German reunification is viewed critically in East Germany for different reasons today than it was in the 1990s. Back then, dissatisfaction was particularly widespread on the political left and closely linked to social inequality. Today, criticism is especially pronounced on the right. This is the finding of a study by political scientists Noah Schulz and Prof. Dr. Conrad Ziller from the University of Duisburg-Essen, which will soon be published in the Politische Vierteljahresschrift (preprint available here).

For their study, the researchers analysed data from the German General Social Survey (ALLBUS), covering nine survey waves between 1991 and 2023. Among other things, respondents were asked whether reunification had brought more advantages than disadvantages for people in the eastern German states.

What has changed most notably is who takes a critical view of reunification. In 1991, East Germans who identified as politically left-wing were considerably more sceptical than those who placed themselves on the right. Since then, their assessment has become almost continuously more positive. In 2023, right-wing respondents rated reunification significantly less positively on average than left-wing respondents (2.37 compared with 2.73 on a four-point agreement scale). For the first time, this difference was statistically significant.

“In the 1990s, criticism was primarily about social and economic inequality. Today, questions of identity and cultural belonging play a greater role on the political right,” Noah Schulz summarises.

However, the AfD did not trigger this shift. Greater criticism at both ends of the political spectrum was already apparent around the turn of the millennium – long before the party was founded. “We are not seeing a sudden break caused by the AfD, but a long-term shift. The party has taken up an existing line of conflict, intensified it and given it a party-political home,” says Prof. Dr. Conrad Ziller.

The attitudes associated with this criticism have changed as well. In the 1990s and around the turn of the millennium, perceptions of social inequality played a particularly important role among left-wing respondents. From 2006 onwards, and especially since 2018, more critical views of reunification on the right have increasingly been associated with anti-immigration attitudes. In 2023, the study also finds an association with a preference for the AfD.

“Reunification remains a politically charged issue. The reasons why it is viewed critically have shifted over time,” says Ziller. Overall, however, reunification is viewed more positively in East Germany today than it was in the early 1990s. On a scale from one to four, the average rating rose from 2.23 in 1991 to 2.78 in 2018; in 2023, it stood at 2.71.

Further information:
Preprint (in German only)
Prof. Dr. Conrad Ziller, Political Science, conrad.ziller@uni-due.de