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→Ostalgie
==Ostalgie==
==Ostalgie==
The end of the Cold War division of Germany and unification in 1990 inspired initial euphoria. But for many East Germans, this joy quickly turned to dismay. West Germans often acted as if they had "won" and East Germans had "lost" in unification, leading many ''Ossis'' to resent ''Wessis.'' Additionally, the dislocations associated with the end of communism, the disappearance of East Germany and German unification were hardest for East Germany, where unemployment skyrocketed and many East German professionals quickly fled for better jobs in West Germany. These and other effects of unification led many East Germans to begin to think of themselves more strongly as "East" Germans rather than simply as "Germans." This produced in many former GDR citizens a longing for certain aspects of the former East Germany, such as full employment and other perceived benefits of the GDR state, termed "Ostalgia" (''Ostalgie''), and depicted in the Wolfgang Becker film "Goodbye Lenin!"
The end of the Cold War division of Germany and unification in 1990 inspired initial euphoria. But for many East Germans, this joy quickly turned to dismay. West Germans often acted as if they had "won" and East Germans had "lost" in unification, leading many ''Ossis'' to resent ''Wessis.'' Additionally, the dislocations associated with the end of communism, the disappearance of East Germany and German unification were hardest for East Germany, where unemployment skyrocketed and many East German professionals quickly fled for better jobs in West Germany. These and other effects of unification led many East Germans to begin to think of themselves more strongly as "East" Germans rather than simply as "Germans." This produced in many former GDR citizens a longing for certain aspects of the former East Germany, such as full employment and other perceived benefits of the GDR state, termed "Ostalgia" (''Ostalgie''), and depicted in the Wolfgang Becker film "Goodbye Lenin!"
Danish historian Feiwel Kupferberg (2002) argues that the real difficulty in German reunification was the discrepancy in the ways the West Germans ("Wessies") and East Germans ("Ossies") have viewed their Nazi past. The West Germans grimly faced it, atoned for it, and transformed their half of the country into a prosperous, free democracy that valued both individual freedom and responsibility, By contrast the East Germans absorbed the Soviet-made myth that East Germany was the "victor of history" that successfully resisted the fascists. They blamed their western compatriots for the Nazi atrocities, because West Germany--like Hitler's Germany--was a capitalist economy.
==Further reading==
==Further reading==