Currently - Germany: United and Divided

A programme marking the 35th anniversary of the Treaty of Unification that brought East and West Germany together after 40 years of separation.

Historian Katja Hoyer was born in East Germany in the 1980s. Then, her home town of Guben was a bustling hub of the GDR's chemical industry, shrouded in smog and crowded with people. Today, it is clean and beautifully rebuilt, but also rather desolate and depopulated as residents debate how best to revitalise the region. 40% of people in Guben now vote for the right wing AfD party and express disappointment with life 35 years after reunification. Why?

Katja reports from Guben and discovers that people in the east feel hugely underrepresented in every sphere of German life. They believe that the united Germany is run on western terms and resent government intrusion from Berlin – especially the imposition of ‘green’ infrastructure. The AfD wins approval with its policies on this and migration, as well as a more pro-Russian stance on the war in Ukraine.

Katja talks to the city mayor, librarian, AfD politician, journalists, a rapper, pub owner and people who grew up in the GDR.
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Presenter: Katja Hoyer
Producer : Susan Marling
A Just Radio production for BBC Radio 4

Published on Saturday, 23rd August 2025.

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