Farewell to the West - A growing number of East Germans are returning home | People & Politics

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, many people in East Germany headed west in search of work, wealth and a better life. An increasing number are now returning. Like the Behrenbruch family who are leaving Wolfsburg and moving to Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. They used an agency - MV4You - to help them go home.

[@arturbychkov6267]

I lived in a communist country and i have to say that people were much friendlier there, you could ask your naighbor to take your kids from kindergarten if you were busy at work. You could send your kid to school without worrying that he would be kidnapped. I remember being a kid in a communist country and how i was tought to respect others and be comrades with everyone. I remember going to summer camps every year. There were many positive things

[@gigi-bl5yu]

Artur Bychkov wait in which country did You live? Yugoslavia? Ussr? I am just curious.

[@LinLinvy]

bert smith No if you are a minority

[@jimkeane3823]

What country? Not naming your country is suspicious.

[@hanzorik6215]

@@jimkeane3823 USSR cause he got russian name

[@monobgantonina5577]

Yeah be comrades but don't forget to be a sneach and tell on them to the secret service/police if he happens to tell a improper joke or do something different than what's accepted.

[@Steve14ps]

I travelled many times to Germany in the 80s, I always found East Germans friendlier than West Germans, money is not everything

[@anthonywalsh7613]

I agree with you. Spent time in East Berlin & West Berlin

[@Steve14ps]

@@anthonywalsh7613 Me too

[@anthonywalsh7613]

@@Steve14ps and the beer was far better in the east ☺️👌

[@Steve14ps]

@@anthonywalsh7613 They did know how to brew a good beer. :-)

[@anthonywalsh7613]

@@Steve14ps I’ll share a lovely tale with you. It was Christmas Eve & a group of us where about to head to checkpoint Charlie to return west. We bought a load of beer in a shop, to take back, for the festive activities. Well there was a woman & child in the queue & we had a load of East German Marks left over. So I asked for the child’s hat. We put all the money into the hat. It was bursting at the seems with notes. We just walked away & the woman & child were just open mouthed. As we got into our minibus they came out of the shop with tears rolling down the woman’s face

[@JohnSmith-no8bb]

They earn less but costs are lower, they dont mention that

[@AvidanTheExpositor]

huge huge discount when there is nothing worthwhile in the shops

[@LinLinvy]

Avidan Better than when the store have a lot of stuff but people can't afford any of it.

[@Moosemoose1]

@@shade221 People acknowledged that there may have not been as much variety as the west boasts about, but at least they had all the necessities and basic supplies and were able to have a comfortable life not based on materialistic standards.

[@surendramumgai631]

@nickys34 if the poor r living so well then why r they always forced to demonstrate to draw attention to their plight , it can't be bcoz they have the freedom to do that as the rich have the same freedom but they never take to the streets , it's obvious this claim about the poor being better off in a market economy is not true at all and plz note that if capitalist countries have become livable for the poor it's bcoz of their adoption of the welfare state which is a socialist idea !

[@surendramumgai631]

@nickys34 All thanks to the adoption of the welfare state which is socialist ! Socialism has saved capitalism , what an irony and yet socialism is being constantly demonised , really sad , capitalists need to acknowledge their debt to socialism for saving it !

[@joanexile9098]

I knew this older german lady who is from east germany lived there when the Berlin wall was still up she was very nice told me all kinds of cool things about those times she told me the good and the bad parts of it like any where else in the world there is always a good and bad side to it its up to you as a individual to make the best of it.

[@henryseidel5469]

The clip shows exactly the difference between materialistic and social values. Those people had experienced the facades of the Golden West but returned to the more sociable East. They changed money for friendliness and love for their home area, folks and peace of mind.

[@rgsxyz1105]

Most countries have to build a wall to keep people out, communist have to build a wall to keep people in. Says a lot about Communist. The average communist is a loser who needs to the state to prop them up cause the free market deems them less than shit.....and communist are less than shit.

[@youngmoola8018]

Henry Seidel 7

[@amath-dr7uk]

Or they just didn t make it...

[@henryseidel5469]

@nickys34 Have you ever met and talked to someone from there ? To learn about the real motifs of those people. You sound like a manipulated, brainwashed guy who talks about things he has never seen himself.

[@richardalvarado-ik9br]

@nickys34 kzbin.info/www/bejne/paWwpa1qrJ5nh9U

[@istmiregal7469]

I'm from East Germany and I'd never leave my home. It's very different from the West, better in my opinion.

