New states of Germany#Economy
{{short description|Five re-established states of former East Germany}}
{{Redirect|Eastern Germany|the country that existed from 1949 until 1990|East Germany|the territories lost by Germany after World War II|Former eastern territories of Germany}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{New federal states labelled map}}
{{History of Germany|expanded=Contemporary}}
The new states of Germany ({{langx|de|die neuen Länder / die neuen Bundesländer}}) are the five re-established states of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) that unified with the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with its 10 "old states" upon German reunification on 3 October 1990.
The new states, which were dissolved by the GDR government in 1952 and re-established in 1990, are Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The state of Berlin, the result of a merger between East and West Berlin, is usually not considered one of the new states although a number of its residents are former East Germans and some of its areas were in the former East Berlin. There have been 16 states in Germany since reunification.
Demographics
{{See also|Demographics of Germany}}
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| total_width = 200
| image1 = Pop density of Germany.png
| caption1 = The population density of the new German states is lower than that of the old states.
| image2 = Germans without a migrant background (2016).svg
| caption2 = Proportion of Germans without a migrant background as of 2016
}}
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the former East German states experienced high rates of depopulation until around 2008.{{cite web|url=https://www.bpb.de/geschichte/deutsche-einheit/lange-wege-der-deutschen-einheit/47253/zug-nach-westen|title=Der Zug nach Westen – Jahrzehntelange Abwanderung, die allmählich nachlässt|website=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung (Federal Agency for Civic Education)|language=de|date=2020-05-07|access-date=2020-12-06|archive-date=2021-06-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611170136/https://www.bpb.de/geschichte/deutsche-einheit/lange-wege-der-deutschen-einheit/47253/zug-nach-westen|url-status=live}} About 2,000 schools closed between 1989 and 2008, because of a demographic shift to a lower number of children. In 2006, the fertility rate in the new states (1.30) approached those in the old states (1.34) and in 2016 it was higher than in the old states (1.64 vs. 1.60 in the old states).{{cite web|url=https://www.destatis.de/EN/FactsFigures/SocietyState/Population/Births/Tables/BirthRate.html|title=State & society - Births - Average number of children per woman - Federal Statistical Office (Destatis)|website=www.destatis.de|access-date=2015-03-15|archive-date=2018-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919132646/https://www.destatis.de/EN/FactsFigures/SocietyState/Population/Births/Tables/BirthRate.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.destatis.de/jetspeed/portal/cms/Sites/destatis/Internet/DE/Navigation/Statistiken/Bevoelkerung/GeburtenSterbefaelle/GeburtenSterbefaelle.psml|title=Startseite - Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis)|work=destatis.de|access-date=23 October 2015|archive-date=7 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207123930/http://www.destatis.de/jetspeed/portal/cms/Sites/destatis/Internet/DE/Navigation/Statistiken/Bevoelkerung/GeburtenSterbefaelle/GeburtenSterbefaelle.psml|url-status=live}} In 2019, the new states had exactly the same fertility rate as the old states (both 1.56).{{cite web|url=https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/36672/umfrage/anzahl-der-kinder-je-frau-in-deutschland/|title=Zusammengefasste Geburtenziffer*: Entwicklung der Fertilitätsrate in Deutschland von 1990 bis 2019|website=statista.de|date=2020-07-19|access-date=2020-12-06|archive-date=2021-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819223246/https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/36672/umfrage/anzahl-der-kinder-je-frau-in-deutschland/|url-status=live}}
More children are born out of wedlock in the new states than in the old states. In the new states, 61% of births were from unmarried women compared to 27% in the old states in 2009. Both states of Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had the highest rates of birth outside wedlock at 64% each, followed by Brandenburg with 62%, Bavaria and Hesse at 26%, while the state of Baden-Württemberg had the lowest rate at 22%.{{cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110812-36923.html#.UTLa0Dcce0Q|title=One third of children born out of wedlock|date=12 August 2011|access-date=4 March 2013|archive-date=14 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110914054734/http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110812-36923.html#.UTLa0Dcce0Q|url-status=live}}
=Demographic evolution=
Brandenburg had a population of 2,660,000 in 1989{{Cite web|title=Gemeinsames Datenangebot der Statistischen Ämter des Bundes und der Länder |url=http://www.statistik-portal.de/Statistik-Portal/en/en_zs01_bb.asp |access-date=2013-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170924235757/http://www.statistik-portal.de/Statistik-Portal/en/en_zs01_bb.asp |archive-date=2017-09-24 |url-status=dead}} and 2,531,071 in 2020.{{cite web|url=https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bevoelkerung/Bevoelkerungsstand/Tabellen/bevoelkerung-nichtdeutsch-laender.html|title=Bevölkerungsstand Länder|access-date=2 July 2021|archive-date=28 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028151736/https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bevoelkerung/Bevoelkerungsstand/Tabellen/bevoelkerung-nichtdeutsch-laender.html|url-status=live}} It has the second-lowest population density in Germany. In 1995, it was the only new state to experience population growth, aided by nearby Berlin.{{Cite web |title=Abwanderung aus den neuen Bundesländern von 1989 bis 2000 |url=http://www.bpb.de/publikationen/78LEGD,3,0,Abwanderung_aus_den_neuen_Bundesl%25E4ndern_von_1989_bis_2000.html |publisher=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung |year=2001 |access-date=2009-10-11 |archive-date=2019-12-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213011218/http://www.bpb.de/publikationen/78LEGD,3,0,Abwanderung_aus_den_neuen_Bundesl%25E4ndern_von_1989_bis_2000.html |url-status=live }}
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania had a population of 1,970,000 in 1989 and 1,610,774 in 2020, with the lowest population density in Germany. The local Landtag held several inquiries on population trends after the opposition requested an annual report on the topic.
Saxony had a population of 5,003,000 in 1989, which fell to 4,056,094 in 2020. It remains the most populated among the five new states. The proportion of the population under 20 years of age fell from 24.6% in 1988 to 19.7% in 1999. Dresden and Leipzig are among the fastest-growing cities in Germany, both raising their population to over half a million inhabitants again.
Saxony-Anhalt had a population of 2,960,000 in 1989, which fell to 2,180,684 in 2020. The state has a long history of demographic decline: its current territory had a population of 4,100,000 in 1945. The emigration had already begun during the GDR years.
Thuringia had a population of 2,680,000 in 1989, which fell to 2,120,237 in 2020.
{{as of|2021}}, the new states have 12.5 million people, about 15% of Germany's population, and slightly less than that of Bavaria.{{Cite news |last=Schultheis |first=Emily |date=2021-09-24 |title=German election exposes lingering East-West political divide |language=en-US |work=Politico |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/german-election-highlights-east-west-political-divide-greens-robert-habeck-conversation/ |access-date=2021-09-27 |archive-date=2021-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927062825/https://www.politico.eu/article/german-election-highlights-east-west-political-divide-greens-robert-habeck-conversation/ |url-status=live }}
=Migration=
There are more migrants in former West Germany than in former East Germany.{{Cite web|url=https://katapult-magazin.de/de/artikel/die-rechten-ziehen-in-den-osten-auslaender-in-den-westen|title=Die Rechten ziehen in den Osten, Ausländer in den Westen|date=April 3, 2016|website=KATAPULT-Magazin|access-date=June 29, 2023|archive-date=June 9, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609232824/https://katapult-magazin.de/de/artikel/die-rechten-ziehen-in-den-osten-auslaender-in-den-westen|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bpb.de/nachschlagen/zahlen-und-fakten/soziale-situation-in-deutschland/61625/auslaendische-bevoelkerung-nach-laendern|title=Ausländische Bevölkerung nach Ländern - bpb|publisher=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung|access-date=2017-11-12|archive-date=2019-05-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507132907/http://www.bpb.de/nachschlagen/zahlen-und-fakten/soziale-situation-in-deutschland/61625/auslaendische-bevoelkerung-nach-laendern|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.laenderdaten.de/europa/deutschland/bundeslaender/auslaenderanteil.aspx|title=Ausländeranteil in Deutschland nach Bundesländern|website=www.laenderdaten.de|access-date=2017-11-12|archive-date=2018-07-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712152046/https://www.laenderdaten.de/europa/deutschland/bundeslaender/auslaenderanteil.aspx|url-status=live}} About 1.7 million people (or 12% of the population) had left the new states. A disproportionately high number of them were women under the age of 35.{{Cite web |title=Lack of Women in Eastern Germany Feeds Neo-Nazis |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,485942,00.html |publisher=Spiegel International |date=2007-05-31 |access-date=2009-10-11 |archive-date=2012-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323184022/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,485942,00.html |url-status=live }} About 500,000 women under the age of 30 left for western Germany between 1993 and 2008.{{cite news |title=Slow death of a small German town as women pack up and head west |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jan/27/germany.jasonburke |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2008-01-27 |access-date=2009-10-11 |location=London |first=Jason |last=Burke |archive-date=2019-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402080317/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/jan/27/germany.jasonburke |url-status=live }} In some rural regions, the number of women between the ages of 20 and 30 dropped by more than 30 percent. After 2008, the net migration rate decreased significantly.{{cite news|url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2019-05/east-west-exodus-migration-east-germany-demography|title=The Millions Who Left|newspaper=Die Zeit|date=2019-05-30|access-date=2020-12-06|archive-date=2021-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924031955/https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2019-05/east-west-exodus-migration-east-germany-demography|url-status=live |last1=Bangel |first1=Christian |last2=Blickle |first2=Paul |last3=Erdmann |first3=Elena |last4=Faigle |first4=Philip |last5=Loos |first5=Andreas |last6=Stahnke |first6=Julian |last7=Tröger |first7=Julius |last8=Venohr |first8=Sascha }} In 2017, for the first time since German reunification, more people emigrated from the old states to the new states than vice versa. All of the new states have populations where 90-95% of people do not have a migrant background.
