Ostalgie
Sign in to saveAlso known as ostalgia, GDR nostalgia, Eastern Nostalgia
thumb|GDR T-shirts, for sale in Berlin in 2004 thumb|right|Soviet and GDR Memorabilia for sale in Berlin in 2006 thumb|right|Jägerschnitzel, a popular East German cuisine item In German culture, Ostalgie () is nostalgia for aspects of life in Communist East Germany. It is a portmanteau of the German words Ost (east) and Nostalgie (nostalgia). Its anglicised equivalent, ostalgia (rhyming with "nostalgia"), is also sometimes used. Another term for the phenomenon is GDR nostalgia ().
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~9 min read
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12 sectionsContents
- History
- Effects
- Commercialisation
- Popular culture
- Critical interpretations
- {{anchor|Boyer's argument of Ostalgie as "West-algie"}}''Ostalgie'' as "West-algie"
- See also
- Music
- Movies
- Books and games
- References
- External links
thumb|GDR T-shirts, for sale in Berlin in 2004 thumb|right|Soviet and GDR Memorabilia for sale in Berlin in 2006 thumb|right|Jägerschnitzel, a popular East German cuisine item In German culture, Ostalgie () is nostalgia for aspects of life in Communist East Germany. It is a portmanteau of the German words Ost (east) and Nostalgie (nostalgia). Its anglicised equivalent, ostalgia (rhyming with "nostalgia"), is also sometimes used. Another term for the phenomenon is GDR nostalgia ().
The term was coined by the East German standup comic in 1992. Social scientist Thomas Ahbe argues that the term "ostalgia" is often misunderstood as a lack of willingness to integrate, an attempt to reverse German reunification and reinstate the GDR. However, Ostalgia is rather an integration strategy used by East Germans who wanted to retain their own original experiences, memories and values incompatible with those of the West German majority.