Transformations. Ruptures and development processes in East Germany

Research: Department of Cultural Anthropology

The successful ‘Peaceful Revolution’ 30 years ago and the subsequent reunification of Germany marked a historical turning point, the consequences of which continue to have an impact to this day. In addition to the systemic changes in politics, the economy, law and society, the dissolution and end of the GDR was an incisive biographical experience for many people: The loss of the everyday world of the GDR was accompanied by the need to adapt to new social demands, freedoms and constraints, which were dealt with in very different ways - as an opportunity, a defeat or a necessity. Using multi-perspective approaches, we examine how individuals, groups and institutions encounter ‘new times’, which interpretations of the upheavals are articulated and which retrospective judgements are made.

We take the events of 1989/1990 as a starting point for focussing on different dynamics. Changes in the social and ecological framework conditions are causing new transformation processes. Some of these factors and consequences are analysed in the projects ‘Energy | Turnaround’ and ‘Landscape Change’. These include the phase-out of lignite mining and electricity generation in Lusatia and new mining activities for raw materials for the energy transition in (former) mining areas such as the Ore Mountains. The decision to phase out coal means a reorientation for an entire region that has so far been characterised by large-scale industry. The perspective on local actors illustrates their experiences in dealing with a politically induced process of upheaval, the embedding of the current process of change in narratives of the transition period and the handling of prospective narratives of change in a phase of liminality. Planned projects on mining activities in the Erzgebirge for the extraction of lithium also move between tradition and identification as a mining region and resistance to renewed intervention in the still newly forming subsequent landscapes. Both projects take into account developments in neighbouring Poland and the Czech Republic, which are facing similar challenges. The energy transition is becoming an ambivalent process that must be negotiated between local and political actors as well as scientific findings and economic interests. Social discourses on sustainable lifestyles and trust in the development of future solution strategies play a central role in this process.

The preceding and subsequent developments are also part of the Transformations research profile. The projects ‘Remembering labour in the collective’ and ‘Social heritage’, for example, are linked to this research focus. The perspectives range from individual experiences with the reorganisation of the world of work to the reorientation of contract workers after 1989/90. In the project ‘Narrating East German migration society itself: Civic history workshops as production sites for urban histories (MigOst)’, local associations of migrants were advised and supported to organise history workshops (in Dresden, Cottbus and Halle) on various topics. In the meantime, the life story narratives as well as selected archive holdings of the organisations have been incorporated into the life story archive.

The multi-perspective, interdisciplinary approach in the projects is intended to adequately process and reflect on the complexity of transformation experiences and enable a deeper understanding of today's social problems and conflicts.