=Religion=
{{See also|Irreligion in Germany|Christianity in East Germany}}
Irreligion is predominant in former East Germany.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.focus.de/politik/videos/ostdeutschland-hochburg-der-atheisten-als-pfarrer-in-einer-der-gottlosesten-regionen-der-welt_vid_33747.html|title=Ostdeutschland: Wo der Atheist zu Hause ist|year=2012|magazine=Focus|access-date=2017-11-11}}{{cite news|url=http://www.worldcrunch.com/why-eastern-germany-most-godless-place-planet/culture-society/why-eastern-germany-is-the-most-godless-place-on-earth/c3s5177#.UHNiqk3Ex_0|title=WHY EASTERN GERMANY IS THE MOST GODLESS PLACE ON EARTH|year=2012|newspaper=Die Welt|access-date=2009-05-24|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130313101648/http://www.worldcrunch.com/why-eastern-germany-most-godless-place-planet/culture-society/why-eastern-germany-is-the-most-godless-place-on-earth/c3s5177/#.UHNiqk3Ex_0|archive-date=2013-03-13}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dialoginternational.com/dialog_international/2012/05/east-germany-the-most-atheistic-of-any-region.html|title=East Germany the "most atheistic" of any region|year=2012|publisher=Dialog International|access-date=2009-05-24|archive-date=2012-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213040822/http://www.dialoginternational.com/dialog_international/2012/05/east-germany-the-most-atheistic-of-any-region.html|url-status=live}} An exception is former West Berlin, which had a Christian plurality in 2016 (44.4% Christian and 43.5% unaffiliated). It also has a higher share of Muslims at 8.5%, compared to former East Berlin with only 1.5% self-declared Muslims as of 2016.{{Cite journal|date=2016|title=Konfession, Bundesland - weighted (Kumulierter Datensatz)|url=http://zacat.gesis.org/webview/index.jsp?headers=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6888_V313&stubs=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6888_V7&previousmode=table&sort=column&byc=2&study=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfStudy%2FZA6888&charttype=null&by=1&mode=table&v=2&V313slice=1&V7slice=12&order=asc&weights=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6888_V319&weights=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6888_V320&analysismode=table&gs=5&tabcontenttype=row&top=yes|journal=Politbarometer 2016|pages=Question V312.F1|via=GESIS|access-date=2017-11-11|archive-date=2020-04-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414203750/https://zacat.gesis.org/webview/index.jsp?headers=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6888_V313&stubs=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6888_V7&previousmode=table&sort=column&byc=2&study=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfStudy%2FZA6888&charttype=null&by=1&mode=table&v=2&V313slice=1&V7slice=12&order=asc&weights=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6888_V319&weights=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6888_V320&analysismode=table&gs=5&tabcontenttype=row&top=yes|url-status=dead}}
Eurostat's Eurobarometer survey in 2015, found that 27.0% of the adult population declared themselves as agnostics or non believer, while 34.1% declared themselves as atheists. Christians comprised 37.2% of the total population; by denomination, members of the Protestant Churches were 19.2%, members of other Christian denominations were 8.8%, Catholics were 7.1%, the Christian Orthodox were 2.1%.{{citation|title=Discrimination in the EU in 2015|work=Special Eurobarometer|year=2015|series=437|url=http://zacat.gesis.org/webview/index.jsp?headers=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6595_V355&V355slice=1&previousmode=table&stubs=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6595_V10&weights=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6595_V42&analysismode=table&study=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfStudy%2FZA6595&tabcontenttype=row&gs=362&V10slice=1&mode=table&top=yes|access-date=2 March 2019|publisher=European Commission|location=European Union|via=GESIS|archive-date=7 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007131335/https://zacat.gesis.org/webview/index.jsp?headers=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6595_V355&previousmode=table&stubs=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6595_V10&study=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfStudy%2FZA6595&mode=table&V355slice=1&weights=http%3A%2F%2F193.175.238.79%3A80%2Fobj%2FfVariable%2FZA6595_V42&analysismode=table&tabcontenttype=row&gs=362&V10slice=1&top=yes|url-status=dead}}
An explanation for the atheism in the new states, popular in other states, is the aggressive state atheist policies of the former GDR government. However, the enforcement of atheism existed only for the first few years. After that, the state allowed churches to have a relatively high level of autonomy.{{cite web
|url = http://www.worldcrunch.com/why-eastern-germany-most-godless-place-planet/culture-society/why-eastern-germany-is-the-most-godless-place-on-earth/c3s5177/#.UHNiqk3Ex_0
|title = Eastern Germany: the most godless place on Earth
|publisher = theguardian
|year = 2012
|access-date = 2009-05-24
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120826093254/http://www.worldcrunch.com/why-eastern-germany-most-godless-place-planet/culture-society/why-eastern-germany-is-the-most-godless-place-on-earth/c3s5177/#.UHNiqk3Ex_0
|archive-date = 2012-08-26
}}
Another explanation could be the secularizing trend (the "Kulturkampf") dating back to the second half of the 19th century in Prussia and through the Weimar Republic which was strongest in the states of Thuringia and Saxony as well as the late arrival of Christianity to the region as opposed to southern Europe where it was the state religion from late antiquity.
