Eyewitness Videos • Societal Upheaval

Sequence 1: Katrin

What does Katrin say are some attitudes of West Germans have toward East Germans? What example does she site? Put yourself in the position of former East Germans for a moment: How do you think you'd feel and react if your credentials and background were accepted in one part of the country but scorned in another?

Sequence 2: Sonja

1) In remembering the GDR, Sonja states that the collapse of the GDR was always an inevitability that everyone recognized. [This is an extraordinary statement, given that historians and analysts are unified in believing that no one had the slightest idea the system would collapse.]. Why do you think she believes this?

2) What kind of family did Sonja grow up in (give specific examples)? She says that her family was "completely oriented toward our socialist homeland;" yet later she also says tat the collapse of the System "had to come" and "we were working towards that goal". How do you reconcile Sonja's two statements? Do they strike you as contradictory?

3) On the question of whether Sonja feels any "nostalgia for the East", she talks about values she holds. What values does she mention? Have her values changed? Does she feel society's values have changed since 1989? Do you think Sonja feels nostalgic for the old system?

Sequence 3: Claudia

What specifically does Claudia say was easier about the former system? What does she say about life since 1989? What does she say is most important to do to get by nowadays? Do you think she is remembering with 'rose-colored glasses'? Do you think she is happy now? Do you think Claudia and Sonja are at the same place emotionally in regards to how each is coping with the post-Wende situation? Explain.

Sequence 4: Birgit

What specifically does Birgit say was better in the former system versus now? What do you think of her attitude?

Sequence 5: Yvonne

How does Yvonne say the constant discussion of East-West differences should be interpreted? What does she say is "petty nonsense"? Do you think she's angry, frustrated, entertained (or something else?) by what she has observed about the behavior of East and West Germans since the Wende?