The politics of Ostalgie: post-socialist nostalgia in recent German film

Abstract

The word Ostalgie – a combination of the German words for ‘nostalgia’ and ‘east’ – has emerged in Germany over the last few years as part of a widespread reevaluation of the history of the former German Democratic Republic. This term is often associated with communist kitsch, and it thus appears to illustrate nostalgia's inherent failure to engage with history. Rather than interpreting recent Ostalgie films as a sentimental whitewashing of the harsh realities of living under a totalitarian regime, however, this essayargues that they actually represent a critique of Germany's current socio-economic-political situation. It is certainly more than coincidental that this phenomenon has emerged at a time when Germany is experiencing a massive economic crisis, record-breaking unemployment, and severe cuts in health care and education that have only increased the disparity between east and west. When understood within this context, the nostalgia for the east in recent German films can be seen as a reexamination of the utopian hopes and expectations surrounding German reunification and a critique of a capitalist system that has failed to adequately address current economic and cultural challenges.