| class="sortable wikitable" style="margin:auto"
!Protestants !Catholics !Not religious !Muslims !Others |
| style="background: #eee"
|24.9% |3.5% |69.9% |0.0% |1.5% |
| style="background: #eee"
| former East Berlin |14.3% |7.5% |74.3% |1.5% |2.4% |
| style="background: #eee"
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania |24.9% |3.9% |70.0% |0.3% |0.9% |
| style="background: #eee"
| Saxony |27.6% |4.0% |66.9% |0.3% |1.1% |
| style="background: #eee"
|18.8% |5.1% |74.7% |0.3% |1.2% |
| style="background: #eee"
|27.8% |9.5% |61.2% |0.0% |1.5% |
| Total
!24.3% !5.2% !68.8% !0.3% !1.4% |
|---|
= Major cities =
{{Update|section|date=December 2020}}
| class="wikitable" |
| width="20px" style="background-color:#FFFFE0" |
| Federal capital |
| width="20px" style="background-color:#D0E7FF" |
| State capital |
{{Clear}}
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||||||||||||
| ----
! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Rank ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |City ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Area ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Density ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Growth ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |surpassed ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |State | |||||||||||||
| bgcolor="#FFFFE0"
| 1. | align=left | Berlin | {{nts|3336026}} | {{nts|3274016}} | {{nts|3208719}} | {{nts|3048759}} | {{nts|3433695}} | {{nts|3382169}} | style="background-color:#E0E0E0;"|{{nts|3460725}}
|3,570,750 | 887,70 | {{nts|3899}} | 3.18 | 1747 | align=left | Berlin |
| bgcolor="#D0E7FF"
| 2. | align=left | Dresden | {{nts|494187}} | {{nts|493603}} | {{nts|502432}} | {{nts|516225}} | {{nts|490571}} | {{nts|477807}} | style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" |{{nts|523058}}
|585,446 | 328,31 | {{nts|1593}} | 11.93 | 1852 | align=left | Saxony |
| 3. | align=left | Leipzig | {{nts|617574}} | {{nts|589632}} | {{nts|583885}} | {{nts|562480}} | {{nts|511079}} | {{nts|493208}} | style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" |{{nts|522883}}
|600,609 | 297,36 | {{nts|1758}} | 14.86 | 1871 | align=left | Saxony |
| 4. | align=left | Chemnitz | {{nts|293373}} | {{nts|286329}} | {{nts|299411}} | {{nts|317644}} | {{nts|294244}} | {{nts|259246}} | style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" |{{nts|243248}}
|264,042 | 220,84 | {{nts|1101}} | 8.55 | 1883 | align=left | Saxony |
| 5. | align=left | Halle | {{nts|289119}} | {{nts|277855}} | {{nts|257261}} | {{nts|232294}} | {{nts|247736}} | {{nts|247736}} | style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" | {{nts|232963}}
|251,358 | 135,02 | {{nts|1725}} | 7.90 | 1890 | align=left | Saxony-Anhalt |
| bgcolor="#D0E7FF"
| 6. | align=left | Magdeburg | {{nts|260305}} | {{nts|261594}} | {{nts|272237}} | {{nts|289032}} | {{nts|278807}} | {{nts|231450}} | style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" |{{nts|231549}}
|249,597 | 200,99 | {{nts|1152}} | 7.79 | 1882 | align=left | Saxony-Anhalt |
| bgcolor="#D0E7FF"
| 7. | align=left | Erfurt | {{nts|188650}} | {{nts|186448}} | {{nts|196528}} | {{nts|211575}} | {{nts|208989}} | {{nts|200,564}} | style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" |{{nts|204994}}
|227,342 | 269,14 | {{nts|762}} | 10.9 | 1906 | align=left | Thuringia |
| 8. | align=left | Rostock | {{nts|133109}} | {{nts|158630}} | {{nts|198636}} | {{nts|232506}} | {{nts|248088}} | {{nts|200506}} | style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" |{{nts|202735}}
|216,466 | 181,26 | {{nts|1118}} | 6.8 | 1935 | align=left | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
| bgcolor="#D0E7FF"
| 9. | align=left | Potsdam | {{nts|118180}} | {{nts|115004}} | {{nts|111336}} | {{nts|130900}} | {{nts|139794}} | {{nts|129324}} | style="background-color:#E0E0E0;" | {{nts|156906}}
|190,422 | 187,53 | {{nts|837}} | 21.4 | 1939 | align=left | Brandenburg |
| Total
! |5,730,523 |5,643,111 |5,630,445 |5,541,415 |5,853,003 |5,622,010 |5,779,061 |6,156,052 |2,708 |2,134 |2.79 ! ! | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| class="sortbottom"
! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Rank ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |City ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Pop. ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Area ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Density ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |Growth ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |surpassed ! style="color: black; background-color: #ABCDEF" |State |
Culture
{{See also|Culture of East Germany|Ostalgie}}
File:Ampelmaenner.jpg, a symbol of East German culture]]
Persisting differences in culture and mentality among older East Germans and West Germans are often referred to as the "wall in the head" ("Mauer im Kopf").{{Cite web |title=Breaking Down the Wall in the Head |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1344803,00.html |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=2004-10-03 |access-date=2009-10-11 |archive-date=2011-02-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223210623/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1344803,00.html |url-status=live }} Ossis (Easties) are stereotyped as racist, poor and largely influenced by Russian culture,{{cite magazine |author=Cameron Abadi |title=The Berlin fall |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/06/18/the_berlin_fall?page=0,2 |magazine=Foreign Policy |date=2009-08-07 |access-date=2009-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809203430/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/06/18/the_berlin_fall?page=0,2 |archive-date=2009-08-09 |url-status=dead}} while Wessis (Westies) are usually considered snobbish, dishonest, wealthy, and selfish. The terms can be considered to be disparaging.
In 2009, a poll found that 22% of former East Germans (40% under 25) considered themselves "real citizens of the Federal Republic"; 62% felt they were no longer citizens of East Germany, but not fully integrated into the unified Germany; and around 11% would have liked to have re-established East Germany.{{cite news |title=Noch nicht angekommen - Survey of 2900 adults in the New Länder in summer 2008 |url=http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitung/archiv/.bin/dump.fcgi/2009/0121/politik/0022/index.html |newspaper=Berliner Zeitung |date=21 January 2009 |access-date=2009-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003014831/http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitung/archiv/.bin/dump.fcgi/2009/0121/politik/0022/index.html |archive-date=3 October 2009 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}} An earlier poll in 2004 found that 25% of West Germans and 12% of East Germans wished reunification had not happened.
In 2023, a poll found that 40% of people in the eastern states still identify as East Germans rather than just German; the latter was chosen by the majority with 52%.{{cite web | url=https://www.infratest-dimap.de/umfragen-analysen/bundesweit/umfragen/aktuell/33-jahre-wiedervereinigung/ | title=33 Jahre Wiedervereinigung }}{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/07/east-germany-west-far-right-afd-gdr | title=What's 'wrong' with east Germany? Look to its long neglect by the wealthy west | newspaper=The Guardian | date=7 March 2024 | last1=Hoyer | first1=Katja }}
Some East German brands have been revived to appeal to former East Germans who are nostalgic for the goods they grew up with. Brands revived in this manner include Rotkäppchen, which holds about 40% of the German sparkling wine market, and Zeha, the sports shoe maker that supplied most of East Germany's sports teams as well as the Soviet Union national football team.{{Cite web |title=East German brands thrive 20 years after end of Communism |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4752593,00.html |publisher=Deutsche Welle |date=2009-10-03 |access-date=2009-10-11 |archive-date=2011-11-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104224025/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4752593,00.html |url-status=live }}
Economy
{{See also|Economy of Germany}}
File:20-10-04-Tesla-Fangschleuse-RalfR.jpg, seen under construction, in Grünheide, Brandenburg]]
The economic reconstruction of eastern Germany ({{langx|de|Aufbau Ost}}) proved to be longer-term than originally foreseen. As of 2005, the standard of living and average annual income remained significantly lower in the new states.{{Cite web |title=The Price of a Failed Reunification |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,373639,00.html |publisher=Spiegel International |date=2005-09-05 |access-date=2006-11-28 |archive-date=2007-11-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120093208/http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,373639,00.html |url-status=live }}
The federal government spent €2 trillion to reunify{{Cite web|title=Aufbau Ost, economic reconstruction in the East |url=http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/economy/content/background/aufbau-ost-economic-reconstruction-in-the-east.html?type=1 |publisher=Deutsche Bundesregierung |date=2007-08-24 |access-date=2009-10-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001213355/http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/economy/content/background/aufbau-ost-economic-reconstruction-in-the-east.html?type=1 |archive-date=October 1, 2009}} and privatise 8,500 state-owned east German enterprises. Almost all East German industries were considered outdated while reunifying. Since 1990, amounts between €100 billion and €140 billion have been transferred to the new states annually.{{cite news |title=Germany starts recovery from €2,000bn union |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2317382.ece |newspaper=Times Online |date=2007-08-24 |access-date=2009-10-12 |location=London |first=Roger |last=Boyes |archive-date=2010-05-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529132954/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2317382.ece |url-status=dead }} More than €60 billion were spent supporting businesses and building infrastructure in the years 2006–2008.{{cite news |title=In East Germany, a Decline as Stark as a Wall |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/world/europe/19germany.html |work=New York Times |date=2009-06-19 |access-date=October 11, 2009 |first=Nicholas |last=Kulish |archive-date=2011-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403073216/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/world/europe/19germany.html |url-status=live }}
A €156 billion economic plan, Solidarity Pact II, was enforced in 2005 and provided the financial basis for the advancement and special promotion of the economy of the new states until 2019. The "solidarity tax", a 5.5% surcharge on the income tax, was implemented by the Kohl government to match the infrastructure of the new states to the levels of the western ones{{cite news |title=Calls grow to lift burden of Germany's solidarity tax |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/calls-grow-to-lift-burden-of-germanys-solidarity-tax-459805.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/calls-grow-to-lift-burden-of-germanys-solidarity-tax-459805.html |archive-date=2022-06-18 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=The Independent |date=2007-08-01 |access-date=2009-10-12 | location=London | first=Allan | last=Hall}} and to apportion the cost of unification and the expenses of both the Gulf War and European integration. The tax, which raises €11{{nbsp}}billion annually, was planned to remain in force until 2019.
