Ostalgie

Ostalgie is a German term (the English equivalent would be eastalgia) referring to nostalgia for life in the former East Germany. It is a portmanteau of the German words Ost (east) and Nostalgie (nostalgia).

Related Topics:
German - English - Nostalgia - East Germany - Portmanteau

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After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and German reunification in the following year, most reminders of the old socialist regime were swept away as former citizens of the German Democratic Republic rushed to embrace their newfound political and economic freedoms. However, with the passing of time many East Germans missed certain aspects of their old lives. Ostalgie particularly refers to everyday parts of life in the former GDR that disappeared after reunification, overwhelmed by capitalism and Western culture.

Related Topics:
Berlin Wall - 1989 - German reunification - Socialist - German Democratic Republic - Capitalism - Western culture

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Many businesses in Germany cater to those suffering from Ostalgie. Now available are obsolete brands of East German foodstuffs, old state television programmes on video and DVD, and the previously widespread Wartburg and Trabant cars. Even though everyday life in the GDR was almost a taboo subject, it has now become the subject of several films, including Wolfgang Becker's internationally-successful Good bye, Lenin! (2003), Leander Haußmann's Sonnenallee (1999), and Carsten Fiebeler's Kleinruppin forever (2004).

Related Topics:
Germany - Video - DVD - Wartburg - Trabant - Wolfgang Becker - Good bye, Lenin! - Leander Haußmann - Sonnenallee - Carsten Fiebeler - Kleinruppin forever

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The term Ostalgie is occasionally used to refer to nostalgia for life under Soviet rule in other former communist countries of Eastern Europe, most notably Poland.

Related Topics:
Eastern Europe - Poland

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