East German's REMEMBER What The Last Propaganda Regime Was About | Prof. Dan Bednarz 

I once heard an ex soviet joke 3 soviet journalists are invited to the US for a visit. After some time host asks the guests what they think of the US. He was expecting to hear praise of freedom but rather shocked when a guest says, we didn't expect so much propaganda in the US. BUT, the host argues, don't you have more propaganda in the Soviet Union? Yes, the guest replies, but nobody believes it.

In Russia in the 90s there was a joke. Everything they told us about communism turned out to be a lie. Everything they told us about capitalism turned out to be true.

Us, old East Germans know exactly what's going on. I escaped that country age 22 and live in Canada now. We have not forgotten a single thing from back then and we see the similarities to what's happening now, here in North America or in Europe. The gullibility of Canadians is almost killing us. We live of the hope that things turn right again.

An astute observation from a famous American writer, Mark Twain. "If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed."

'Naive' and 'gullible' are exactly the words I (a woman from Czech Republic) am using when taking about the people in Western Europe. I'm currently living in Western Germany and the level of naivity, brainwashing and weakness is astounding, esp. when it comes to topics such as mass migration and islamization. The Germans in Western Germany are like little lambs calling a wolf their BFF.

How interesting. I was raised and educated in Poland but have lived in the West most of my life. I can relate to a lot of things Prof Bednarz says and the observations of the East Germans. I find the people in the West are considerably more propagandized/brainwashed and are blind to it. One important aspect of education was that science was not a commodity in the Soviet bloc and for some reason developing the ability to think was very important in the educational system. We had an introduction to philosophy as a subject in high school and it was very objective in that we were introduced to various schools of thought in a factual manner with no attitude attached to them. I remember my father having to attend philosophy and literature classes, after work as part of his continuous education, when he was in his fifties. Having experienced both systems, I find capitalism damaging to people in that people in the West are shallow and quite programmed. I understand now that the state was trying to protect its people from consumerism and moral and intellectual corrosion. All of which in the end harm the planet we call home.

I lived in Hanover in the early 2000's, while working for a large German corporation. It so happened that my two best friends were both Communists, one a German, and the other an American in permanent self-imposed exile. The three of us took a road trip to the former GDR. I was curious so I asked the locals a lot of questions about the former times - which led me to the following paradox: shared hardship and common cause against a totalitarian authority leads to a profound sense of community which is good for mental health. By contrast, the "individualism on steroids'" that we have today yields a maximalist freedom, but also engenders its own forms of isolation, alienation and depression.

There is a poem named: "East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet".... The west is now worse than the former GDR, east Germany, east Berlin. The west has its own Stasi.

I was born and raised in socialist Yugoslavia and I live in the US since 1991. Socialism in 20th century is the first attempt to create a socioeconomic system in history of mankind's to favor interests of majority (apart from the fact that in prehistory humans lived in communism). I now know that everything I didn't like about socialism back then, and there was a lot of it, is nothing but the result of human imperfections while everything I now dislike in capitalism is present by design of that system. I now know I felt for appeal of short term pleasures of buying stuff in exchange of true happiness that life without fear was giving us back then. No fear of losing job, no fear of having no money for healthcare or education, no fear of retirement. And above that, enough time to spend with family and friends. In Yugoslavia, the government was saying that each of 5 work days in a week should be made of 8hrs of work, 8hrs for culture, sports and fun, 8hrs for resting and they truly tried to provide for it. I can only wish that young people of today will some day manage to create a society like that. Great video, thank you.

In early 1980s I closely followed the Solidarity movement in Poland in mainstream media, as a citizen of U.S.A., residing in vicinity of NYC . Eventually I became very concerned that Lech Walesa was so strident that he might cause an invasion similar to Hungary(1956) or Czechoslavakia(1968). The New York Times correspondent who dominated their coverage was John Danforth, who later held a little discussion of the movement at a local university, featuring a recent Polish immigrant to U.S. At one point in the discussion, the Pole commented, "In Poland we all KNEW that the local news was propaganda, and we absolutely trusted the Radio Free Europe and BBC. NOW, I'm not so sure".