[@RinatShop]

mam nadzieję Why?

[@chadcastagana9181]

subjective

[@k.t.1641]

And if you lived in the West you’d say the same thing. And if you lived in the north you’d also say the same thing. And if you lived......yeah you get where I’m going with this. “My side is better than yours”

[@k.t.1641]

And if you lived in the West you’d say the same thing. And if you lived in the north you’d also say the same thing. And if you lived......yeah you get where I’m going with this. “My side is better than yours”

[@jagdpanther2224]

They(West German)will never let you matchup with western living standard! Keep the east poor and reliance on western finance and knees! This is their true intention.

[@SCHMIDTDAVID13]

The "West" have some disadvantages. If you get older, and you have no relatives or reliable friends, your life is going to be very hard in the West. Many old people are very lonely in the West, and I read about helpless old people being totally neglected by the nurses and health care aids in hospitals, if nobody ask for their well-being.In the East, if you have relatives and friends, I think that your life is going to be easier than in the West, when you grow older.Not to mention that the "West" is always crowded and with a lot of competition for jobs. Once you get older, you are in no mood to keep competing with the young guys, fresh and full of energy...

[@AGoat1971]

In the East you did not live as long as the state sees everyone as expendable.

[@AlfaGiuliaQV]

What if you don´t have any relatives or friends in the east?

[@henryseidel5469]

They have learnt that quality of life is not only made up of money and toiling in a treadmill for some employer. They are really free now.

[@jakejhons5138]

Most former communist countries are finding out Capitalism has its dark sides as well. I think a mix of both systems is the way to go.

[@aldershot5100]

+Alex Jhons social democracy

[@nikolt2000]

+Alex Jhons no, they cannot get the good sides of capitalism because communism leaves its nasty stains for decades after it falls, its not something people outside of the eastern bloc understand

[@jakejhons5138]

Capitalism and imperialisms stains last alot longer. Slavery, colonialism, thousands of wars, Nationalism, ...

[@nikolt2000]

Alex Jhons lol what

[@marksmediatv7734]

Sounds like something I would have heard of Vremya. While ignoring the fact that USSR used political laborers to build Stalinist Russia and the Soviet empire games in Asia,Africa and Latin America.

[@overopensights]

The public buildings in East Berlin says it all, they are very well preserved and immaculate. In contrast West Berlin looks nowhere near as well reconstructed and planned.

[@TrixiausNebra]

I wanna go home too...

[@aminuaidara8601]

There's no place like home

[@Shregurun93]

home is where the heart is

[@unclestuka8543]

I would love to live in East Germany, I traveled in the old DDR and found the people very friendly.

[@Steve14ps]

Me too

[@kolezka161]

The guy in the movie seems super stern, and he doesn’t smile even once. He seems like a pure bred Ossi.

[@santiagoarestegui]

You feel at ease in the place you call home. For this people home lies in the East. Job opportunities are important to make a move like this, but it is an exclusive factor to go back home.

[@chukchee]

The most beautiful German labor minister...

[@andycheong5036]

Very good . At least they understand the difference between democracy and socialist

[@v.dargain1678]

They are small town people ; those who prefer small town living than big city style . The industrialized world is full of them . And they all have the freedom to choose .

[@mcswabin207]

The kids didn't seem too happy about leaving. Seems like the parents were IDGAF

[@denisesimpson591]

You move toward what's familiar.

[@Brissieskater1]

I heard from a former West German, that if you lived in the East, you could leave at the age of 65 so that the Government wouldn't have to pay you a pension.

[@Bulletguy07]

I'm from UK but surprised at the low cost of property in Germany, and it's not only in the East. I had a friend who lived in Sulingen (Lower Saxony) who on retiring five years ago, sold his 4 bed detached house with large garden plus 1 bed studio flat for €170,000 and moved to a 3 bed flat not far from Sulingen he bought for €43,000. I was absolutely staggered at what you can buy for very little money in Germany. OK yes i realise the cost of similar properties in Berlin for example would be much more, but here in UK you cannot buy comparable properties of that size for those prices......anywhere.

[@henryseidel5469]

You are right. I spend my holidays in Sussex every year. And I am shocked about the prices for property there. A fortune for a wooden hut ! In Germany the price for a house of course depends on the place. There are extremely low-price places as well as expensive estates. The price for a house in a larger city may be five times higher than in a quiet, rural area in the hilly countryside of East Germany.

