Quo vadis Deutschland? Part III German Society… A Divided Society

According to historians, division is common in human societies. All human societies know division. “…some degree of division is arguably present in all societies and is a constant in human history,” according to Martin Jehne, a historian of ancient history. The phenomenon of “division” in German society is not new. Indeed, division in society is normal in Germany – from a historical point of view. Nevertheless, the Germans seem to be a little more “divisive” than other peoples. This is due to a particular period in their history: the era of National Socialism and the total defeat in the war.

The first documented division dates back to a 16th-century Wittenberg monk named Martin Luther. He divided the church, and thus, created a schism among believers in Germany, which then spread throughout the world.

The second major division occurred after World War II: with the creation of East and West Germany. In 1989 the German Democratic Republic (East) (GDR) collapsed leading to “Reunification”, called “die Wende” [“the reversal”] in German… or as critics call it, “the colonization of East Germany”.

The Chancellor of West Germany (FRG) Helmut Kohl (1982-1989) pushed through this reunification, despite the resistance of some European states, such as France, in exchange for his acceptance of the introduction of the euro, which he had previously opposed. Kohl promised “new citizens” in East Germany “green pastures”, which have not been seen to date.

The “Iron Curtain” and the Berlin Wall were finally overcome, but not the social division, which persists to this day in other forms. After the initial euphoria of the “pan-German” population and the consumer frenzy of the East Germans, a sober reality set in.

East Germany was opened up to plunder by Westerners (not just Germans), who fell on the alluring prey like vultures – not an unusual phenomenon in capitalist colonialism. Its still intact industry and agricultural enterprises have been sold for peanuts. Millions of East Germans, for whom ‘unemployment’ had previously been a foreign word, suddenly found themselves unemployed and would either have to take ‘any old job’ or collect unemployment benefits or social allowances to survive. Even today, between 80% and 95% of leading positions in administration, justice, higher education, banking, tax and the federal secret services are occupied by West Germans.

Wages in the East are currently 67% to 90% lower than in the West for the same work. According to data from the Federal Statistical Office, “West Germans earned 55,797 euros last year (2021) in industry and services. East Germans only received in average than 43,624 euros. This corresponds to a salary difference of 12,173 euros per year”.

Book author, analyst, consultant and philosopher Bernd Liske wrote: “East Germany was annexed by the West, its existing competitive strength was shattered, it was flooded with West German ideologies and it was transformed into a consumer market for Western goods and then into a state of cheap labor…”. As the Wessis colonized the Orient, the Ossis obtained their “freedom of travel” and [bananas], but… they “lost their homeland”. And after a while, even the initial “freedom of travel” (one of the motives of the “peaceful revolution” of the East Germans in 1989) was not achievable for everyone – due to their means limited finances.

The few East Germans who were able to hold high positions in government (including Merkel) are considered by East Germans to be “Westernized Ossis”.

While known and unknown Nazis remained unharmed in positions of authority for decades, and while the denazification measures introduced by the victorious powers were eventually hindered or even hindered by various state and private organizations, an office investigation was created instead, in 1989, for the reassessment of the past of the “STASI” (the state security organ of the GDR) and an investigation into the involvement of the population in this organization . This inquisitorial office – known as the “Gaukbehörde” – launched a merciless witch hunt for potential Stasi collaborators and informants… and only deepened the division of German society.

In the 1990s, the growing resentment of the East German population was deflected and directed towards the growing number of incoming immigrants and asylum seekers…Gangs and groups of neo-Nazis, right-wing skinheads and d other racists have mushroomed in the East. German soil. They ruthlessly hunted down “foreigners” and asylum seekers to attack them and even resorted to burning down their houses and killing them.

Interestingly enough, neo-Nazis from East and West found themselves on this front and overcame their “division” – true to the motto, “what goes together grows together” (Willi Brandt). This trend persists to this day. A climax was reached with an interconnected series of immigrant murders committed between 2000 and 2006, which went down in German history as the “NSU (National Socialist Underground) affair”.

The NSU affair is too complex and convoluted a subject to present here. (Interested persons can find detailed and convincing information on the Internet.) Here I would only like to mention that after the conclusion of the parliamentary and judicial proceedings, it was decided that all the final files and reports relating to the case should be set aside and will remain sealed for 120 years (this period was later reduced to 30 years following an outcry). The reason given for this decision was that the information could potentially “endanger the well-being of the state”…a rationale that only reinforced the prevailing suspicion that the state was involved in these crimes. .

The third important division also came after 1945, after the war. The defeat suffered by the country and the revelation of the crimes of the Nazi regime deeply struck an already wounded “national pride” and German identity. Young people were particularly affected, and the student revolt of 1968 caused a deep rift between young and old generations and their politics.

This division, which has manifested itself as a “psychologically divided personality”, has to this day dominated the left and especially the Greens (the latter emerging from the student revolt of 1968) in their positions concerning the domestic and foreign policy of Germany. One of the fruits it bore was the unquestioning and perverse support for “Israel” and Zionism, as well as their uncritical, almost slavish loyalty to the United States and an internalized fear of the Russians. This circumstance allowed the United States (and “Israel”) to dominate, manipulate and direct these parties (especially the Greens), as well as the post-war generations deeply influenced by the Greens.

The Nazi-era hubris (“we’re the best”) that had been suppressed after the war found another way to express itself through the Greens (“we’re the good guys”) with their moralizing display of ethical principles (human rights, democracy, freedom), a common habit among religious extremists. Current Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, both Greens, are two shining examples of this mindset.