In time of my Soviet youth, the word "propaganda" was used in it's initial meaning, it was a part of our everyday life, so we didn't consider it someting evil. Even in a school we were learning about it, about how to do it, were learning to argue and to persuade. Basically, any large community (a state or corporation, doesn't matter) cannot live without propagnda, and now we have it everywere: flags, signs, TV ads, "Beware the fire", "Do sports", "Texting kills", "Save animals" etc. In the Soviet Union people generally knew: yes, this, this and that is propaganda and that's OK, as long as they don't lie to you. Because the propaganda itself doesn't need to be a brainwash, and doesn't need to be hidden. But there always were lots of "propagandists" who did it just basing on some primitive mass-printed manuals, without knowing marxism and the real life well anough, just for their own administrative career, and they never cared if other people believed them or not. It's like a bad priest, who doesn't believe any god or devil, but still preaches just because he is a part of his chirch. And for the Soviet person it was quite easy to detect that dumb kind of propaganda. What we see in the West is very much the same, the only difference is that the westerners have been told for generations, that propaganda only exists "somewhere far far away", and many of them are not trained to recognise even the most stupid myths and lies. The sad thing is that modern Russians are losing this ability too, slowly but surely.

I grew up in USSR and at the time of unification of Germany, which should be more correctly called anschluss or absorption, I lived in GDR. When the West came to us and later we came to the West it didn't take us too long to realize that internally we were much freer people than most of the Western citizens. We were not just free in a way we thought, but actually immunized against propaganda. This yet another time was proven true during the orchestrated "pandemic" crisis of the recent years. Now living in US I realized that people who grew up in Eastern Block countries during the socialist rule there were much more resistant to non-stop 24/7 propaganda that was spewing at us from every mainstream media outlet. Unfortunately this can not be said about younger generation from the same countries. They are often much less rebellious and free thinking than their Western counterparts.

I come from East Germany and after 30 years I can judge the two systems very well. Yes, there was repression if you didn't line up. As an average person, you didn't notice much of it yourself (unless you completely ignored it), apart from the omnipresent red radiation. After more than 30 years in the "free" West (I wrote it specifically with quotation marks), I also have to say that not everything is as promised. e.g.: Yes, I can travel anywhere if you can afford it. Yes, I can say anything if you can accept the consequences. Yes, I can vote for parties that claim to represent my interests, but they forget all too quickly and go back to their own clientele politics (or the "Filz" as we call it) without focusing on their sovereignty. After all this time, I have to admit that I am very disillusioned with what "democracy" really means in my country. I feel more like a serf who is used by politicians when it benefits them. You feel so defenseless against this state apparatus. What is also noticeable is that today's political decisions are so invasive and extend into the private sphere and family. Even the socialists at that time never dared to do this, as they were anxious to ensure peace and order within the structure of people among themselves and between people and the state.

I'm 66. I was never anti-communist. For whatever reason, I was always willing to listen to the other side even though there certainly wasn't much available to listen to. I realized this years ago that here in the US, people are living in an absolute fantasy land. Anytime I hear or read anything from the government, without even having to think about it, I immediately begin dissecting every sentence, making sure I understand what they are and are not saying. After a while, you begin to see patterns appear of them using phrases and particular words to create false impressions.

What an interesting interview. It mirrors my experience in talking to the family of a close friend that still lives in what was the former DDR . About six years ago they predicted that free speech in Germany was in the process of being curtailed if it did not conform with the consensus. How prophetic they were . I could not see it at the time .

I'm an American, and back in 1989, I saw the jubilation over the destruction of the Wall as gravely misplaced. At the time, I regarded the annexation of the GDR by the Empire of the West as the opening act in an immense tragedy. Unfortunately, I was not wrong. We were led to view the Berlin Wall as an Intolerable Infamy. But compare the death toll over 20 years at the Wall -- a little over 200 -- with the death toll of an average day in any of the wars that followed the dissolution of the Soviet bloc. We now have millions dead, all over the world, and nobody sees that as a problem, but the Berlin Wall -- that was a Horror Beyond Comprehension.

I would add that most of eastern European of certain age could see through propaganda, and I can say without any doubt that I have never seen such brazen propaganda like the propaganda of the last few years during my life behind the Iron Curtain...

Im the same.i grew up in heavy censorship in the 70s South Africa. I left in the 80s. I look back and cringe. So when we got lockdown i saw straight through

what happened in German academia after the reunification is a horrific tale; I was younger then (but already in academia) and was a partial witness to it through friends and acquaintenances... some of my west german colleagues behaved like thugs, only to further their career; I have never talked about it for fear of losing some of my international connections, but now I'm close to retirement and I can at least ease my coscience

How strange for those in the European eastern bloc. They have now witnessed the collapse of 2 systems.

