Grit Friedrich
Why is there a perceived higher affinity with Russia in East Germany?
Some months before elections in eastern federal states, Pro-Russian parties are leading the polls.
Grit Friedrich, a former GDR civil rights advocate, suggests that one factor is a correlation between the unresolved traumas of the Soviet occupation and the strong conditioning of GDR citizens to the state doctrine of that time – which can also make subsequent generations more susceptible to Russian subversion due to unconsciously transmitted traumas.
By comparing East Germany with other states and territories of the former Warsaw Pact, the mechanisms can be understood in a better way.
Insights gained here could be of significance for post-war Ukraine.
The thesis could point to possibilities for intervention in order to slow down the further growth of division, political extremism and an affinity for and fear of Russia – and, conversely, to initiate a development to strengthen democracy and unity.
