Member of the EEGA Scientific Advisory Board in conversation

Prof. Dr. Detlef Pollack (Münster), member of the EEGA Scientific Advisory Board, in conversation with Gerlinde Sommer (Weimar) on the topic „A feeling of second-class status? Or is the East worth less? (in German).

The so-called Peaceful Revolution brought about change – a political, a systemic and, for most people in the East as well as in the West, a personal change. For people from the GDR, this turning point and the change of system were naturally particularly profound, as their lives and biographies changed within a very short time. Many GDR citizens initiated this process with their rebellious attitude, but what is left of it? Looking at the past 30 years since the fall of communism and today’s moods, the perceived rift between East and West is still deep. Public discourse, especially in the „new“ federal states, is characterised by dissatisfaction. Many people in the increasingly sparsely populated areas feel left behind, or perhaps better said, left out. Why is that so? And why is the path to the AfD and Pegida logical for many people? Has the „Peaceful Revolution“ possibly even failed in the long run?

Gerlinde Sommer, deputy editor-in-chief of the Thüringer Landeszeitung (TLZ), explores these and other questions together with Detlef Pollack, a sociology professor who was born in Weimar and teaches in Münster. He recently published a book entitled „Das unzufriedene Volk“.

To the website and audio file (in German)