Since reunification, the unemployment rate in the East has doubled that of the West. The unemployment rate reached 12.7%{{cite web|url=http://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/statistik/index.php?id=WO|title=Current statistics of the Bundesagentur für Arbeit comparing east and west|access-date=2010-05-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100523085536/http://statistik.arbeitsagentur.de/statistik/index.php?id=WO|archive-date=2010-05-23|url-status=dead}} in April 2010, after reaching a maximum of 18.7% in 2005. As of 2020, the unemployment rates in the new states were lower than in some old states.{{cite web|url=https://www.rbb24.de/politik/beitrag/2020/09/berlin-brandenburg-jahresbericht-deutsche-einheit.html|title=Der Osten hat kräftig aufgeholt, hinkt aber immer noch hinterher|access-date=2020-11-26|language=de|archive-date=2021-07-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724113051/https://www.rbb24.de/politik/beitrag/2020/09/berlin-brandenburg-jahresbericht-deutsche-einheit.html|url-status=dead}}
In the decade 1999–2009, economic activity per person rose from 67% to 71% of western Germany. Wolfgang Tiefensee, the minister then responsible for the development of the new states, said in 2009: "The gap is closing." The new states are also the part of the country that was least affected by the 2008 financial crisis.{{Cite news |title=Eastern Germany Less Hard Hit than the West |newspaper=Der Spiegel |date=10 June 2009 |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,629662,00.html |publisher=Spiegel International |access-date=2009-10-11 |archive-date=2009-08-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813172231/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,629662,00.html |url-status=live }}
Women in the eastern Germany are more likely to be employed full-time and reach higher positions in their career, and work longer hours.{{Cite news |last=Bennhold |first=Katrin |date=January 17, 2010 |title=In Germany, a Tradition Falls, and Women Rise |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/world/europe/18iht-women.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240728165309/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/18/world/europe/18iht-women.html |archive-date=July 28, 2024 |work=New York Times}}{{Cite news |last=Bennhold |first=Katrin |date=October 5, 2010 |title=20 Years After Fall of Wall, Women of Former East Germany Thrive |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/world/europe/06iht-letter.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125122812/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/world/europe/06iht-letter.html |archive-date=November 25, 2022 |work=New York Times}} During the division of Germany, East German women were encouraged to seek full-time employment, housewives were derided as "parasites" (Schmarotzer); in contrast to West Germany, where tax and benefits system discouraged dual-earner families, so working mothers were seen in a negative light and derided as "raven mothers" (Rabenmutter). At the time of reunification, almost 90% of women in East Germany were in full-time employment, whilst only about 55% in West Germany. In addition, East German mothers tend to have children earlier in life and return to work after taking just one year of maternity leave (as was the standard in the former East Germany), whilst women from the Western states usually stay on maternity leave for the full 3 years until job protection ends.{{Cite web |last= |date=2024-03-19 |title=Interrupted Emancipation: Women and Work in East Germany |url=https://thetricontinental.org/dossier-74-women-in-the-german-democratic-republic/ |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research |language=en}}{{Cite news |title=Why east and west German women still work vastly different hours |url=https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/10/02/why-east-and-west-german-women-still-work-vastly-different-hours |access-date=2024-11-05 |work=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}{{Cite web |last=Raute |first=Anna |last2=Boelmann |first2=Barbara |last3=Schoenberg |first3=Uta |date=2020-10-12 |title=Women in work: how East Germany’s socialist past has influenced West German mothers |url=https://theconversation.com/women-in-work-how-east-germanys-socialist-past-has-influenced-west-german-mothers-147588 |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}
All the new states qualify as Objective 1 development regions within the European Union and were eligible to receive investment subsidies of up to 30% until 2013.{{update inline|date=March 2014}}
Infrastructure
The German Unity Transport Projects ({{langx|de|Verkehrsprojekte Deutsche Einheit}}, VDE) is a programme launched in 1991 that is intended to upgrade the infrastructure of eastern Germany and modernize transport links between the old and new states.{{Cite web|title=Infrastructure for unified Germany |url=http://www.bmvbs.de/en/Federal-Government-Commissione/-,2577/Infrastructure-for-unified-Ger.htm |publisher=Federal Government Commissioner for the New Federal States |access-date=2009-10-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090915215944/http://www.bmvbs.de/en/Federal-Government-Commissione/-,2577/Infrastructure-for-unified-Ger.htm |archive-date=September 15, 2009}} It consists of nine railway projects, seven motorway projects, and one waterway project with a total budget of €38.5 billion. As of 2009, all 17 projects were under construction or have been completed.{{Cite web |title=Draft Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan |url=http://www.unece.org/trans/doc/transsitdocs/Germany%20-%20Transport%20infrastructure%20plan.pdf |publisher=United Nations Economic Commission for Europe |access-date=2009-10-11 |archive-date=2008-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725012839/http://www.unece.org/trans/doc/transsitdocs/Germany%20-%20Transport%20infrastructure%20plan.pdf |url-status=live }} The construction of new railway lines and high-speed upgrades of existing lines reduced journey times between Berlin and Hanover from over four hours to 96 minutes. Multiple railway lines (branches and main lines) have been closed by the unified Deutsche Bahn (German Railways) because of increased car usage and depopulation. The VDE states that some main lines are still not finished or upgraded, with the Leipzig-Nuremberg line (via Erfurt and part of the Munich-Berlin route) scheduled to come on-line in December 2017,{{update inline|date=August 2021}} almost three decades after reunification.
Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und -bau GmbH, (English: German Unity Road Construction Company; DEGES) is the state-owned project management institution responsible for the construction of approximately 1,360{{nbsp}}km of federal roads within the VDE with a total budget of €10.2 billion. It is also involved in other transport projects, including 435{{nbsp}}km of roads costing about €1,760 million as well as a city tunnel in Leipzig costing €685 million.{{Cite web|title=Firmenprofil|url=http://www.deges.de/deges.html|publisher=DEGES|access-date=2009-10-11|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090525090448/http://deges.de/deges.html|archive-date=2009-05-25}}
The Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2003 includes plans to extend the A14 motorway from Magdeburg to Schwerin and to build the A72 from Chemnitz to Leipzig.
Private ownership rates of cars have increased since 1990: in 1988, 55% of East German households had at least one car; in 1993 it rose to 67% and 71% in 1998, compared to the West German rates of 61% in 1988, 74% in 1993, and 76% in 1998.[http://www.wz-berlin.de/publikation/pdf/mit91/wzbmit91-31-35.pdf Wilhelm Hinrichs: Die Ostdeutschen in Bewegung – Formen und Ausmaß regionaler Mobilität in den neuen Bundesländern] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040829002111/http://www.wz-berlin.de/publikation/pdf/mit91/wzbmit91-31-35.pdf |date=2004-08-29}} (PDF-Dokument){{Cite web|url=https://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/izpb/zeiten-des-wandels-258/10111/die-ddr-in-den-siebziger-jahren/|title=Die DDR in den siebziger Jahren|first=Peter|last=Borowsky|date=April 5, 2002|website=bpb.de|access-date=June 29, 2023|archive-date=March 19, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319031836/https://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/izpb/zeiten-des-wandels-258/10111/die-ddr-in-den-siebziger-jahren/|url-status=live}}
Politics
Unlike the West, there was a three-party system (CDU, SPD, PDS/The Left) until the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) formed in 2013,Steffen Schoon: Wählerverhalten und Strukturmuster des Parteienwettbewerbs, in: Steffen Schoon, Nikolaus Werz (Hrsg.): Die Landtagswahl in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2006, Rostock 2006, S. 9.{{Cite web |url=http://www.kai-arzheimer.com/wahlforschung/vl-wve-08-screen.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2017-10-23 |archive-date=2017-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023230625/http://www.kai-arzheimer.com/wahlforschung/vl-wve-08-screen.pdf |url-status=dead}}{{cite web |url=http://www.lotharprobst.de/fileadmin/user_upload/redakteur/Publikationen/Ostdeutsches%20Parteiensystem%20und%20Entwicklung%20der%20Gruenen.pdf. |title=Die Entwicklung des ostdeutschen Parteiensystem und die Perspektiven von Bündnis 90/Die Grünen|language=de |website=www.lotharprobst.de |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528060437/http://www.lotharprobst.de/fileadmin/user_upload/redakteur/Publikationen/Ostdeutsches%20Parteiensystem%20und%20Entwicklung%20der%20Gruenen.pdf |archive-date=2015-05-28}} creating a four-party system.{{cite web|url=https://www.wiwo.de/politik/deutschland/landtagswahlen-2016-afd-wird-ost-volkspartei-fdp-laeuft-sich-fuer-bundestag-warm/13315598.html|title=Landtagswahlen 2016: AfD wird Ost-Volkspartei, FDP läuft sich für Bundestag warm|website=www.wiwo.de|date=13 March 2016 |access-date=2017-10-23|archive-date=2016-06-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617214737/http://www.wiwo.de/politik/deutschland/landtagswahlen-2016-afd-wird-ost-volkspartei-fdp-laeuft-sich-fuer-bundestag-warm/13315598.html|url-status=live}} Since 2009 at least four factions have been represented in each of the East German regional parliaments, six in Saxony. In 1998/1999, for example, only one of the regional parliaments included more than three factions.{{cite web|url=http://www.bpb.de/geschichte/zeitgeschichte/deutschlandarchiv/202315/parteien-und-parteienwettbewerb-in-west-und-ostdeutschland|title=Parteien und Parteienwettbewerb in West- und Ostdeutschland - bpb|date=5 March 2015 |publisher=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung|access-date=2017-10-23|archive-date=2017-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023230753/http://www.bpb.de/geschichte/zeitgeschichte/deutschlandarchiv/202315/parteien-und-parteienwettbewerb-in-west-und-ostdeutschland|url-status=live}} In the elections to the Bundestag, the CDU, SPD, FDP and Greens almost always receive fewer votes in the new states than in the old states, while Die Linke (and since 2024 splinter group BSW) and AfD receive more votes and support in the new states than in the old states.
