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This thesis analyzes the published commentary of editorial journalists regarding the division of Germany in twelve major newspapers of the Federal Republic of Germany in a period spanning from the final years of division to the immediate aftermath of the unification of the two German states. The study tracks editorial advocacy in response to East German leader Erich Honecker's Bonn visit in 1987 coupled with the intra-German policy efforts of the Social Democratic Party in opposition, which seemed to edge towards two-state neutralism; the wave of repression in the German Democratic Republic from late 1987 onward in the wake of Mikhail Gorbachev's reform programme, and the June 1989 visit of Mikhail Gorbachev to Bonn. Journalistic commentators' propagation of a form of constitutional patriotism as a Federal Republican identity will be examined. Responses to the East German Revolution as it developed in late 1989 are analyzed in detail, followed by an account of journalistic efforts to define the political-cultural parameters of united Germany between March 1990 and June 1991. After four decades, the post-war division of Germany had acquired a degree of normalcy. Journalistic commentators argued against any acceptance of division that also accepted the existence of the party-state dictatorship in the German Democratic Republic, insisting that the German Question was 'open' until self-determination for East Germans was realized. Nevertheless, throughout the period journalistic commentators argued in unison against solutions to division which would alienate the Federal Republic from its western alliance or put its established socio-political order at risk. Contemporary journalism propagated an image of the Federal Republic that was thoroughly defined by its post-war internalization of 'Western' value norms. This was most evident during the East German Revolution and the immediate aftermath, ostensibly the moment of greatest uncertainty about Germany's future path, when commentators became champions of continuity within the western alliance.

This essay is a case-study of a phenomenon called “ostalgie” which could be described as GDR-nostalgia. “Ostalgie” is a compound of the two German words “ost” (east) and “Nostalgie” (nostalgia.) It is, like a similar phenomenon referred to as “communist nostalgia”, a type of nostalgia. However, if one were to define “ostalgie” as “communist nostalgia” important aspects of the phenomenon would be left out. Despite the vast research (mainly by German scholars) on the reunification process of the two German states, little has been said about the positive retrospective evaluation of the former GDR among eastern Germans. The purpose of this study is to examine what constitutes “ostalgie” and what it could lead to. To answer what ostalgie is I examine research literature and analyze so called “ostalgie” consumption products such as movies and souvenirs with GDR-symbols. Drawing on two alternative hypotheses, one related to political socialization and one related to unification related hardships, I discuss the possible explanations for the emergence of “ostaglie”. To answer what ostalgie could lead to I also analyze and discuss existing research and make my own interpretations based on personal experiences with the reunification process. This study is thus mainly based on a qualitative literature analysis but is also illustrated by quantitative measurements of “ostalgie-related” attitudes among Germans. I argue that “ostalgie” should be considered as an outcome of political socialization as well as unification related hardships and that it would be misleading to assume that “ostalgie” could be explained exclusively by one of the hypothesis discussed. “Ostalgie” is an expression for eastern Germans’ will or need to reminisce about the good aspects of the GDR. The consequences of “ostalgie” are first and foremost that it trivializes the GDR dictatorship. It has also been noted that nostalgic people have more negative attitudes towards the German democracy than non-nostalgic people. I conclude the paper by discussing the difficulties of measuring how widespread “ostalgie” sentiments are due to the problems of definition.

Die von mir vorgelegte Arbeit widmet sich insgesamt der Fragestellung, wie große gelenkte Projekte an einer ostdeutschen Schule in der Wendezeit durchgeführt wurden, was aus ihnen folgte und welche Konsequenzen für die Theorie der schulischen Projektarbeit daraus gezogen werden können. Insbesondere zeigt sie auf inwieweit die Arbeit mit Projekten die Forderungen der Gesellschaft, Schule als Lern-, Arbeits-, Lebens- und Freizeitort für Schüler/innen zu gestalten, erfüllt werden kann. Unterschiedlichste Schülerbeispiele (für Begabte, (Hoch)begabte, "schwierig Begabte", Verhaltensschwierige, überraschende Entwicklungen, Lernunwillige u.a.) werden vorgestellt und daran aufgezeigt, was Projektarbeit leisten kann, um die individuellen Leistungsmöglichkeiten von allen Schüler/innen gerecht zu werden, um diese auszuschöpfen, zu fördern und weiter zu entwickeln.

Ziel dieser Arbeit war es herauszufinden ob und wenn ja, welche ordnungs- und wirtschaftlichen Alternativen im Zuge der Wiedervereinigung Deutschlands existierten. Die erste Frage ist mit einem klaren ja zu beantworten. Einige der möglichen Alternativen wurden in Abschnitt 4 vorgestellt, weitere sind denkbar. Warum sie sich nicht durchsetzten ist im Einzelnen schwer zu sagen. Politische Entscheidungen werden in einem Spannungsfeld konkurrierender Interessen, äußerer Zwänge und machtpolitischer Überlegungen getroffen. Gegen einige Alternativen, wie z.B. Alternative 2 sprachen die äußeren Umstände, die drohende massive Migration von Ost nach West. Für andere Alternativen, wie z.B. Alternative 4 gab es wohl zu wenig Fürsprecher. Einige dieser aufgezeigten Wege erscheinen vom heutigen Standpunkt aus betrachtet die besseren Alternativen zu sein. Zweierlei sollte man bei solchen Überlegungen nie vergessen. Erstens, dass es ungleich schwerer ist, Fehler zu vermeiden als bereits gemachte Fehler zu erkennen. Und zweitens, welche enormen menschlichen, politischen und finanziellen Leistungen im Zuge der Deutschen Einheit erbracht wurden und auch heute noch erbracht werden. Auf das Erreichte können wir stolz sein.

