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Cover title: Schöne Städte für ein schönes Leben. ; Errata slip inserted. ; Photocopy. ; Mode of access: Internet.

During the past ten years it has become increasingly clear that the reunification of Germany constitutes one of the major issues which must be settled before there can be a real understanding between the Western powers and the Soviet Union. The Iron Curtain which divides our two worlds has necessitated the establishment of two separate German states. The past decade has witnessed the growth of radically different political and economic policies of the two halves of Germany. In almost every field of human activity, independent and unrelated institutions have had to develop in the West German Federal Republic and the East German Democratic Republic.

Includes bibliography. ; v.1. The political and administrative setup.-- ; Mode of access: Internet.

Description based on: Jan. 1977; title from cover. ; Feb. 1989. ; Shipping list no.: 89-295-P. ; Mode of access: Internet. ; Vols. for -19 issued by U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Domestic and International Business Administration, Bureau of International Commerce; by U.S. Dept. of Commerce, International Trade Administration. ; Merged with: Federal Republic of Germany (Washington, D.C.); to form: Germany (Washington, D.C.).

A number of studies suggest that mortality rates among East German men increased in the wake of reunification, in particular between 1989 and 1991, in some age groups by up to thirty percent. This study first examines the developments of mortality and cause of death statistics based on detailed regional data. The results indicate that there was indeed an increase in mortality rates which cannot be dismissed as a statistical artefact. Next, the paper discusses various theories explaining mortality crises and their relevance for the case of East Germany. Based on individual-level panel data the relationship between exposure to stress and overall health is shown. Apparently, the increase in mortality can be explained by the increase in individual stress levels after the economic, cultural and political consequences of reunification.

There has been a long tradition of thinking on Civic Education in Western Germany, mainly after World War II. Aims and means have been discussed thoroughly, experiences in teaching politics (the most common name for the school subject) have been reported on. After the (re-)union of the two Germanies in 1990, Western concepts were brought to and adopted by Eastern Germany. Transformation of civic education (politische Bildung) faces the problem that the democratic system is open to conflicts and competition and does not lead and direct the citizen in an authoritative manner. Democracy asks for different abilities on the side of its citizens than an authoritarian system does. Research data show the difficulties of learning for democracy.

This article investigated the relationship between religiosity and intergenerational solidarity in Germany, with a focus on differences between eastern and western regions that have maintained unique religious profiles that trace back to before unification. Based on data from Wave 6 (2013-2014) of the German Family Panel (pairfam), 8,637 reports from 4,622 adult children about their relationships with mothers and fathers were analyzed. Using an index comprising four dimensions of the intergenerational solidarity model (distance, contact, closeness, and support), hierarchical linear regression demonstrated general support for the hypothesis that having a religious denomination is positively associated with the strength of intergenerational relations in Germany. However, this positive association is stronger in the more religious western part of Germany than in the highly secularized eastern part. These results emphasize the importance of taking social context and political history into account when studying core institutions of religion and families.

One of the greater problems arising from the reunification of Germany has been the privatization of land in eastern Germany. Initially, the principle that shaped the privatization policies was restitution, the idea that land unlawfully taken by the former East German government should be returned to its rightful owner. A second goal of the privatization program was to stimulate investment in the economy of eastern Germany. These two goals, however, have conflicted. The result has been a policy that has created confusion with regard to the ownership of property and clear title. This Article examines two series of amendments, in 1991 and 1992, that attempted to facilitate investment in eastern Germany. Despite amendments to the major privatization laws in 1991, the investment in eastern Germany has remained anemic. The 1992 amendments expressly placed the goal of investment before restitution. However, the author concludes that the 1992 amendments have been helpful in only a limited number of cases. The absence of a clear mechanism for compensation of rightful owners continues to impede investment. Legislation proposing such a mechanism has yet to be adopted; more importantly, the legislation may not pass constitutional muster. Accordingly, the author concludes that Germany should employ other short-term remedies until it drafts a constitutionally sound law.

The Cold War over Germany was central to the history of the Cold War—its beginnings, its prolongation, and its end. One of the central elements in America's success in fighting the Cold War was its approach towards Germany: the creation of an economically prosperous, politically stable democracy in Western Germany that was closely integrated with the West. To the Americans involved, the success of this project was far less certain as it may seem in hindsight: West Germany's economic prosperity and political stability had humble beginnings. The Soviet threat exerted pressure that aggravated and distorted the problems of developing a viable democracy. Most importantly, the division of the country and of the former capital Berlin meant that the forces of German nationalism, while temporarily tamed, created an undercurrent of unease and unrest, a latent threat to the very foundations of the Federal Republic and the European settlement that the USSR could exploit. As a result, the United States developed a major psychological and economic warfare program to contain Soviet influence in Germany and combat Communist forces in the German Democratic Republic.

We present the results of an interdisciplinary project exploring street name changes in Leipzig (Germany), over the past 102 years. Our analysis focuses on the ways in which semantic choices in the streetscape express the national past and support the hegemonic socio-political order by visualising waves of street (re)naming during a century of political turmoil. Drawing on historical archival data allows us to interpret spatial and temporal patterns as the public embodiment of subsequent political state ideologies, demonstrating that the indexing of officially sanctioned identity and ideology as well as the appropriation of urban space are performed by and in turn index state- hegemonic politics of memory.

Debates about child poverty have gained significant importance during recent years in Germany – in scientific analyses, public media and welfare state action. Despite the increased attention, children in Germany have, for years, formed the population group that is affected the most by poverty. Due to the contradiction that, on the one hand, child poverty is high and rising and, on the other hand, that the German Federal Government has been propagating its intention to fight child poverty for more than a decade, an analysis of government action is attempted here. Due to the significantly higher child poverty rate in the newly-formed German states (former East Germany) compared to the old federal states (former West Germany), I intend to focus my analysis on this particular difference. The leading assumption is that the higher child poverty rate of East German children is not a coincidence, but the result of a discrepancy between the Federal Government's actions against child poverty on the one hand and family structures and labour market conditions on the other hand, whereby this discrepancy is higher in East than in West Germany. With this analysis I intend to show the limits of the current Federal Government's action to fight child poverty in Germany and to emphasize the need for an alternative solution on a federal policy level. (Author)

We investigate the effect of general-purpose transfers on different expenditure categories and tax rates in the municipalities of Saxony (eastern Germany) and North Rhine-Westphalia (western Germany). Findings from the panel data analysis suggest the existence of the "flypaper effect" - municipalities use transfers to increase expenditures but do not reduce taxes. For most expenditure subcategories the estimated coefficients are alike, suggesting similarity of spending priorities in the two federal states despite the differences in the transfer dependency. Targeted support of eastern municipalities could potentially explain few identified differences in the spending behavior.

We investigate the effect of general-purpose transfers on different expenditure categories and tax rates in the municipalities of Saxony (eastern Germany) and North Rhine-Westphalia (western Germany). Findings from the panel data analysis suggest the existence of the "flypaper effect" – municipalities use transfers to increase expenditures but do not reduce taxes. For most expenditure subcategories the estimated coefficients are alike, suggesting similarity of spending priorities in the two federal states despite the differences in the transfer dependency. Targeted support of eastern municipalities could potentially explain few identified differences in the spending behavior.

Vital statistics clearly indicate that the fertility rate in East Germany dropped sharply after German unification; moreover, it has not yet rebounded but remains stable at a low level. This paper uses data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) to examine births in the former German Democratic Republic in 1992 and 1993. The primary explantory variables include women's employment status in 1991 and 1992, expectations about future unemployment, and the employment status of cohabiting or marital partners. Our hypothesis is that young women who become unemployed are likely to use this occasion to become pregnant. We assume that the preference for children has not changed dramtically among East German women following unification. Support for this assumption is found in data from the GSOEP, which indicates that the value women attach to family life has remained relatively stable. Instead of viewing the decline in fertility as a shift in preferences, it is viewed as a change in opportunity costs. In general, there are long-term opportunity costs associated with an interruption in employment due to the subsequent devaluation of human capital. Specifically, in East Germany the re-entry rates of unemployed people into the labor market are very low. As a result: 1) the opportunity costs of having a child are quite high for employed women since they are likely to experience difficulties reentering the labor force; 2) for women outside the employment system, who are likely to remain there, the opportunity costs are quite low. In examining this question we make use of the household orientation of the GSOEP and also consider the employment status of each woman's partner, married or cohabiting, if the woman shares a household with such a person. Along with these theoretical issues this paper also addresses an interesting theme in the public debate regarding fertility changes in East Germany. Our results run counter to a widely held belief that young women become unemployed because they get pregnant. Instead, our longitudinal analyses suggest that the timing goes in the other direction: women become pregnant after they are unemployed.

International audience ; Der Artikel betrachtet das Phänomen der Binnenwanderung in Deutschland nach der Wiedervereinigung. Der östliche Teil Deutschlands (ehemalige DDR) verlor einen großen Teil seiner Bevölkerung durch Abwanderung von Ost- nach Westdeutschland. Die Abwanderung hatte durchaus einen Effekt auf die Wirtschaft (Fachkräftemangel, sinkende Nachfrage im Privatkonsum), und der wirtschaftliche Niedergang der Nachwendezeit bewegte viele Menschen aufgrund der Arbeitslosigkeit zur Abwanderung. Doch in den letzten Jahren erleben einige Regionen wie ländliche Räume und Territorien in der Nähe der ehemaligen innerdeutschen Grenze einen Rückwanderungsprozess (von West- nach Ostdeutschland) mit einer wirtschaftlichen Erneuerung. Inwieweit könnte die Rückwanderung nach Ostdeutschland als demografisches und wirtschaftliches Potenzial betrachtet werden? Ziel dieses Artikels ist, die Nachhaltigkeit von Rückkehrbewegungen im Osten auf drei Ebenen zu hinterfragen: Demographische und Migrationsdynamik, ökonomischer Strukturwandel und öffentliche Politiken, die diese Veränderungen unterstützen ; The paper focuses on the phenomenon of internal migrations in Germany after German Reunification. The eastern part of Germany (the former GDR) lost a large share of its population due to internal migration from East to West Germany, resulting in a concomitant process of demographic and economic decline. However, in recent years, some regions such as rural areas and territories near the former inner-German Border are experiencing a re-migration process (from West to East Germany), with an economic renewal. To what extent could the re-migration to East Germany be considered as a potential demographic and economic resource? The aim of this article is to question the sustainability of return movements in the East at three levels: demographic and migratory dynamics, economic transformations, and public policies which support these mutations.