Zweite Wende. Warum Ostdeutschland uns alle angeht

The reunification was botched, life’s achievements devalued, top positions filled by West Germans—a truly just reunification was missed. Not only politically, but also in the media, economically, and in everyday life: East Germany is often caricatured, perceived as a cliché rather than reality.

Marieke Reimann, born in Rostock in 1987 and raised in a prefab apartment building, knows these divisions firsthand. As a journalist and former editor-in-chief, she has been fighting for years for a narrative that goes beyond the “whining East German” stereotype. Why are reunification celebrations held without East Germans? Why is Friedrich Merz glad to have been born in the West? Why do people vote for far-right parties in areas with high out-migration and few women? And can Angela Merkel and Tokio Hotel serve as role models?

Marieke Reimann combines personal reporting with sharp analysis and highlights the gaps in our society in a brilliant, unvarnished way. Her book is a powerful plea for the East—and for a future in which our democracy can only thrive if the fall of the Berlin Wall finally resonates with everyone.

Moderator:

Karoline Staude earned her Ph.D. in sociology from LMU Munich, focusing on the sense of belonging among East Germans socialized after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Her dissertation will be published in August 2026 by transcript Verlag under the title “Das Ostdeutsche als Nicht-Ort” (East Germany as a Non-Place).