What westerners cant grasp is how humans in repressed states have very few options to escape. I left south africa as a privileged white. I was making easy money with a job as a photographer. I could have stayed and enjoyed the ride. But my conscience wouldn't let me sleep at night. So i came to the uk .virtuously penniless .just as camera's were going through transformation to digital and it was impossible to retool. Let alone break into a very competitive industry while not even having access to welfare. So i had to resort to physical work and ended up doing landscape gardening for 15 years to make sure we had food on the table. My son got education and is a chartered accountant. YET. hes very similar to the description in the video on how naivety plaques the western mindset. I am just perceived as a dinosaur

Most interesting thing is that many of the freedom related obstacles that the East Germans had, are becoming more evident in west today and that is in addition to the problems that they didn't have. Further, the opinion of former Stasi agent about the necessity of controlling the people politically, is (and perhaps has always been) similar to the opinion of many in the governments of western countries despite seemingly big political differences while the real weaknesses of the societies is mostly related to various forms of corruption, injustice, lack of fairness, lack of knowledgeability (partially related to the level of education), etc, more than what the system is called or how it views itself.

I know two people, both women, that were born in East Germany, one became my friend, and in long conversations both said to me that they had wonderful childhoods growing up in East Germany. Their families were not involved in politics and we're not academics, and at the time of German reunification one was a surveyor and was hired by an architectural practice in West Berlin, and the other that was a skillful horse rider and trainer started to travel and ended up working with horses in Spain. They have great memories of their lives in East Germany, far from the awful picture we were told in the west, something that of course shocked me.

A teacher I knew trained in Mannheim with some East Germans. She remembered their sense of loss for the intimate conviviality they had grown up with - getting together with a few friends at someone's house, playing - actually playing - music, singing - activities that lost out to the chimera of things and their insatiable acquisition.

I would be curious to know what Dan considers to be economic failure in the GDR. The only thing that comes to mind is that he is talking about consumer products...? Everyone having jobs, housing, medicine, retirement, education (and no war) is not failure i would say.

Prof. Dan Bednarz is absolutely right.

I was born in 1970 somewhere in the West German Province, but since 1991 I've mostly lived in the eastern parts of Berlin; and I was thoroughly observing what happened around me. The humiliation of Eastern Germans was not limited to academics. In fact nearly the entire labour market was cleared of all people older than 45 and the vast majority of them never got any work till their retirement. So there were no experienced workers from the east in the economy. The absence of any jobs forced a lot of younger people to move to the western parts to work there. A friend of my father's, a teacher who was born in 1941, had for 5 years constant supervisions during her lessons before the western state finally accepted her staying in her job. And she only taught Arts (!) and nothing, what can be thought of as ideologically spoilt, as the state claimed to be the reason of these measures. The formation of a specific East German identity was a reaction to the experience, that nearly the whole economy was liquidated just for the sake of saving Western German companies from breaking apart. Western companies usually bought the assets of some eastern factory nearly for free (usually to the price of just 1 DM), only to clear the economy of potential new competitors. There was nearly no plan to use them. Actually the West German economy was as well at the brink of collapse as the East German was. The currency conversion of 1:1 poured a lot of money into the western economy, which prevented many bankruptcies; but there were still some till the mid of the 90s. And the eastern economy just didn't benefit from that at all. And to make things worse, the opening of the borders to the eastern European countries after the turn of the millennium led to a kind of competition, which lowered the wages, which were always remarkably lower than in the west, even further. So there is a strong feeling of deception and betrayal especially in many East German men which show up in the polls for the AfD. I do fear, that this time, it's these eastern German men, who get fooled by propaganda, because this party is the most extreme capitalist and anti-social party I have ever seen in my whole life.

Why not to analyse Stasi versus surveillance society in the west.

This was fantastic. I didn't know that I even wanted to learn about this, but I guess I did!

Für mich ein sehr interessantes Gespräch mit vielen neuen Informationen. Danke dafür.

I do enjoy your interviews. This is some history I didn't know much about.

Thanks for making this video, it is both very interesting and very important to publish. As always, everything is a question of context - and being able to appreciate the perspective of someone outside your own cultural understanding.

What an excellent and informative guest. I look forward to the next installment. Thank you.

I have recently been introduced to the writings of Anthony Sutton regarding western financing and military support of the Communist takeover of Russia, and the following industrialization of that country. It is very interesting but also disgusting to know. At this point there is nothing the people that have controlled the United States could have done that would surprise or shock me. What I have learned thus far of the real history of the United States is enough to make anyone an anarchist. What I mean by that is, I once felt pride and safety when military jets or helicopters flew over. Knowing what people in power in this country have done here and abroad, I do not feel that way anymore. I used to say “especially in Central and South America”, but after what has been done in Libya, Iraq, Syria and a dozen other countries, it is world wide. How can they get people to do these things? I don’t understand. My opinion, it is the bankers, since they have owned the US since 1935.

