German-Russian Relations: Ambiguous Feelings in the East

East Germany has always had a special relationship with Russia. But Putin’s war changed a lot there too. About the changing relationship between East Germany and Russia.

Every child in GDR history lessons learned about the alleged act of a Soviet soldier who gave his life for a little German girl in the battles for Berlin in 1945. This episode is symbolically cast in bronze in Treptower Park in Berlin: the memorial shows a soldier with a child in his arms, he is smashing a swastika with his feet.

Before 1989, it was compulsory for East Berlin schoolchildren to appear at the memorial to commemorate the fallen Soviet soldiers on May 8th. Today, on the day of liberation, thousands of Germans, primarily from the East Berlin districts, voluntarily make a pilgrimage to the memorial together with their fellow Russians and lay flowers or wreaths. This change is a symbol for the changing relationship of East Germans, formerly with the Soviet Union and today with Russia.

Russia relationship to GDR times

Two days before the outbreak of war in Ukraine was at one MDR survey A majority of 35,000 citizens in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia are convinced that Putin is not a threat to peace and that Russia is not to blame for the escalation with Ukraine.

It was above all the over-50s who shared this view. Her relationship with the Soviet Union during the GDR era was rather characterized by uneasiness. Even if one always spoke of the “friends” at that time, they were still occupiers. They lived hidden behind the walls of their barracks and were visible in the streets as columns of tanks and cannons. There was hardly any contact.

German-Soviet friendship

The much-vaunted German-Soviet friendship did not exist. There were friendships through economic contacts or study trips. Even though Russian was a compulsory subject from the 5th grade, the language remained foreign to many.

But through numerous films and books about the millions of lives lost by the Soviet army in World War II, something stuck in some people: compassion for the country and the people in the East.

Gratitude to Gorbachev continues to have an effect

In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev appeared out of nowhere. He tore up the tarpaulins from the fabric of lies about the successful construction of socialism not only in his country, but also in the GDR. The GDR citizens also adopted his demands for glasnost (honesty) and perestroika (modernization and restructuring).

The SED reacted with surprising measures. She banned Soviet magazines and films. Suddenly, “learning from the Soviet Union means learning to win” no longer applied. Then the unexpected happened: Gorbachev left his soldiers and tanks in the barracks despite the peaceful revolution in the GDR and the fall of the Wall. He gave the GDR citizens freedom and then German unity. The occupiers left Germany without a shot. To this day, many in East Germany are grateful to Gorbachev for this. However, this also entailed a leap of faith in Russia and even Putin.

Economic relations with Russia

With monetary union and the introduction of the D-Mark on July 1, 1990, the close economic ties between the GDR and the Soviet Union collapsed and led to the decline of some economic sectors in the east: shipbuilding in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania or wagon construction in Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony just as affected as parts of the consumer goods industry and mechanical engineering, which had lived from trade with the Soviet Union.

The GDR supplied ships, trains and machines in exchange for natural gas and oil. That was over now. It was not until the turn of the century that many companies, especially in Central Germany, were able to reactivate old contacts and establish new trade relationships.

The sanctions following the annexation of Crimea therefore hit the east German economy particularly hard. In Saxony alone, the trading volume fell by 70 percent. That is why the state governments were critical, if not opposed, to these measures against Russia. There was no resistance to the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline in East Germany.

Understanding of Putin’s criticism of NATO eastward expansion

At the same time, there was a growing feeling among East Germans that the West had not treated Russia fairly after the end of the Cold War and had not sufficiently taken its security interests into account. Many therefore shared Putin’s criticism of NATO’s eastward expansion. In addition to gratitude for German unity, the desire to live in peace with Russia and the experience of the Cold War play a major role. Politically, this position was particularly well received by the AfD.

Her positive attitude towards Putin, trips to Crimea and party leader Tino Chrupalla to Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov met with approval among East German supporters.

The Left Party, traditionally more inclined towards Russia, is struggling with internal party debates about how to deal with Putin’s appearance and actions. In this party there is a generational conflict between the older comrades and young party members. It reflects the mood in East German society in recent times.

Change of mood due to the war in Ukraine

The majority of younger East Germans see Putin as a dictator who is increasingly trying to defend his power internally with repression and externally with military force. Nevertheless, like many East Germans, they did not expect a war, especially against a brother nation.

This is unbelievable, especially for many older people. For them, the multi-ethnic state of the Soviet Union still exists in their minds, even though it collapsed more than 30 years ago. So the mood changed for them too. In a renewed survey of the MDR in Central Germany during the day after the start of the war, three quarters now see Putin as the warmonger.

However, many in East Germany could have mixed feelings and share the views of Saxony’s Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer. “We shouldn’t fuel the conflict any further, not even in terms of the choice of words, and we should now act moderately with the instruments we use towards Russia,” he explained MDR. We have to live with Russia. It’s our neighbor. We will only live in peace if we also live in peace with Russia.”

Nevertheless, the war in Ukraine opens a new chapter in East Germany’s checkered relationship with Russia.