Issues A

This page will provide you with the background to the issues to be resolved by your discussion group. We encourage you to access further information through the provided links.

As you are preparing for the discussion:

1. think of how to present your arguments.
2. anticipate the counter arguments to your position.
3. envision the implication(s) of possible solutions.
   

Group A: Social Issues

On the social level, all kinds of rights begin to disappear which East Germans have taken for granted: guaranteed work, day care, abortion in the first trimester, among other rights. These policies were paid for by the East German government and contributed to the government's debt. West Germans with a more traditional value system, one which emphasizes individual responsibilities as well as state responsibilities and one in which religion plays a strong role, do not want to adopt East German social policies and certainly do not want to pay for them. Here are the particular issues you will need to resolve in your group discussion:

Abortion

There are currently different abortion laws in Eastern and Western Germany. Before unification, an East German woman could choose to have an abortion within the first trimester and the state paid for it. In West Germany abortion was restricted, granting abortions to women who could prove medical or social/psychological hardship. Because East German women protest against the imposition of the more restrictive policy after unification, the old laws are temporarily still in effect in the East. A permanent solution for the entire country has to be found quickly.

Child Care

Under the former communist regime, 92 percent of women worked and 90 percent of them had children. Free child care was guaranteed by the state. In 1989, 80 percent of children aged one to three were in day care. The West German system does not provide for child care, claiming that the costs for such a social service are prohibitive.

Property and Housing

The former East German government confiscated property vacated by people who fled to the West. Now the former owners are trying to reclaim their property (see restitution versus reimbursement). However, the people who have been renting the housing and running the factories for almost 40 years also have a claim to the property. Lack of clarity about housing rights is a serious impediment to investment.

The state of housing in East Germany lags far behind the West German standard. Most of the older housing is in desperate need of repair, and housing constructed during the existence of the GDR (Plattenbau) has not stood up well. Major investment is needed to repair, maintain and build housing in East Germany. As more and more houses are renovated and new construction is completed, though, the cost of housing will rise, placing great strain on the population, especially retirees and the unemployed. Housing in the GDR was extremely affordable, with rents frozen at the 1936 rate.

Unemployment and Pensions

There are now 750,000 unemployed in East Germany and the number is rising steadily as industry begins to switch to a free market economy. This presents East Germans with a situation they have never had to deal with because the constitution of the GDR granted each citizen the right to work. Women and youth are disproportionately affected. In contrast to the West, 92 percent of all women in East Germany worked. By 1990 women constitute more than 65 percent of the newly unemployed. Moreover, the apprenticeship system of the old regime is breaking down as companies scrambling to adapt to the new system are incapable of maintaining their commitment to the training and education of young workers. The high rate of unemployment among young people is a contributing factor in the growth of neo-Nazi groups. (For information on economic impact, click here.)

In response to the growing unemployment rates, the government offers a golden handshake' program (Vorpensionierung) to people age 50-55. Over 50 percent of the people in the target population take advantage of the program and leave the labor force prematurely. Psychologically unprepared, they initially find themselves with nothing to do. Moreover, pensions in the former East Germany are lower than West German pensions, since they are based on previously earned income. East Germans used to be able to live well on lower incomes because necessities such as rent and basic foods were subsidized. Now, retirees living on Eastern pensions have to pay rents rising to near West German levels. Retirees throughout West Germany are entitled to the same level of benefits even if they earned less because they lived in a depressed area. Many East Germans ask why it should be any different with the East. The rationale for the existing system is that paying East German pensions in Western marks takes care of the disparity. (For information on pensions, click here.)

*Additional off-site links -

Restitution versus reimbursement

• Restitution versus reimbursement

The role of land ownership

• Jewish Property Claims
• Landreform Claims

*All off-site links will be displayed in new pages