall fell, Germany finally became one again with the union of East