Memorialization of the German-German Border in the Context of Constructions of Heimat

Abstract

In the public discourse on the various forms of ‘coming to terms with the GDR past’, two arguments prevail. Firstly, there is a continuing Left-Right debate on the nature and scope of the GDR Unrechtsstaat (‘dictatorship’ — a word deriving from its opposite, the Rechtsstaat or ‘state under the rule of law’), and whether and to what extent parallels can be drawn to the Nazi dictatorship. Secondly, it is claimed that, as united Germany integrates the GDR into its history, a western perspective dominates which sidelines, marginalizes, or even colonizes East German memories and experiences.