I was born and raised in East Germany, specifically in East Berlin. My childhood and youth, were also due to socialist order, well protected. My parents were after my birth, Auslandskorrospondeten. a few years later, when the way in which policy was open, their separate ideals and thus also their ways. As a child of divorce I had both a very good relationship, then as now. And I had the opportunity to look through them the DDR world from two sides and live.
First, my "home life" which took place on the side of working people, even more, from the side of the intellectuals and journalists who were quite critical of the system set. I got to the grievances of socialism not only know, I lived with it. Second, I was often in "on the other side of the force" in the form of vacation, summer camp or just to visit with the leaders of the country, the "fat cats". This side of the GDR was the complete opposite of the life of the people in the country. What was known usually as scarce, there was enough of (not in abundance, which did not in the executives of the GDR). While a worker who waited diligently for 20 years in the same establishment, between 3 and 8 years at a holiday resort for themselves and their loved ones in a FDGB vacation home, members of the Politburo and other state institutions could leave in shielded and enjoy luxurious property at any time. Wanted the "ordinary citizens" to take vacations, even without such a subsidized FDGB holiday resort, he often had to dig deep into their pockets to bring a family of four two weeks. Not so with the bigwigs of the GDR, she vacationed with all amenities, all meals around the clock, child care and 24 hour medical emergency service for almost 200 marks. A "service charge" measured by the sum of the ordinary citizens who could in turn take a fraction of the warranty claim. The older I got, and the more I use the "pages" moved, the more I realized this "difference" on.
Added to this was the ideological Educational institution, called "Polytechnic High School" with the system faithfully colored school subjects geography, history and civics. In these subjects learned DDR children and young people that the GDR was a worker and peasant state, the go out all power from the people, there would be state-owned enterprises that serve the wealth of our society and act in the state authorities of the GDR for the benefit of people would. were speech and press freedoms only in the socialist world and capitalism would be a sick and dying system. Of course all my teachers knew how it looked in my family that I would know the truth - this was finally the meaning of the State Security (Stasi) such things to find out and it was the duty of teachers to change or misconduct to report such students. Certainly, not all teachers shall serve diligently and have every little change of a child sent to anybody on, but teachers in the above-mentioned subjects had other obligations and were specifically used. A teacher with no party affiliation (SED) had no chance to teach a class in history and civics. More and more I became with special teachers and each other verbally, discussions often before the director or has been a parents' evening on the subject.
1987 was the official childhood over and I should collectively with the whole class be included in the Free German Youth (FDJ). This was the successor to the pioneers and pre-school for the party. Not that any of the FDJ has gone directly to the party, but it was tested on the evaluation of engagement, as a teenager was faithful to the system and whether it is a potential candidate for the party. I had decided with a few fellow students in my class to the system a little contrary to connect and instead of the predetermine path in the FDJ to go, we wanted to "free thinkers youth". We stayed away from the collective solemn pledge of the FDJ and were punished following day, before the assembled school but with a censure. The pressure of school and FDJ rose led by that day steadily and also the "state-ordered" family pressure intensified. After two weeks I reluctantly gave up and came late to the FDJ.
I had lost, I thought erst. the first time I was directly affected and restricted in my freedom of speech was. But gradually it dawned on me and eventually I knew - although I had given in to pressure, but something else was awakened in me: my political consciousness.
First, my "home life" which took place on the side of working people, even more, from the side of the intellectuals and journalists who were quite critical of the system set. I got to the grievances of socialism not only know, I lived with it. Second, I was often in "on the other side of the force" in the form of vacation, summer camp or just to visit with the leaders of the country, the "fat cats". This side of the GDR was the complete opposite of the life of the people in the country. What was known usually as scarce, there was enough of (not in abundance, which did not in the executives of the GDR). While a worker who waited diligently for 20 years in the same establishment, between 3 and 8 years at a holiday resort for themselves and their loved ones in a FDGB vacation home, members of the Politburo and other state institutions could leave in shielded and enjoy luxurious property at any time. Wanted the "ordinary citizens" to take vacations, even without such a subsidized FDGB holiday resort, he often had to dig deep into their pockets to bring a family of four two weeks. Not so with the bigwigs of the GDR, she vacationed with all amenities, all meals around the clock, child care and 24 hour medical emergency service for almost 200 marks. A "service charge" measured by the sum of the ordinary citizens who could in turn take a fraction of the warranty claim. The older I got, and the more I use the "pages" moved, the more I realized this "difference" on.
Added to this was the ideological Educational institution, called "Polytechnic High School" with the system faithfully colored school subjects geography, history and civics. In these subjects learned DDR children and young people that the GDR was a worker and peasant state, the go out all power from the people, there would be state-owned enterprises that serve the wealth of our society and act in the state authorities of the GDR for the benefit of people would. were speech and press freedoms only in the socialist world and capitalism would be a sick and dying system. Of course all my teachers knew how it looked in my family that I would know the truth - this was finally the meaning of the State Security (Stasi) such things to find out and it was the duty of teachers to change or misconduct to report such students. Certainly, not all teachers shall serve diligently and have every little change of a child sent to anybody on, but teachers in the above-mentioned subjects had other obligations and were specifically used. A teacher with no party affiliation (SED) had no chance to teach a class in history and civics. More and more I became with special teachers and each other verbally, discussions often before the director or has been a parents' evening on the subject.
1987 was the official childhood over and I should collectively with the whole class be included in the Free German Youth (FDJ). This was the successor to the pioneers and pre-school for the party. Not that any of the FDJ has gone directly to the party, but it was tested on the evaluation of engagement, as a teenager was faithful to the system and whether it is a potential candidate for the party. I had decided with a few fellow students in my class to the system a little contrary to connect and instead of the predetermine path in the FDJ to go, we wanted to "free thinkers youth". We stayed away from the collective solemn pledge of the FDJ and were punished following day, before the assembled school but with a censure. The pressure of school and FDJ rose led by that day steadily and also the "state-ordered" family pressure intensified. After two weeks I reluctantly gave up and came late to the FDJ.
I had lost, I thought erst. the first time I was directly affected and restricted in my freedom of speech was. But gradually it dawned on me and eventually I knew - although I had given in to pressure, but something else was awakened in me: my political consciousness.
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