In the former communist East Germany (GDR), were women truly more liberated than in capitalist West Germany? Or is this a misconception that only emerged after the 1990 reunification of Germany? Clara Marz, author and curator of the exhibition “Women in Divided Germany,” offers insight into these questions.
Marz, a media and cultural scientist with roots in eastern Germany, meticulously examines the lives of women in both the GDR and West Germany. Despite her effort to be impartial, her own experiences growing up in Rostock give her an inseparable connection to the eastern side of the divide. She credits her mother’s career as a shift worker, a reflection of East Germany’s socialist economic model which depended heavily on female participation in the workforce, contrasting with West Germany where women frequently stayed at home as housewives until the 1980s.
The exhibition illustrates that in East Germany each state-owned company (VEB) had its own day care centers, addressing the balance of work and family life—an issue still under debate in contemporary Germany. Marz distances herself from the popular view of East German women as being more liberated. For her, the notion of equality varied greatly between East and West; in the GDR, it was predominantly tied to professional success and financial independence, whereas West Germany’s women’s movement fought vocally for equal rights.
Marz bemoans the missed opportunities after reunification, pointing out that the achievements of East German women, such as liberal abortion laws and comprehensive childcare, were not integrated into the newly united Germany. She sees a renewed divide between East and West, even though she acknowledges that understanding contradictory histories can foster dialogue.
On International Women’s Day, her exhibition attracts positive feedback, with women from both East and West engaging in meaningful discussions. Marz, born after the fall of the Berlin Wall, believes such shared reflection on history could bridge generational and geographical divides. Despite some progress, she notes the persistent issue of gender inequality in German society, affecting women from both East and West. The article concludes with information on a weekly email briefing by DW editors on political and societal news from Germany.
Source: https://www.dw.com/en/exhibition-examines-fight-for-equality-in-divided-germany/a-71861377?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf
