“Ossies,” former East Germans, compare socialist youth with life under capitalism
“Ossies,” former East Germans, compare socialist youth with life under capitalism
BERLIN—A crowd gathered at the Babylon Theater here Saturday for an annual memorial for Dean Reed, the American “rebel,” rock star, and filmmaker who famously defected to “East Germany” (the German Democratic Republic, or GDR) in 1972.
“We never worried about not having a place to live or a job, or about being evicted. There were no worries or fears about our livelihoods and there was so much in the way of culture and recreation that was available most of the time at little or no cost.”
She said that “attempts were always made not only that you had a job but that it was the best job you could do and whenever possible a job you really liked.”
Zastrow explained that she disliked the technical aspects of her schooling, despite the fact that they were providing her with skills that were quite useable. “I love animals,” she said, “and really wanted to have a career working with them.” She described how “there were needs for everything in the GDR, for people who could do all kinds of things and they worked to get me a job that I loved, a job on a large agricultural dairy collective where I had such good times working with more than 300 cows!”
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Grossman’s biggest accolades were reserved for what the GDR did regarding housing and elimination of poverty. “Everyone had a home,” he said. “Rents were very low and you could never be evicted. It was unheard of, and the GDR was really the first place to ever completely eradicate poverty.”
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