Polish perspective (transformation from socialism to capitalism 1991-2024) Nie mamy wiary, lecz złudy, Za dzieje nasze - zbiór klechd Dlatego trwać będą trudy Nasz własny płacz i z nas śmiech. Jacek Kaczmarski Drodzy Młodzi Polacy poczęci (metodą tradycyjną) w latach 80-ych i później, zanim wyrazicie dozgonną wdzięczność swoim Dziadkom, Tatusiom, a zwłaszcza mitycznym już postaciom: Wojtyłom, Kozakiewiczom i innym Wałęsom za wywalczenie dla Was wolności może najpierw podziękujcie pewnemu naiwnemu, zagubionemu i w Polsce (ale nie w Niemczech!) już prawie całkowicie zapomnianemu komuniście-idealiście Michaiłowi Gorbaczowowi i jego - zmarłemu na skutek zaawansowanej choroby alkoholowej - następcy Borysowi Jelcynowi... Jeszcze w 1987 roku, w więc na długo przed tzw. Okrągłym Stołem" Gorbaczow wysłał ówczesnego szefa KGB Władymira Kriuczkowa do "bratnich" stolic z misją poinformowania lokalnych kacyków, że kuratela Kremla sie kończy... i aby zaczęli sobie "radzić sami"... Najszybciej na "zielone swiatło" z Moskwy odreagowano nie ... nie .. w Warszawie ale w Budapeczcie, gdzie już w 1988 roku, tuz po odejściu I sekretarza KPW Janosa Kadara - najwcześniej w Bloku Wschodnim - rozpoczęto budowanie podwalin wielopartyjnego systemu władzy. Tymczasem dowiaduję się, że wg autorów, patronów (Ministerstwo Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego) i sponsorów (PZU) “Objazdowego muzeum historii Polski” robotnicy w 1970 i 1980 wyszli na ulice nie po aby żądać podwyżki płac, poprawy zaopatrzenia sklepów w podstawowe artykuły spożywcze, obniżki cen, lepszych warunków pracy i bytu a walczyli o obalenie sowieckiego imperializmu i hegemonizmu, o prawa człowieka, o wartości europejskich a nawet stanęli w obronie gejów i innych mniejszości seksualnych... zapewne łącznie z transwestytami... A ja do dziś naiwnie myślałem, że chodziło o tańszą kiełbasę? Skoro już o kiełbasie mowa... czekam kiedy Panowie Wałęsa, Krzaklewski i P.Duda na obchody następnej hucznej rocznicy Solidarności - zamiast Chrisa De Burgh'a - kolektywnie zaproszą Conchite Wurst... a nad historyczną bramą Gdańskiej stoczni im. Lenina zainstalują symboliczną tęczę... Szkoda, ze nikt Wam w ramach historycznych rekolekcji nie przypomniał/uzmysłowił, że bez "wiatru od Wschodu" - w przerwach między strajkami i stanami wojennymi - nadal stalibyśmy w kolejkach po papier toaletowy i kiełbasę zwyczajną... na oczach zagranicznych fotoreporterów... A dyplomaci reprezentujący tzw. Demokracje Zachodnie - po wygłoszeniu kilku symbolicznych protestów (vide współczesna Ukraina) - nadal wznosiliby toasty za rozbrojenie, odprężenie, światowy pokój i współpracę kieliszkami wypełnionymi "Jasiem Wędrowniczkiem" czy "Stoliczną" z radzieckimi kolegami po fachu w imię post-jałtańskiej "realpolitik"... zreszta dokładnie tak samo jak to robili po (bardziej krwawych od naszych zrywów) Węgierskim powstaniu w 1956 czy Praskiej Wiośnie 1968 roku. Słuchając autotyrad Pana Wałęsy (i innych samozwańczych i z upływem lat mnożących się w postępie geometrycznym bohaterów walki z sowiecką tyranią) można odnieść wrażenie, że to właśnie on - grożąc palcem - osobiście wydał Gorbaczowowi rozkaz zburzenia Berlińskiego muru. W żaden sposób nie dopuszczają oni do siebie myśli, że gdyby Sowieci się uparli albo w przypadku zwycięstwa konserwatywnej frakcji Janajewa Pan Wałęsa zapewne nadal siedziałby okrakiem na stoczniowym płocie w oparach gazu łzawiącego i tytoniowego dymu z papierosów na kartki "czekając na Godota", modląc się przy tym do "Najświętszej Panienki" o zbawienie nas od złych duchów Jałty i Poczdamu, o poprawę warunków pracy, lepsze zaopatrzenie sklepów, o obniżkę cen na podstawowe artykuły spożywcze i - ma się rozumieć - o