Unfinished Business: Contending Identities in Post-German Unification

The recent influx of immigrants to Germany reminds us of the unfinished remnants of unification. Within each state, even among Germans, are clashes over identity and a struggle over who defines these villages. This relationship is integral to understanding modern Germany. The intensity of the waves of immigrants entering the SOZ after World War II informs a specific perspective of a homeland. By 1946, about 3.6 million of these ethnic German refugees were in the Soviet Occupation Zone—mostly in rural areas. Their commitments to a village are matched by families, who may be fewer in number, but who have a legacy that extends over generations and centuries. As well, are many families who had been exiled for 45 years and want to return. Here we encounter one of the hidden aspects of German unification. This paper extends beyond the official doctrine that describes the efforts the German government undertook to unify the two German states. From the foundation of oral histories, my research evaluates the social constructs in the former GDR to determine if these villages more closely reflect a European model, or are a remnant of the Soviet Union.