Guest Author - Holly Fox

When East and West Berliners tore down the wall separating their city in 1989, there was a mad rush from the communist side to taste and try all the pleasures of capitalist Germany. Who wanted to drive a Trabant when you could drive a Mercedes? And the West had Coca Cola, Barbie, and pornography, too. Politically and culturally, the initial impulse was to integrate the former German Democratic Republic into the Federal Republic of Germany as quickly and completely as possible. For the most part, the efforts were successful.

As time went by, however, a certain nostalgia for some of the more charming aspects of East Germany developed. “Ostalgie,� a combination of the words “Ost� for “east� and “Nostalgie� for “nostalgia,� is perhaps most visible in the “Ampelmaennchen� or the pedestrian stop and go signals. The red “stop� man holds out both of his hands while the “go� man fearlessly crosses the street. Each wears a jaunty little hat. At first there were attempts to replace the East German traffic signals, followed by a campaign to save the “Ampelmaennchen.� In a very capitalist fashion, the red and green men, as well little girl “Ampelmaedchen,� can now be found on t-shirts, as table lamps, and in many other forms as souvenirs. He has, in fact, become the symbol of the “Ostalgie� movement.

Films such as Goodbye Lenin! have captured and capitalized on this Ostalgie. Special stores called “Ossilaeden� sell Vita Cola and the Spreewald pickles Alex searches for throughout the film. The somewhat flimsy Trabants are now collectors’ items.

Some are concerned that glorifying the days before the wall came down is an insult to those who suffered under the oppressive communist system. As the country continues to face difficulties in eliminating the economic development discrepancies between the former GDR and West Germany, however, many look back to a time when unemployment didn’t exist and stability was the status quo. Others feel that it is simplistic to think there weren’t positive sides or even some superior products in communist Germany.