szczęśliwe wyniki w "totolotku sportowym". Jeżeli Wam a zwłaszcza Waszym Tatusiom zabrakło wyobraźni politycznej to spróbujcie sie obiektywnie zastanowić nad tym, gdzie byłaby dziś Polska i Polacy (i cała Europa Wschodnia) gdyby po odejściu “pampersokratyczno-geriatrokratycznej trójcy” Breżniew/Andropow/Czernienko do władzy na Wschodzie dorwał się taki Pan Putin... albo ktoś Putinopodobny... No właśnie, skoro jesteśmy przy temacie... Jak to było naprawdę z tą okupacją sowiecką? Wyśmiewanie PRL-owskiego cyrku "w okupowanym przez Rosjan" kraju (nawet na ekranach oficjalnej tv) było tak powszechne, ze nawet ówczesne władze machnęły na nie ręką. Stosunkowo dużej jak na tamte czasy swobody słowa i bogactwa życia kulturalnego mogły nam pozazdrościć nie tylko pozostałe "baraki" obozu socjalistycznego ale również wiele krajów zachodnich. Walka PRL-owskiej cenzury z tzw. literaturą drugiego obiegu przypominała walkę z wiatrakami. Większość parlamentarzystów dzisiejszej RP posiada dyplomy i tytuły naukowe zdobyte na "komunistycznych" uczelniach, na które dostała sie na fali tzw. "awansu społecznego" z pomocą "punktów za robotniczo-chłopskie pochodzenie" do czego jednak żadna ze "świń" (określenie autorstwa Andrzeja Dudy) już się nie przyzna. Wielu z tzw. "represjonowanych" robiło w PRL-u karierę naukową (ze wspomne tu śp. Prezydenta Kaczyńskiego). Tworzenie mitów i przeginanie historii to w jedną to w drugą stronę na zamówienie kolejnych elit politycznych oportunistycznie wPiSujących się do zmieniających się kontekstów geoPOlitycznych stało się w III RP akceptowaną i powszechnie stosowaną praktyką. Nawet - z założenia niezawisła - instytucja jak IPN ulegała naciskom politycznym. Nasze młodsze pokolenie jest gotowe uwierzyć, że przed 1989 roku czekaliśmy na zagładę w gettach albo obozach koncentracyjnych, w atmosferze masowych ulicznych łapanek-zdejmując czapki przed patrolami żołdaków sowieckich. Nie zdziwię się gdy za kilkadziesiąt lat podręczniki opiszą braci Kaczyńskich jako członków walczącego podziemia, którzy rzucali butelki z mieszanką zapalającą na tanki z czerwoną gwiazdą. Nie chcę umniejszać naszych cierpień i upokorzeń w PRL-u: słuchanie tej głupawej PZPR-owskiej nowomowy, karmienie nas przyprawiającą o mdłości propagandą z jednoczesnym zagłuszaniem Radia Wolna Europa i Głosu Ameryki, nieustanne kolejki, strajki o zniesienie podwyżek cen, smród gazu łzawiącego. Nie sposób zapomnieć o tych okrutnych, ciągnących się bez końca nocach godziny milicyjnej, które mniej więcej od sierpnia 1982 roku zaowocowały niespotykanym w historii Narodu Polskiego przyrostem naturalnym... ku wielkiej uciesze Kościoła. Te 45 lat okupacji radzieckiej przetrwaliśmy kosztem wielu wyrzeczeń: brakowało kiełbasy zwyczajnej, papierosów, papieru toaletowego... ale w tym PRL-owskim aborcyjnym raju jakoś nigdy (to do Pana, Panie Terlikowski) nie brakowało dzieci. Czy kogokolwiek w ówczesnej Polsce martwiła niedostępność na półkach księgarskich np. "Folwarku zwierzęcego" czy "1984" Orwella? Podejrzewam, że żaden z - wyprostowanych na baczność przed flagami EU, USA i...Watykanu - polskich prezydentów nigdy nie trzymał tych książek w ręku. Zapytajcie Ojców i Dziadków co podczas słynnych, również zmitologizowanych Grudniów i Sierpniów było sprawą bardziej aktualną i ważniejszą: wolność słowa czy tańsza kiełbasa? Zróbcie to, prosze, zanim świadectwo pokolenia "50-latkow +" na wieki wieków zostanie wymazane z naszej naszprycowanej do granic absurdu heroiczno-martyrologicznym testesteronem Narodowej pamięci... albo jeszcze gorzej ...będzie karane sądownie jako propaganda podważająca rację stanu III/IV RP. Życzę Wszystkim Rodakom Młodym i tym Starszym mniej lub bardziej przyjemnych refleksji.