A substantial body of research has shown worse health conditions for East- vs. West-Germany in the wake of reunification. In the present study, we investigate how these differences between the two formerly divided regions developed and what maintains them. Specifically, we consider the associations between health status, income satisfaction, and health-related locus of control. In a quasi-experimental and longitudinal study design, we are particularly interested in the differences between individuals who stayed in East-Germany and those who were born in the East but migrated to West-Germany. To this end, we examined data from seven waves of the Saxony Longitudinal Study (2003–2009). Specifically, we tested a cross-lagged panel model with random effects, which evinced very good model fit. Most parameters and processes were equivalent between individuals who stayed in East-Germany vs. moved to West-Germany. Crucially, there was the expected pattern of positive correlations between health, income, and locus of control. In addition, we found substantially lower values for all three of these variables for the individuals who stayed in East-Germany (vs. moved to West-Germany). A possible explanation is the increase in socio-economic status that the internal migrants experienced. These findings present an important contribution of research in order to foster a better understanding on the social dynamics in Germany related to internal/domesticmigrants and implications in the context of health outcomes (e.g., significantly more unemployment in East vs. West-Germany), especially since almost 20–25% of East-German citizens migrated to West-Germany. Until now, there are no similar studies to the Saxony longitudinal project, since the data collection started in 1987 and almost every year an identical panel has been surveyed; which can be particularly useful for health authorities. The study mainly focuses on social science research and deals with the phenomenon of reunification, approaching several subjects such as mental and physical health, quality of life and the evaluation of the political system. Yet even though many people have experienced such a migration process, there has been little research on the subjects we approach. With our research we deepen the understanding of the health consequences of internal migration.

Ledit projet de recherche se propose d'étudier les réactions dans la presse écrite française face à la restructuration identitaire et politique de l'Allemagne unifiée entre 1998 et 2005. Le corpus est composé en premier lieu d'articles provenant de différents quotidiens et hebdomadaires français, mais également d'essais politiques. Afin d'appréhender la notion d'identité nationale dans toute sa complexité, la partie analytique se base sur huit études de cas concernant différents domaines tels que l'unification allemande, l'intégration européenne, la politique de sécurité et la politique mémorielle. A la fin du projet de recherche, une synthèse globale des résultats de l'analyse de presse est proposée. L'objectif de cette étude est de nous éclairer sur l'impact réel qu'a eu la fondation de la „République de Berlin“ sur les relations franco-allemandes. / This thesis investigates the reactions in French written press to the identity restructuring process and political reorientation in reunified Germany during the period between 1998 and 2005. The corpus is mainly constituted by French daily and weekly newspaper articles, but also political essays. In order to capture the notion of ‘national identity' in all its complexity, the analytic part is based on eight case studies in different fields such as ‘German unification', European integration', ‘Security policy' and ‘Memorial Policy'. At the end of this thesis, a global synthesis of the results of the press analysis is proposed. The objective of this study is to elucidate the real impact that the foundation of the „Berlin Republic“ had on the Franco-German relationship.

Dieses Buch stellt das Institut für Internationale Beziehungen (IIB) in Potsdam-Babelsberg von seiner Gründung in den 1950er Jahren bis zu seiner Auflösung im Jahre 1990 dar. Zeitzeugen analysieren die Rolle des Instituts im politischen System, beschreiben seine Strukturen und Aufgaben in Forschung und Lehre und diskutieren Defizite und Leistungen dieser außenpolitischen Institution der DDR.

In this study, I have focused on the process for an eventual reunification of North and South Korea. In this process, Korean political, economic, cultural and religious issues are necessarily present. My study focuses on cultural and religious factors. I adopt the German reunification as a case study. The German reunification process provides Koreans with lessons about the negative changes in the status of German women since the German reunification caused extreme instances of the loss of status and economic opportunity for women. German reunification shows that the unequal situation and systems in society were not only due to political positions. Strong religious factors deeply influenced the German mentality. A similar religion-factor is at work in North Korean society which is influenced by Confucianism and in South Korean society which is influenced by Confucianism and conservative Christianity. I argue that religion is one of the major factors in the political culture of Korea, and religion can either assist a fair and equal process for both women and men or it can in a biased way maintain a male-oriented form of reunification. Consequently, the cultural and religious factors in this process of reunification must include an equalization of women and men. This can only take place if Korean women are major participants in the entire reunification process. There is a serious need for a reunification theology which incorporate gender into Korean theology, thus providing a 'feminist reunification theology.' A 'feminist reunification theology' presents basic theological principles that will help build an egalitarian community. There are three important ways to include women's concern for true reunification: 1) The creation of an egalitarian community in work, family and society; 2) The restoration of humanity by healing love and forgiveness through the power of Cross; and 3) The need for religion to be reformed in which a women can be a co-leader in family, church and nation.

The Federal Republic of Germany (F.R.G.) used the Hallstein Doctrine from 1955-1970 to prevent the worldwide recognition of the German Democratic Republic (G.D.R.). By denying the existence of a separate German state and thus the de facto division of Germany, the F.R.G. sought to perpetuate the idea of one German nation and to ease reunification. In addition, the F.R.G. claimed to be the sole, legitimate representative of German interests, and hoped to prevent the G.D.R. from acting as a separate Germany in world affairs. As a sanction, the Doctrine effectively prevented the international recognition of the G.D.R.. Also, the G.D.R.'s trade with Third World nations, from whom recognition was most likely, was severely limited. Unfortunately, the Doctrine also prevented the reunification of Germany.