=Far-left=
File:Bundestag 2009 Linke.svg]]
The democratic socialist party, The Left (Die Linke, successor to the Party of Democratic Socialism, the GDR state party's successor) has been successful throughout eastern Germany, perhaps as a result of the continued disparity of living conditions and salaries compared with western Germany, and high unemployment.{{Cite web| url=http://die-linke.de/wahlen/positionen/themen_az/io/ostdeutschland/| title=DIE LINKE: Ostdeutschland| access-date=2009-10-22| archive-date=2009-10-12| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012170333/http://die-linke.de/wahlen/positionen/themen_az/io/ostdeutschland/| url-status=live}}{{Promotional source|date=January 2023}} Ever since it associated with the WASG, The Left frequently loses in state elections and has been losing members since 2010.{{Cite news| url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/austritte-und-nachwuchsprobleme-linke-verliert-massiv-mitglieder/5864836.html| title=Linke verliert massiv Mitglieder| newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online| last1=Meisner| first1=Matthias| access-date=2017-10-23| archive-date=2017-10-09| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009071406/http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/austritte-und-nachwuchsprobleme-linke-verliert-massiv-mitglieder/5864836.html| url-status=live}}
The Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), and The Left from 2005, have gained the following vote shares in recent elections:
| class="wikitable" |
| Election
!Vote percentages |
|---|
| 1990 East German general election
| 16.4%, Communist Party of Germany (KPD) 0.1% |
| 1990 all-German federal election
| East 11.1%, West 0.2% |
| 1990 state elections
|East Berlin 30.1%, KPD 0.2%; Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 15.7%; Saxony 10.2%; Saxony-Anhalt 12.0%; Thuringia 9.7%; East Berlin 23.6% |
| 1994 federal election
| East 19.8%, West 1% |
| 1994 state elections
|18.7% in Brandenburg; 19.9% in Saxony-Anhalt; Saxony 16.5%; Thuringia 16.6%; 22.7% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern |
| 1995 Berlin state election
|in East Berlin the PDS was the biggest party with 36.3%. |
| 1998 federal election
| East 21.6%, West 1.2%. |
| 1998–99 state elections
|23.3% in Brandenburg; 19.6% in Saxony-Anhalt; Saxony 22.2%, KPD 0.1%; Thuringia 21.3%; 24.4% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; 39.5% in East Berlin. |
| 2001–02 state elections
| 16.4% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; 20.4%, KPD/DKP 0.1% in Saxony-Anhalt; 47.6%, 0.2% DKP in East Berlin. |
| 2002 federal election
| East 16.9%, West 1.1% |
| 2005 federal election
| East 25.3%, West 4.9% |
| 2004–06 state elections
| 16.8% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (+0.5% WASG), 24.1% in Saxony-Anhalt and 28.1% (+3.3% WASG) in East Berlin (–19.5%). |
| 2009 federal election
| East 28.5% (The Left became the strongest force in Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt); West 8.3%. |
| 2009 state elections
| 20.6% in Saxony, 27.2% in Brandenburg and 27.4% in Thuringia |
| 2011 state elections
| 18.6% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 23.7% in Saxony-Anhalt and 22.7% in East Berlin. |
| 2013 federal election
|East 22.7%, West 5.2%. |
| 2014 state elections
|18.9% in Saxony, 28.2% in Thuringia and 18.6% in Brandenburg (–8.6%). |
| 2014 European Parliament election
|German Communist Party (DKP) had its strongest vote in Eastern Germany (0.2% in East,{{cite web|url=https://www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de/beBundOst.htm|title=Wahlen zum Europäischen Parlament in den Neuen Bundesländern und Berlin-Ost|website=www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de|access-date=2017-10-23|archive-date=2016-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426042627/http://wahlen-in-deutschland.de/beBundOst.htm|url-status=live}} 0.0% in West{{cite web|url=https://www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de/beBundWest.htm|title=Wahlen zum Europäischen Parlament in den alten Bundesländern|website=www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de|access-date=2017-10-23|archive-date=2016-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160426042530/http://wahlen-in-deutschland.de/beBundWest.htm|url-status=live}}). |
| 2016 state elections
|16.3% in Saxony-Anhalt, 13.2% in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and 23.4% in Berlin |
| 2017 federal election
|East 17.8%; West 7.4%. |
| 2021 federal election
|East 10.4%; West 3.7%. |
| 2024 state elections
|13.1% in Thuringia, 4.5% in Saxony and 3% in Brandenburg |
| 2025 federal election
|East 12.9%; West 7.9%. |
{{Graph:Chart|width=600|height=200|xAxisTitle=Results of The Left, DKP and KPD in the new states|yAxisTitle=%|legend=Legend|type=line
|y1Title=Volkskammer/Bundestag
|y2Title=East Berlin
|y3Title=Brandenburg
|y4Title=Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
|y5Title=Saxony
|y6Title=Saxony-Anhalt
|y7Title=Thuringia
|y8Title=European Parliament
|y9Title=Election threshold
|colors=#ffff0000,#ff000000, #8b1c62, #ff008b00, #ff009ee0, #ffffff00, #FFAA4422, #FF043390, darkgray
|xType=string
|x= 1990a, 1990b, 1994/95, 1998/99, 2001/02, 2004/06, 2009/10, 2011/11, 2013/14, 2016/17,
|y1= 16.5, 11.1, 19.8, 21.6, 16.9, 25.3, 28.5, 28.5, 22.7, 17.9,
|y2= 30.2, 23.6, 36.3, 39.5, 47.8, 31.4, 31.4, 23.1, 23.1, 23.8,
|y3= , 13.4, 18.7, 23.3, 23.3, 28.1, 27.3, 27.3, 18.8, 18.8,
|y4= , 15.7, 22.7, 24.6, 16.4, 17.3, 17.3, 18.6, 18.6, 13.3,
|y5= , 10.2, 16.5, 22.3, 22.3, 23.6, 18.9, 18.9, 18.9, 18.9,
|y6= , 12.0, 19.9, 19.6, 20.5, 24.2, 24.2, 23.8, 23.8, 16.3,
|y7= , 9.7, 16.6, 21.3, 21.3, 26.3, 27.4, 27.4, 28.3, 28.3,
|y8= , , 20.6, 23.0, 23.0, 25.5, 23.4, 23.4, 20.9, 20.9,
|y9= 5.0, , , , , , , , , 5.0,
}}
In 2024, a faction led by Sahra Wagenknecht split from The Left, forming a new party, Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), with more populist, nationalist and cultural conservative tendencies.{{Cite news |title=Germany's far-left star quits post-Communists to found populist party |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germanys-far-left-star-quits-post-communists-found-populist-party-2023-10-23/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231127195037/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germanys-far-left-star-quits-post-communists-found-populist-party-2023-10-23/ |archive-date=2023-11-27 |access-date=2025-03-08 |work=Reuters |language=en-US}} BSW quickly dominated over The Left in the 2024 state elections, but saw their support drop by the 2025 federal election and due to their low level of support in the West, fell narrowly short of the 5% threshold necessary to gain seats in Bundestag. In addition, The Left managed to regain some support in the East, and BSW outperformed The Left only in Saxony-Anhalt (11.24% vs 10.75%), and got only 36 votes less than The Left (10.696% vs 10.698%) in Brandenburg.{{Cite web |title=Bundestagswahl 2025 - Die Bundeswahlleiterin |url=https://www.bundeswahlleiterin.de/bundestagswahlen/2025.html |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=www.bundeswahlleiterin.de}}
| class="wikitable" |
| Election
!Vote percentages |
|---|
| 2024 state elections
| 15.8% in Thuringia, 13.5% in Brandenburg and 11.8% in Saxony |
| 2025 federal election
|East 9.9%; West 3.8%. |