Criticizing media narratives is dangerous for our democracy

AMERICA, AMERICANS!! What would Italians, Germans and Britons think if the French would claim "We are the only Europeans"? I don't understand why Unitedstadians think they are the only Americans??? America is a CONTINENT with 35 sovereign countries and over one billion people. Unitedstadians do not speak for the interests of all Americans! Haiti was already a state 100 years before the first USA city, Jamestown was founded! Haiti, Cuba, Argentina, Mexico, etc. are all American countries.... And have been American for over a hundred years more than the Unitedstadians! So this means that any Mexican is as American as any Argentinian. and vice versa! What shall we call the people of the United States? …they are Unitedstadians!!! I love the United States, this is my country where I grew up and where l live.

Thank you for the introduction to Dan Bednarz's work. His book is on my reading list. The illusion of superiority syndrome of the 'West'.

29:05 "nasty institutions" well, that's exactly the same way things are now in Western countries.

Please do a longer follow up. This viewpoint is fascinating . The podcast was way too short to grasp this interesting perspective. Please more with this man. And thank you for the amazing interviews. You are delivering an awesome level of quality.

Thats actually true, greetings from Poland!!!

My mother visited Germany in the Fall of 2022 (I have never visited but would like to). She spent time in Berlin and Dresden and noted that the differences were pretty staggering. The former, while not without merit, was quite dirty and full of propaganda, there were 🇺🇦 everywhere, said there seemed to be more of them than 🇩🇪. On the other hand, she said Dresden was stunning with street cleaning being an everyday occurrence and did not see a single 🇺🇦.

As a GDR born ethnographer I highly appreciate this interview 🙏🏻

fascinating guest! Looking forward to part 2.

Thanks for making this. It's a fascinating topic. Somewhat related, I watched a video about the collapse of East German football following reunification once. Done people made a killing on buying players and destroying teams. The upending of a society is something I've read a lot about, but I don't think I can really comprehend it.

Excellent interview....many thanks....

As to the western media - I began my career in the late eighties at a large newspaper. The old press guard (some who started out as paperboys in WW2) was still around and most of them were deeply cynical people, very well aware that they created headlines rather than reporting on current events. Decades later I experienced up close and personal how the state TV works its magic. It is a very toxic environment, were nobody is allowed to step ideologically out of line. The editors-in-chief are rewarded with well paying comfy jobs once their rein of terror in the state media comes to an end. They all know very well how the system works and play by it's unwritten rules. It is fair to say that today's generation of media pundits have all gone through several layers of college and academic media training. They have been indoctrinated for years to report in a pre-described way, which makes many of them blissfully unaware that they are being used as propagandists for the status quo. Not all of them are this naive, but the fast majority of the media foot soldiers have no idea how biased they themselves really are.

I'm a millennial east german. Although I only experienced the last days of the east block (more unconsciously than consciously), the propaganda from either side is pretty obvious for most of us here. And your brain starts to hurt every time, when you think about the people blindly believing and following stuff. I frequently question things I believe or don't believe in, by my self.

East Germans are great people. They are not stupid enough to take western propaganda seriously. They're intelligent, moral and loyal.

The "B" in Vitamin B stands for "Beziehungen" or Relationships. So, unless you know somebody on the inside you are screwed or at least will have more dificult.

16:30 Most interesting what Dan is reporting about the position of the Eastern intellectuals on the third way (integrating the best of both states) that’s exactly what I had hoped for as a Western intellectual born and raised in Hamburg. What disappointment to me that has been learning that the West just took over the East while totally ignoring them - and nowadays learning that it ended up with integration of the worst of both states 👻 welcome to DDR 2.0 - Stasi included - free speach not in public unless you can handle the consequences 😳 Looking forward very much to the second part, Pascal and Dan!

This channel keeps impressing, thank you for sharing!

When I visitated East Germany in 1990, East Germans looked depressed and visiting West Germans were happy and saw business opportunities;

What do you think of democracy? - wasn't the question: "what do you think of the French Revolution?"

Excellent interview, thank you.

Thank you. Very interesting topic. I run for the second part. Greetings from Italy

Fantastic guest. I've been wondering about this.

