Republic of East Germany

Nicole

I think this has been discussed before, but it's still interesting...

But it'd probably require major differences in the policies towards East Germany, for example rather than claiming to be the government of all Germany it would have to foster some sort of "eastern nationalism"... I don't know if it'd be impossible, but it'd be rather hard... (Though something similar seems to have been pulled off in Moldova, that was directly part of the USSR)
 

Othniel

Chingo360 said:
What if East Germany became its own country after the wall came down, instead of unifying with the west?
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Probably splinter into two states...Bavaria and East Germany. I'm not so sure about it, but still the difference in culture without the Soviet Union to hold it up, may cause some striff and eventual division.
 

Nicole

Othniel said:
Probably splinter into two states...Bavaria and East Germany. I'm not so sure about it, but still the difference in culture without the Soviet Union to hold it up, may cause some striff and eventual division.
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Bavaria? But they were never part of the DDR.
 

Xen

Banned
Perhaps Germany and Prussia instead of Bavaria. West Germany remains Germany, while East Germany becomes Prussia, maybe restoring the Hohenzollern's? They could let Saxony join (West) Germany and go about their merry way as the Kingdom of Prussia. The flag could be that of the Imperial Germany prior to WWI, and Berlin (all of it) is the capital.

Not likely I know, but eh its something.
 

Steffen

I´d say they would call themselves "Ostdeutsche Republik" or something like this.

Prussia sounds too much of goose-stepping to the neighbours, and the Thuringians, Mecklenburger and Saxons wouldn´t like it.

This state would face many of the same problems as the other former satellites: economic downturn without COMECON, adjustment to a market economy without being competitive in anything, and without the massive structural aid from the Federal Republic.
Not to mention the loss of educated elites to the Federal Republic, as no real language and cultural barrier exists (Insert Saxon dialect joke HERE!)
 

Nicole

I don't know about a Pomeranian state- I mean, Vorpommern isn't that large of an area, and even when combined with Mecklenburg isn't too populous. I don't know how viable it would be.
 

Chingo360

Steffen said:
I´d say they would call themselves "Ostdeutsche Republik" or something like this.

Prussia sounds too much of goose-stepping to the neighbours, and the Thuringians, Mecklenburger and Saxons wouldn´t like it.

This state would face many of the same problems as the other former satellites: economic downturn without COMECON, adjustment to a market economy without being competitive in anything, and without the massive structural aid from the Federal Republic.
Not to mention the loss of educated elites to the Federal Republic, as no real language and cultural barrier exists (Insert Saxon dialect joke HERE!)
Click to expand...

Moschedraaaaht Zaun in de morning!
 

Steffen

Mooooschendrahtzaun late at night.

Moooschendrahtzaun in the evening, Moooschendrahtzaun makes me feel all right...

No the song is cool. Kicks max sinister.
 
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Hermanubis

Xen said:
Perhaps Germany and Prussia instead of Bavaria. West Germany remains Germany, while East Germany becomes Prussia, maybe restoring the Hohenzollern's? They could let Saxony join (West) Germany and go about their merry way as the Kingdom of Prussia. The flag could be that of the Imperial Germany prior to WWI, and Berlin (all of it) is the capital.

Not likely I know, but eh its something.
Click to expand...
A state with no territory East of the Oder doesn't have any business calling itself Prussia, says I! (exp. Königsberg. A state centered on only Königsberg would have more clam to the name Prussia then East Germany)



Its more Brandenburg, I'd say.
 

Steffen

There´s no reason the Federal Republic should rename itself. And the other posters are right, "Prussia" really doesn´t make much sense. And half of the population lives outside former Prussian territory.

And the Hohenzollern are a very obscure family now...
 

Kabraloth

Well, considering what people like Ernst August von Hannover have to do to stay in the spotlight...
Funny anecdote: I just saw the great-grandson of Wilhelm II in TV, in a Spiegel TV special about WW I (with the inevitable "we Germans were evil and this is how it led to Hitler"-part, though). So they are not that obscure.

I'm not sure an independant East Germany could survive, anyway, if the current ongoing financial crisis is any indication. Although I don't know how many of these problems are inherited from the GDR and how many are homemade after the reunification (does anyone remember the protests? "Kohl, wo bleibt die Kohle?" and "Treuhand - Breulhand - Gräuelhand").
 

corourke

Donor
If things really go to shit in East Germany, we might see some conflict with Poland over the eastern border. Remember, neither of the Germanys have renounced their claims to the east at this point.

However, I think the chance of this happening is relatively small unless something drastic happens.
 

Berra

POD. European leaders fear a united Germany.

I think that they DDR (or what ever) would would have a better economy by now like Poland and the Checks.
 

jolo

1989

Instead of the unpopular and unable polit buro puppet Egon Krenz, the more competent, moderate, and popular Hans Modrow becomes the new head of Eastern Germany (Modrow got the position on paper, but not in reality IOTL).

Modrow, being dropped by the SU, loosing support among the people, faced by rising emmigration, and so on, decides to put everything on a single card: He holds a popular referendum whether to stay independent or apply to become a state of Western Germany.

At the same time, he also does the much needed economic and political reforms - more free market, more political freedoms, more civil rights, democratic elections, and so on.

The referendum turns out pro independence by chance (not unrealistic - even among the protesters of the time, many didn't want a unity with Western Germany). Efforts by Western Germany to push unification, western political parties, and so on, derail.

Borders are opened, many people flee to the west, but most stay. The newly opened borders and liberalized laws even make some emmigrants return.

All those liberalisation efforts will not go too well with all the hardcore communist brickheads in the SED. Modrow manages to break up the party into a Socialist, a Social-Democrat, and a Social-Liberal Party. He becomes head of the Social-Liberals (probably mainly moderates who only joined the SED for career reasons), which surge in popularity, while the Socialists become an obscure splinter party.

Unlike OTL, the wages aren't increased artificially high, and buying of companies by western companies just to demolish competitors will rarely happen. Therefore (and for a few other reasons), Eastern Germany draws even more western and other investment than IOTL, while at the same time loosing less business to eastern and southern European countries.

Many highly qualified western German jobless people who aren't eligible for jobless benefits (too much property or other reasons) even work in Eastern Germany (despite much lower wages), thus softening the impact of all the emmigration from east to west, and adding lots of know how.

The Eastern German Republic becomes a success story, Hans Modrow even manages to get elected for a second term (his first with democratic legitimisation).
 
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