I remember a little of the time before the Berlin Wall. When we were talking about “Germany” during its division – especially at a popular colloquial level – we normally meant West Germany. If we wanted to talk about East Germany or the GDR we would mention it specifically, and we wouldn’t think of East Germany as representing “Germany” the country in general.
A little similar analogy in 2022 is when we say “Korea” now, we are meaning the Republic of Korea (ROK/South Korea), and not North Korea – DPRK, the hereditary “Communist”/”Juche” state ruled by the Kim dynasty.
I wonder if this is the same for you or your family? Are there any difference for those of you who were born after German reunification, when talking about the Germany during its division?
Thanks.
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If I’m thinking about political things, I mostly think about the Federal Republic when just talking about Germany. Like “Who was the head of state in Germany in 1972?”
When I’m thinking about social or cultural things, I think of both the Federal Republic and the GDR. But I think I’m a bit of a special case because I know many people who have lived on both sides of the iron curtain and who have shared their stories.
In my perception (I’m Austrian and was a child in the 80ies) in those days Germany equalled West Germany. Everything behind the Iron Curtain that I have actually seen from the West (including the warning signs not to go further because of danger ahead) , was intimidating and scary no-mans-land.
In Germany itself, people from the west commonly called East Germany either *De-De-Er* after its initials *DEutsche DEmokratische Republik* or *Ostzone* or short *Zone* after *Sowjetisch besetzte Zone — soviet occupied zone*.
People from the east called West Germany *der Westen* if no snitch was listening and otherwise *Be-Er-De* after its initials *BundesRepublik DEutschland*.
*Deutschland* meant both in general as each side claimed to have a say on the proceedings of the other part as well. If people talked about their own part in particular, they usually used *bei uns — on our side.*