Excellent informative show!

Having grown up in the West, with an international family history, I just moved my family to the east. As for harmful influence on the youth, a lot is from the west (drugs, music, crime, etc.). But there's also dependency culture, illegitimacy rates, lack of entrepreneurialism, resentment, no sense of personal property. In many statistical aspects, East Germans are like Afro-Americans. I like having East Germans as neighbors; the ones I have are very cultivated and open minded, although they hardly travel outside the East. That can't be said of the younger generation, many are very parochial, since they've only ever lived under one system. The older generation definitely have work ethic, but to a detrimental degree - they will work without counting the money or the hours, because that's what socialism teaches. I'm very american in the sense that I like to work less and earn more...

The interview conducted by Prof. Bednarz with intellectuals is interesting. However, there is something to consider. In the GDR, there were three ways to get through life. The connections between these options were fluid. 1. You fully supported the state. 2. You kept your mouth shut and tried to get by, as the saying goes, ‘with your back against the wall.’ 3. You joined the opposition, with all the resulting consequences. The majority of GDR citizens tended toward the second option. However, most intellectuals, at least those interviewed by Bednarz, found themselves somewhere between options 1 and 2.

Thank you for the wonderful interview ❤

Well, as a German now living in Australia… and noticing my whole western German family (mainly the females) turn political strong left, I believe, the growing of the AFD is based on the complete negligence of middle right conservative voters, just filling that gap. It started with Merkels middle right CDU (switching of nuclear plants and open boarder, green and left topics)! Before that the SPD middle left (labor!) introduced a sharper social system Harz4, also disappointing their voters to the core. The AFD is not right radical but takes over from what the old CDU stood for. SPD and green a currently far far left in power, CDU is not noticeable on the bench. Why left? Its the middle class, (the Bürgertum) revolting, as they always did through history, to define themselves from the 2 other long established classes, farmers and aristocrats. The CDU now openly would lead with the LINKE or BSW, most left parties. Politics atm are focused on de-industrialization (in Germany, imagine!) and social disruption through uncontrolled migration, 90% moslem men. West Germans reaction to feeling ‘left behind’ from capitalism? who knows, but its scary intense

Here in Ireland its the same, its hard to find people who are not programmed by the state, i believe its fear, the government uses fear, along with woke intimidation to blindside the population. The social engineering programming in the west was instituted by the likes of the tavistock institute who are now defunct as their social programming with regards to gender dysforia turned out to be a disaster as many service users became suicidal and suffered mental health issues, great talk will look forward to the next segment, thanks.

Outstanding. Fresh perspective on this topic. Great comments!

Thanks Pascal. As always, such varied perspectives with current ressonance

Great show!

Interesting reminder of the positive effects of trauma.

A lot of people seem to block out the fact, that west germany was doing at least mildly profitable business with east germany and even lending them money, so the fall of the wall was not universally welcomed. Adding to this is the fact that the former west german chancellor financed the infrastructure modernisation of east germany with public pension fonds, which haunts the public insurance system up to this very day.

I appreciate this interview very much. Thank you. So happy that the Wagenknecht party is gaining interest and strength. 'They make you do things in order to not interfere with your career, your safety...' in former GDR... sounds a lot like what has been going on to opposers of the narrative in the 'West' as well

There is a huge difference in how East German elites were treated after reunification with how Nazi bureaucrats were seamlessly absorbed into the West German administration after 1945. The resentment in the former GDR is perfectly understandable in light of this. Some of this unfortunate course of events can be explained by the rushed reunification process. But there is also an enduring element of retaliation and palpable arrogance on the side of the West German “victors”. The term “Besserwessi” to label clueless West German loudmouths embodies this perfectly. To this day, the German media landscape is dominated by West German sensitivities that completely dismisses the East German experience.

Fascinating. And a project which was necessary. So, kudos to prof Bednarz.

Very fascinating and informative conversation. 👍

Ivan: I went to a political satire contest the other day in Moscov. John: what did the winner get? Ivan: 8.5 years

This is fascinating. I never knew what actually happened on the ground during "reunification" and how it was a rather comprehensive takeover of the West.

Fascinating interview giving insights into GDR society and the takeover of GDR mental ecosystem by BRD ideologues. I visited Berlin in 2012 and observed how the German Government and institutions had applied cancel culture in its totality to extinguish from historical memory any trace or residue of GDR life, culture etc. I remember in particular the tiny museum or rather sideshow peek allowed into the GDR by a display that was both comic and grotesque. In the UK the the best comparison would be to Madam Tussauds at its comic and horror best!