After losing votes to the AfD, the Left plans to establish a regional group in eastern Germany.{{cite web|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/linkspartei-bundestag-101.html|title=Nach der Bundestagswahl: Linkspartei will Protestwähler zurückholen|website=tagesschau.de|access-date=2017-11-24|archive-date=2017-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208142453/http://www.tagesschau.de/inland/linkspartei-bundestag-101.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.rbb24.de/politik/beitrag/2017/10/linke-plant-landesgruppe-ost-im-bundestag.html|title=Landesgruppe Ost soll Protestwähler zurückholen|website=www.rbb24.de}}{{Dead link|date=July 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}{{cite web|url=https://www.n-tv.de/politik/Linke-plant-Landesgruppe-Ost-im-Bundestag-article20070724.html|title=Linke plant Landesgruppe Ost im Bundestag|publisher=n-tv|access-date=2017-11-24|archive-date=2017-10-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011174645/http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Linke-plant-Landesgruppe-Ost-im-Bundestag-article20070724.html|url-status=live}}
=Far-right=
File:Btw13 afd zweit endgueltig.svg
File:2024 European Parliament election in Germany - Results.svg]]
File:2025 German federal election.svg]]
After 1990, far-right and German nationalist groups gained followers. Some sources{{Who|date=September 2010}} claim mostly among people frustrated by the high unemployment and the poor economic situation.{{cite news |title=Neo-Nazi rampage triggers alarm in Berlin |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2295519.ece |newspaper=The Times |date=2007-08-20 |access-date=2009-10-11 |location=London |first=Roger |last=Boyes |archive-date=2010-05-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100531203042/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article2295519.ece |url-status=dead}} Der Spiegel also points out that these people are primarily single men and that there may also be socio-demographic reasons. Since around 1998 the support for right-wing parties shifted from the south of Germany to the east.{{Cite web| url=https://interaktiv.morgenpost.de/wo-deutschland-rechts-waehlt| title=Es war nicht immer der Osten – Wo Deutschland rechts wählt| access-date=2017-10-23| archive-date=2017-10-23| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023173950/https://interaktiv.morgenpost.de/wo-deutschland-rechts-waehlt/| url-status=live}}/{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YRwdBgAAQBAJ&q=seit+1998+osten+rechts&pg=PA321|title=Deutschland nach den Wahlen: Befunde zur Bundestagswahl 1998 und zur Zukunft des deutschen Parteiensystems|isbn=9783322933263|last1=Pickel|first1=Gert|last2=Walz|first2=Dieter|last3=Brunner|first3=Wolfram|date=2013-03-09|publisher=Springer |access-date=2020-10-19|archive-date=2023-06-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629014233/https://books.google.com/books?id=YRwdBgAAQBAJ&q=seit+1998+osten+rechts&pg=PA321|url-status=live}}{{Cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6hyU9XlxQAwC&q=wahlergebnisse+rechts+osten+1998&pg=PA46| title=Rechtsaußenparteien in Deutschland: Bedingungen ihres Erfolges und Scheiterns| isbn=9783647369150| last1=Steglich| first1=Henrik| date=2010-04-28| publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht| access-date=2020-10-19| archive-date=2023-06-29| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629014233/https://books.google.com/books?id=6hyU9XlxQAwC&q=wahlergebnisse+rechts+osten+1998&pg=PA46| url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.bpb.de/apuz/130415/rechtsextremismus-ein-ostdeutsches-phaenomen|title=Rechtsextremismus - ein ostdeutsches Phänomen?|website=www.bpb.de|date=16 April 2012 |access-date=2017-12-09|archive-date=2017-12-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171210015716/http://www.bpb.de/apuz/130415/rechtsextremismus-ein-ostdeutsches-phaenomen|url-status=live}}
The far-right party German People's Union (DVU) formed in 1998 in Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg since 1999. In 2009, the party lost its representation in the Landtag of Brandenburg.{{Cite web|title=Landtagswahl Brandenburg 2009|url=http://wahlarchiv.tagesschau.de/wahlen/2009-09-27-LT-DE-BB/index.shtml|publisher=Tagesschau|access-date=2009-10-22|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930054005/http://wahlarchiv.tagesschau.de/wahlen/2009-09-27-LT-DE-BB/index.shtml|archive-date=2009-09-30}}
The far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) was represented in the Saxon State Parliament from 2004 to 2014.{{Cite web |title=Right-Wing Extremists Find Ballot-Box Success in Saxony |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,558508,00.html |publisher=Spiegel International |date=2008-09-06 |access-date=2020-11-26 |archive-date=2012-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129090728/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,558508,00.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web|title=Landtagswahl in Sachsen|url=http://www.mdr.de/sachsen/wahlen/landtagswahl/|publisher=Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk|access-date=2009-10-22|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012230131/http://www.mdr.de/sachsen/wahlen/landtagswahl/|archive-date=2009-10-12}} In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the NPD losts its representation in the parliament following the 2016 state elections.{{Cite news | url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/mecklenburg-vorpommern-spd-gewinnt-afd-vor-cdu-gruene-fdp-und-npd-draussen-a-1110879.html | title=SPD gewinnt - AfD vor CDU - Grüne, FDP und NPD draußen | newspaper=Der Spiegel | date=5 September 2016 | access-date=2020-11-26 | archive-date=2021-01-26 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126195321/https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/mecklenburg-vorpommern-spd-gewinnt-afd-vor-cdu-gruene-fdp-und-npd-draussen-a-1110879.html | url-status=live }} In 2009, Junge Landsmannschaft Ostdeutschland, supported by the NPD, organized a march on the anniversary of the Bombing of Dresden in World War II. There were 6,000 Nationalists which were met by tens of thousands of ″anti-Nazis″ and several thousand policemen.{{Cite web| url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aGstsMp983DI&refer=worldwide| title=Skinheads, Neo-Nazis Draw Fury at Dresden 1945 'Mourning March'| access-date=2009-02-14| author=Patrick Donahue| website=Bloomberg News| archive-date=2012-08-14| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814225526/http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive| url-status=live}}
The Free Voters of Germany emerged in 2009 from the Land Brandenburg regional branch of Free Voters, after being excluded because of "signs of right infiltration" from the Federal Association of Free Voters Germany.[http://www.pr-inside.com/de/freie-waehler-schliessen-zwei-landesverbaende-wege-r1163726.htm Freie Wähler schließen Zwei Landesverbände Wegen Rechtskurs aus,] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090625082356/http://www.pr-inside.com/de/freie-waehler-schliessen-zwei-landesverbaende-wege-r1163726.htm |date=2009-06-25}} pr-inside.com (Associated Press), 4 April 2009.
Pegida has its focus in eastern Germany.{{cite web|title=Pegida – "Ein überwiegend ostdeutsches Phänomen"| date=20 January 2015 |url=http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/pegida-ein-ueberwiegend-ostdeutsches-phaenomen.694.de.html?dram:article_id=309152|access-date=2016-10-01|language=de|archive-date=2016-10-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001184429/http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/pegida-ein-ueberwiegend-ostdeutsches-phaenomen.694.de.html?dram:article_id=309152|url-status=live}} A survey by TNS Emnid reports that in mid-December 2014, 53% of East Germans in each case sympathised with the PEGIDA demonstrators. (48% in the West)[http://www.n24.de/n24/Nachrichten/Politik/d/5860796/mehrheit-der-ostdeutschen-zeigt-verstaendnis.html Mehrheit der Ostdeutschen zeigt Verständnis.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230429/http://www.n24.de/n24/Nachrichten/Politik/d/5860796/mehrheit-der-ostdeutschen-zeigt-verstaendnis.html |date=2016-03-03 }} In: N24, 14 December 2014.
The Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland; AfD) had the most votes in the new states of Germany in the 2013 German federal elections, in 2017.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/28/is-germanys-election-result-the-revenge-of-the-east|title='Revenge of the East'? How anger in the former GDR helped the AfD|first=Philip|last=Oltermann|newspaper=The Guardian |date=28 September 2017|via=www.theguardian.com|access-date=1 November 2017|archive-date=2 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171102150545/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/28/is-germanys-election-result-the-revenge-of-the-east|url-status=live}} and in 2021 elections. The party is seen as harbouring anti-immigration views.{{cite news|last=Troianovski|first=Anton|author-link=Anton Troianovski|date=21 September 2017|title=Anti-Immigrant AfD Party Draws In More Germans as Vote Nears|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/anti-immigrant-afd-party-draws-in-more-germans-as-vote-nears-1505986206|access-date=1 November 2017|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107023434/https://www.wsj.com/articles/anti-immigrant-afd-party-draws-in-more-germans-as-vote-nears-1505986206|url-status=live}}
In 2016, AfD reached at least 17% in Saxony-Anhalt,Statistisches Landesamt Sachsen-Anhalt: [http://www.stala.sachsen-anhalt.de/wahlen/lt16/erg/kreis/lt.15.ergtab.frametab.html Wahl des 7. Landtages von Sachsen-Anhalt am 13. März 2016, Sachsen-Anhalt insgesamt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160718091021/http://www.stala.sachsen-anhalt.de/wahlen/lt16/erg/kreis/lt.15.ergtab.frametab.html |date=2016-07-18 }} Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (where the NPD lost all seats){{cite web|title=Wahl zum Landtag in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2016|publisher=Statistisches Amt MV: Die Landeswahlleiterin|url=http://service.mvnet.de/wahlen/2016_land/dateien/atlanten/ergebnisse.2016/landtagswahl.html|access-date=2016-09-14|date=2016-09-04|language=de|archive-date=2016-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160904202752/http://service.mvnet.de/wahlen/2016_land/dateien/atlanten/ergebnisse.2016/landtagswahl.html|url-status=live}} and Berlin.{{cite web|url=https://wahl.tagesschau.de/wahlen/2016-09-18-LT-DE-BE/index.shtml|title=tagesschau.de|website=wahl.tagesschau.de|access-date=2017-10-22|archive-date=2016-09-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918173612/http://wahl.tagesschau.de/wahlen/2016-09-18-LT-DE-BE/index.shtml|url-status=dead}}
In 2015, Rhineland-Palatinate interior minister Roger Lewentz said the former communist states were "more susceptible" to "xenophobic radicalization" because former East Germany had not had the same exposure to foreign people and cultures over the decades that the people in the West of the country have had.{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.com/en/eastern-germany-more-susceptible-to-xenophobic-radicalization/a-18683054|title=Eastern Germany 'more susceptible' to 'xenophobic radicalization' - News - DW - 31.08.2015|website=DW.COM|access-date=2017-01-26|archive-date=2017-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170430114254/http://www.dw.com/en/eastern-germany-more-susceptible-to-xenophobic-radicalization/a-18683054|url-status=live}}
In the 2017 federal election, AfD received approximately 22% of the votes{{cite web|url=https://www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de/buBundOst.htm|title=Neue Bundesländer und Berlin-Ost Zweitstimmen-Ergebnisse|website=www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de|access-date=2017-10-23|archive-date=2017-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023230407/https://www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de/buBundOst.htm|url-status=live}} in the East and approximately 11%{{cite web|url=https://www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de/buBundWest.htm|title=Alte Bundesländer und Berlin-West Zweitstimmen-Ergebnisse|website=www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de|access-date=2017-10-23|archive-date=2017-10-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171024042958/https://www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de/buBundWest.htm|url-status=live}} in the West.{{cite news|url=https://wahl.tagesschau.de/wahlen/2017-09-24-BT-DE/index-content.shtml|title=Bundestagswahl 2017|access-date=2017-10-22|archive-date=2017-10-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023010916/https://wahl.tagesschau.de/wahlen/2017-09-24-BT-DE/index-content.shtml|url-status=live}}
In the 2021 federal election, the AfD emerged as the largest in the states of Saxony and Thuringia, and saw a strong performance in eastern Germany.{{cite news|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-far-right-populist-afd-no-gains-small-losses/a-59330183|title=Germany's far-right populist AfD: No gains, small losses|agency=Deutsche Welle|date=27 September 2021|access-date=31 October 2021|archive-date=26 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026045438/https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-far-right-populist-afd-no-gains-small-losses/a-59330183|url-status=live}}
The AfD became the biggest party in all five former East German states in the 2024 European Parliament election in Germany.{{cite web | url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/far-right-afd-becomes-strongest-party-in-eastern-german-states/3245649 | title=Far-right AfD becomes strongest party in eastern German states | access-date=14 June 2024 | archive-date=14 June 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240614052658/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/far-right-afd-becomes-strongest-party-in-eastern-german-states/3245649 | url-status=live }}
In the 2024 Thuringian state election, the AfD became the first far-right party in Germany since the Nazi Party to win a plurality of seats in a state election, its was also the best ever performance and the first time it placed first in a state election in Germany.{{Cite web |date=1 September 2024 |title=Far-right AfD wins eastern state in Germany's regional election |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/1/germanys-far-right-party-likely-to-make-gains-in-eastern-region-elections |access-date=2 September 2024 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=1 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901165329/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/1/germanys-far-right-party-likely-to-make-gains-in-eastern-region-elections |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=1 September 2024 |title=Success of far-right AfD shows east and west Germany are drifting further apart |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/sep/01/success-far-right-afd-shows-east-west-germany-drifting-further-apart |access-date=2 September 2024 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=1 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240901185234/https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/sep/01/success-far-right-afd-shows-east-west-germany-drifting-further-apart |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=1 September 2024 |title=German far right hails 'historic' election victory in east |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn02w01xr2jo |access-date=2 September 2024 |website=BBC News |language=en |archive-date=2 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240902144402/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn02w01xr2jo |url-status=live }}
In the 2025 federal election, the AfD emerged as the largest party in all five former East German states.{{Cite web |last=Pfeifer |first=Hans |date=23 February 2025 |title=German far-right AfD sees historic gains, still out of power |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-election-far-right-afd-alice-weidel/a-71725460 |access-date=24 February 2025 |website=Deutsche Welle |language=en}}
{{Graph:Chart|width=600|height=200|xAxisTitle=Results of right wing parties in the new states*|yAxisTitle=%|legend=Legend|type=line
|y1Title=Brandenburg
|y2Title=Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
|y3Title=Saxony
|y4Title=Saxony-Anhalt
|y5Title=Thuringia
|y6Title=East Berlin
|y7Title=European Parliament
|y8Title=Volkskammer/Bundestag
|y9Title=Election threshold
|colors=#ffff0000,#ff000000, #8b1c62, #ff008b00, #ff009ee0, #FFAA4422, #FF043390, #ffffff00, darkgrey
|xType=string
|x= 1990a, 1990b, 1994/95, 1998/99, 2001/02, 2004/06, 2009/11, 2013/14, 2016/17,
|y1= 2.3, 2.3, 1.3, 6.4, 6.4, 8.3, 6.2, 14.6, 14.6,
|y2= 1.8, 1.8, 1.2, 5.9, 6.0, 7.8, 6.0, 6.0, 23.8,
|y3= 4.3, 4.3, 1.9, 5.5, 5.5, 9.7, 6.2, 15.0, 15.0,
|y4= 2.5, 2.5, 1.5, 13.5, 14.9, 3.9, 4.6, 4.6, 26.4,
|y5= 4.3, 4.3, 1.5, 4.3, 4.3, 3.5, 4.7, 14.4, 14.4,
|y6= 1.0, 2.2, 2.9, 4.4, 8.1, 4.9, 5.6, 5.6, 18.6,
|y7= , , 4.2, 2.8, 2.8, 5.4, 3.8, 12.2, 12.2,
|y8= 6.7, 2.5, 1.3, 7.4, 6.0, 4.8, 3.7, 9.0, 22.8,
|y9= 5.0, , , , , , , , 5.0,
}}
*With the votes of the FDP gains of 2001/02.{{Cite web|title=Bundestagswahlen – Neue Bundesländer und Berlin-Ost|url=https://www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de/buBundOst.htm|publisher=wahlen-in-deutschland.de|access-date=2017-11-09|archive-date=2017-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108033635/http://www.wahlen-in-deutschland.de/buBundOst.htm|url-status=live}}
=Protest vote=
Fringe parties, particularly the AfD and The Left,Iris Huth: Politische Verdrossenheit. Erscheinungsformen und Ursachen als Herausforderungen für das Politische System und die Politische Kultur der Bundesrepublik Deutschland im 21. Jahrhundert, Dissertation Universität Münster 2003, LIT Verlag, Münster 2004, (Politik und Partizipation 3), S. 170.{{cite web|url=http://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/parteien/id_77269390/landtagswahl-sachsen-anhalt-afd-koennte-linke-als-protestpartei-abloesen.html|title=Vor allem im Osten stark: AfD könnte Linke als Protestpartei ablösen|date=14 March 2016|access-date=24 November 2017|archive-date=18 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160518062653/http://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/parteien/id_77269390/landtagswahl-sachsen-anhalt-afd-koennte-linke-als-protestpartei-abloesen.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thueringer-allgemeine.de/web/zgt/suche/detail/-/specific/Thueringer-Soziologe-AfD-Erfolg-im-Osten-ist-Ausdruck-von-Protest-867857084|title=Thüringer Soziologe: "AfD-Erfolg im Osten ist Ausdruck von Protest"|date=25 September 2017|access-date=24 November 2017|archive-date=29 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629014238/https://www.thueringer-allgemeine.de/politik/thueringer-soziologe-afd-erfolg-im-osten-ist-ausdruck-von-protest-id223259099.html|url-status=live}} receive a large number of protest votes in eastern Germany, which causes voter shifting from left to right and vice versa.{{Cite web|url=https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/berlin/wahl/protestwaehler-wie-afd-und-linke-in-berlins-osten-um-stimmen-konkurrieren-24640374|title=Protestwähler: Wie AfD und Linke in Berlins Osten um Stimmen konkurrieren|access-date=2017-11-24|archive-date=2016-08-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160830045938/http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/berlin/wahl/protestwaehler-wie-afd-und-linke-in-berlins-osten-um-stimmen-konkurrieren-24640374|url-status=live}}
The Pirate Party Germany was chosen slightly more frequently in the East (10.1 percent) than in the West (8.1 percent) of Berlin. Among those under 30 years of age in East Berlin, the Pirates were the second most popular party with 20 percent of the votes.[http://www.forschungsgruppe.de/Wahlen/Wahlanalysen/ Wahlanalysen.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929231934/http://www.forschungsgruppe.de/Wahlen/Wahlanalysen/ |date=2017-09-29 }} Forschungsgruppe Wahlen; retrieved 1 October 2011. For example, none of the parties elected to the Berlin House of Representatives in 2011 lost a high proportion of their voters to the AfD as the Pirates at the next election in 2016 (16%).Infratest dimap: [https://wahl.tagesschau.de/wahlen/2016-09-18-LT-DE-BE/analyse-wanderung.shtml Analysen Zu den Wählerwanderungen in Berlin 2016] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041522/https://wahl.tagesschau.de/wahlen/2016-09-18-LT-DE-BE/analyse-wanderung.shtml |date=2017-12-01 }}, retrieved 29 September 2016.Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 20 September 2016, S. 10. Other findings also suggest that some of their voters, like the AfD, regard the Pirate Party primarily as a protest party.Felix Neumann: Plattformneutralität. Zur Programmatik der Piratenpartei. In: Oskar Niedermayer (Hrsg.): Die Piratenpartei. Springer, Wiesbaden 2013, S. 175.
The election slogans of the DVU in the regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt in 1998 were directed primarily against the politicians already represented in parliament: "Not the people – the political bigwigs, will dole!" And "German, let's not make the sow you. DVU – The protest in the election against dirty things from above". In particular, politically dissatisfied people were advertised towards with the slogan "vote protest – vote German." {{citation|surname1=Steffen Kailitz|title=Politischer Extremismus in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Eine Einführung|edition=1.|publisher=VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften|location=Wiesbaden|page=44|contribution=3.3 "Deutsche Volksunion"|isbn=3-531-14193-7|date=2004|language=de|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=47e5RhcD1QkC&pg=PA44|access-date=2010-12-12|archive-date=2023-06-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629014233/https://books.google.com/books?id=47e5RhcD1QkC&pg=PA44|url-status=live}} At the time, the DVU had 12.9% of the votes.
=Independence=
In 1991, the PDS demanded the right for Thuringia to leave the united Germany in its draft of the constitution, which ultimately did not pass.{{cite web|url=https://www.welt.de/welt_print/kultur/article6777509/Weimarer-Verhaeltnisse-in-der-Berliner-Republik.html|title=Weimarer Verhältnisse in der Berliner Republik|first=Peter|last=Zander|date=15 March 2010|via=www.welt.de}}Thüringer Landtag, Drucksache 1/678
Tatjana Festerling was a leader in the Dresden Pegida demonstrations from February 2015 to mid-April 2016 after Kathrin Oertel withdrew. She demanded the "Säxit"{{mdash}}the secession of Saxony from the Federal Republic of Germany{{mdash}}on October 12, 2015, after she had already demanded the rebuilding of the former Iron Curtain over Germany on March 9, 2015.[http://www.freie-radios.net/73133 Pegida beschwört den Bürgerkrieg und fordert den Säxit] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113223022/http://www.freie-radios.net/73133 |date=2017-11-13 }} coloRadio, 15 October 2015.{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spam/spam-satire-tatjana-festerling-saexit-a-1057711.html|title=Ö weiö!: Pegida-Frau droht mit "Säxit"|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=14 October 2015|via=Spiegel Online|access-date=13 November 2017|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306204230/http://www.spiegel.de/spam/spam-satire-tatjana-festerling-saexit-a-1057711.html|url-status=live}}
The Freie Sachsen (Free Saxons) party supports "Säxit".
==Opinion polls==
Percentage of respondents supporting independence from the new states of Germany:
| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%; line-height:16px;"
! style="width:175px;"| Polling firm ! style="width:130px;"| Fieldwork date ! style="width:50px;" | Sample size ! style="width:30px;" | Brandenburg ! style="width:30px;" | Berlin ! style="width:30px;" | Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ! style="width:30px;" | Saxony ! style="width:30px;" | Saxony-Anhalt ! style="width:30px;" | Thuringia |
| [https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Umfrage-Fast-ein-Drittel-der-Bayern-fuer-Austritt-aus-der-Bundesrepublik-3773977.html YouGov]{{cite news|url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article166730493/Wo-die-meisten-Einwohner-fuer-die-Abspaltung-von-Deutschland-sind.html|title=Umfrage in Bundesländern: Wo die meisten Einwohner für die Abspaltung von Deutschland sind|newspaper=DIE WELT|date=17 July 2017|access-date=12 November 2017|archive-date=18 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170718085128/https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article166730493/Wo-die-meisten-Einwohner-fuer-die-Abspaltung-von-Deutschland-sind.html|url-status=live}}
|2017 |2076 |19 |13 |21 |21 |20 |22 |
| [http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/bundeslaender-umfrage-ostdeutsche-schaetzen-einheit-mehr-als-westdeutsche_id_4155874.html infratest dimap]
|2014 |2020 |colspan=6 |16 |
| [http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/25-jahre-mauerfall/stichwort-mauer-in-den-koepfen-jeder-sechste-deutsche-will-die-mauer-zurueck_id_4259998.html Insa-Consulere]{{cite web|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/news/wissen/geschichte-umfrage-gut-jeder-sechste-deutsche-will-mauer-zurueck-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-141108-99-02621|title=Umfrage: Gut jeder sechste Deutsche will Mauer zurück|publisher=Süddeutsche Zeitung|access-date=2017-11-12|archive-date=2017-11-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113003646/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/news/wissen/geschichte-umfrage-gut-jeder-sechste-deutsche-will-mauer-zurueck-dpa.urn-newsml-dpa-com-20090101-141108-99-02621|url-status=dead}}
|2014 |~1000 |colspan=6 |19 (partially) |
| [http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/umfrage-jeder-vierte-will-die-mauer-zurueck_aid_489695.html Emnid]
|2010 |1001 |colspan=6 |15 (+8 partially) |
| [http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/zwanzig-jahre-nach-dem-mauerfall-viele-ostdeutsche-tief-enttaeuscht-1.169145 Sozialwissenschaftliche Forschungszentrum Berlin-Brandenburg]
|2010 |~1900 |colspan=6 |10 |
| [http://www.focus.de/panorama/vermischtes/ddr-57-prozent-der-ostdeutschen-werten-ddr-positiv_aid_411742.html Emnid]
|2009 |1208 |colspan=6 |57 (partially) |
| [http://www.rp-online.de/panorama/deutschland/viele-ostdeutsche-wollen-die-ddr-zurueck-aid-1.2019986 RP Online]
|2009 |2892 |colspan=6 |11 |
| [https://www.welt.de/politik/article1209971/In-Sachsen-Anhalt-will-jeder-Vierte-die-DDR-zurueck.html Infratest dimap]
|2007 |? |colspan=4 | |23 |
| [http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/umfrage-ostdeutsche-haben-gute-erinnerungen-an-die-ddr/1037682.html Institut für Marktforschung Leipzig]
|2007 |1001 |colspan=6 |18 |
| [https://www.berliner-kurier.de/umfrage-schock--mehrheit-will-ddr-verhaeltnisse-zurueck-17907888 mitBERLIN]
|1996 |6000 |colspan=6 |63.6 |
| [https://www.berliner-kurier.de/umfrage-schock--mehrheit-will-ddr-verhaeltnisse-zurueck-17907888 Infratest]
|1996 |2000 |colspan=6 |22 |
| [https://www.berliner-kurier.de/umfrage-schock--mehrheit-will-ddr-verhaeltnisse-zurueck-17907888 Infratest]
|1990 |? |colspan=6 |11 |
See also
{{portal|East Germany|Germany}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [http://www.bmvbs.de/Anlage/original_1100336/2009-Annual-Report-on-the-State-of-German-Unity.pdf The Federal Government's Annual Report on the State of German Unity 2009]{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090209042258/http://www.bundesregierung.de/Webs/Breg/EN/Federal-Government/CoalitionAgreement/DevelopmentOfEasternGermany/development-of-eastern-germany.html REGIERUNGonline – Development of Eastern Germany]
{{Administrative divisions of the German Democratic Republic}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:New States Of Germany}}