It is such an enormous shame how there's a complete blackout on East-Germany even today in Germany, all you hear about is the wall and the STASI. But if you actually listen to people who lived in the GDR and read books, the system had so much more redeeming qualities than you would think. This is one of the most important countries to study if you want to improve systems today, and the Nordic countries did exactly that during the lifetime of the GDR, and it inspired their education system and much more.

I know the nice story about Zhou en Lai a little different: he was asked what he thinks about the French Revolution. He answered: it is to early to judge.

Bankruptcy of soul has a positive correlation with material abundance. A return to God maybe what the future holds for Europe. Or a replay of wars of annihilation.

I heard the Zhou Enlai anecdote differently before: Zhou Enlai was (probably) talking (or even being asked) about the 1968+ student protests in Paris (- part of the student movement in the West was openly Maoist / carrying the “little red book” at the time), and in this context said “it’s too early to tell” (which it probably still was in 1972) - and it was either misunderstood / mistranslated (or intentionally spun into a joke) as “the French Revolution” being “too early to tell”. (Well: it’s too good a joke obviously: China counting time in thousands of years vs USA counting time in hundreds of years.) P.S.: I don’t quite remember who told it that way, but it may have been in a speech by Chris Hedges.

Excellent interview !

Even DDR was more sovereign than BRD

That's why Central/East EU feels more like Europe than Western EU.

Although I lack Polish, I closely followed the Solidarity movement. I greatly admired the first iteration, using it as a template of what a massive and popular social movement might achieve in the right circumstances. Solidarity's second iteration was bittersweet for me. Poland threw off the State Socialist yoke but it yoked itself to what 'works', democratic capitalism. This introduced another round of primative accumulation, the first being the Stalinist effort and the second the neoliberal version. From afar, it appeared to me that some old heros became scoundrels and some old scoundrals made the transition into the new regime, remaining scoundrels, of course. Today, it appears that the authoritarian right runs the country. Gone is the talk of worker's councils, democracy, equality. This makes me sad whenever I think about it. I agree that Gorbachev is a hero. Powodzenia!

In the early 90's I lived in Fulda, Germany and had a customer in Hungary who had been a famous orchestra conductor. As part of the elite during the former Communist times, he was allowed to freely travel abroad, conducting - and judging music competitions, for example. So one time I asked him if he preferred to live in a Hungary under Capitalism or Communism. He answered, "Neither. I would have preferred living in the Hungary under the Austro-Hungarian Empire." !!!

YES! My father defected from the DDR and even though we were raised in the USA. He taught us to build the “antenna” you mentioned because they had it naturally.

This has been a thoroughly fascinating topic! I have to say I never thought of the “reunification “ as a take over but it makes a lot of sense. Thank you , Pascal!

excellent...

It’s not just East Germany people. Generally, all people from the former eastern block can see through that: Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Poland, etc.

Thank you Dr Bednarz. And thank you Pascal.

Title needs the apostrophe taking out.

First 60 seconds and he hits the nail on the head first whack! Right on.

When a person lives inside a system and receive all perspective and information from within the system, how do you judge the validity of the information?

Mr. Bednarz should broaden his social circle. Well over half the people I know are neutral/positive toward Russia.

I looked for his book, but couldn't find a copy for under $65, which is somewhat beyond my means. Disappointing.

You say: "I know very few people in America you can talk with about Russia." Perhaps because you only talk to the same elitist circle. Please go find a "common" person, you'll see they understand more than you think 😁 And they "support" Russia as much as they support Trump, because Trump like Putin just repeat the same mantra: "we the people, us our family, together stronger" Yes, underdogs are more interesting to listen to! I had this experience in Hungary with a dad's friend, a very nice old chap who told me he missed the old time... Even if he was no socialist at all. Most decent people just want peace, family and a full belly, what I learned listening to simple Chinese people when living in Beijing. They don't mind, their government as long as it doesn't create chaos. Elites live in an ivory tower, and just listen to themselves. It is reassuring and comfortable. There is a whole, real, world out there. Great interview 👏👏👏 🧐 From France & UK.

So interesting to hear about this important phase from someone with an outside perspective.

very relevant and interesting . agree completely.

Good podcasts. Some others are showing their nasty sides (like Novara)

East Germans remember good education, reliable jobs and healthcare without any payment. For themselves and for their children and grandchildren. As well as affordable dentists, electricity, restaurants, bus tickets, heating. West Germans remember some thirty brands of shampoo, chocolate and coffee they could choose from. And some polished rooftiles.