[@Bulletguy07]

@@henryseidel5469 Yes that is what my German friend Peter was always keen to remind me and would say, "hey but this is not Berlin or Munich where the price for the same type of property would be a crazy amount". I'd already accounted for that and was comparing 'like for like'.....eg; the medium size village he had moved to after selling his house was the same population size as where i live in UK yet a 2 bed flat in my area sells at around €150,000 and they are much smaller than the one my friend had in Germany. UK is not a cheap country to live and we have some very punitive taxes.

[@henryseidel5469]

@@Bulletguy07 I know very well what you are talking about for I have spent my holidays in Britain very often. Except this year due to that Corona monster, which seems to have become a mixture of medical and home policy deficiencies. I am not sure yet. And I am not quite sure what the price for a house in Germany is dependent on. But I suppose it is the industry around the place and the chance of getting a job there. Elderly people with a good pension or civil servants (teachers etc.) tend to move to smaller places in East Germany, where the houses are of good quality and the costs for infrastructure are low. I live in an area very close to the Czech border, and I will never go away from here for the purchasing power is as high as nowhere else in Germany. Younger people of course have to go to places where they find jobs.

[@RICKY-RIKON]

Just the easteners Germans never had acostumed to the fast lane and multicultural pro gay state of things of the west Germany ! The guy came to the west on his teen years ( already he had one fixed character) worked a lot but now ...he watch :" What is the next? Time to go back home to his real inner homeland , emigrate its a delicate stuff guys : It's not the same go to look fortune at your 18s wich come like one baby , the perceptions are differents ( watch at her daughter she feel bad about move in ! ) the more joung you move the better ! GERMANY ITS STILL A SEPARTE COUNTRY ! EVEN YOU CAN FEEL IT ON THE ACCENT.

[@hebneh]

I don't know why that man thought that everyone back home was going to be all buddy-buddy with him, greeting him in the street and supporting him when he grew old. That might've been his warm & fuzzy memory of the good old days, but I doubt it really was like that - and even if it had been, that was 20 years earlier. I wonder what it really turned out to be like for him and his family, especially the older daughter who didn't want to move.

[@mikelkiparski638]

perhaps he has friendly STAZI memories

[@Erin60147]

I agree . Don’t know if it was best for his kids.

[@rfk6571]

My father studied engineering and got his doctorate at Humboldt University and lived several years in East Berlin. The East German diplomats who visited our house in India in the 1980s were incredibly soft spoken, gentle and polite. They were the only foreigners who had the courtesy to ask my mother her name. The Soviets (mostly Russians, occasionally Uzbeks etc) were full of jokes and ate and drank a lot. In contrast the West German diplomats were cold. The Americans were loud and almost arrogant. But I'm not saying the communist system was better. Having to drive around in a Trabant would be not very nice I guess. Plus the Stasi. Freedom is important too but not too much. Countries like the Soviet Union and East Germany could have transitioned to a China style system instead of pressing the self destruct button the moment Gorbachev arrived with Glasnost. Singapore offers the best balance between freedom and prosperity.

[@alanstrong3295]

There should have been a German equivilant to the Marshall plan that would have given the former East Germany a full recovery. That dissention must drop dead.

[@somethingelse9228]

The Soviet Union was one of the victims of WW2 while also been the main superpower supporting DDR, While FRG had the US which was isolated from the war

[@rileyemel9913]

ENDLICH, mit mehr familien könnte Ostdeutschland wieder erfolg haben. Ost braucht mehr familien, insbesondere kinder.

[@henryseidel5469]

No ! East Germany needs its industry back it was deprived of thirty years ago. It has been turned into a colony.

[@alanstrong55]

Go where you feel comfy. Toppling the Stasi was a big step.

[@markhall6306]

Glad you can live where you will be happy

[@markhall6306]

I understand in the US ,New York City people are not friendly yet if you move to Iowa they are friendlier so good idea to move

[@epsilonxvi5675]

captailistic people are not friendly they are materialistic and they gonna use you tell you become worthless to them

[@jagdpanther2224]

They were being treated as second class citizens!

[@fjdkfdfjdf33]

it would be interesting to hear a followup story on this family's fortunes.

[@markhall6306]

Actually in the long run it will work out better

[@zavi13]

It's tough for the kids in this family but good for the former eastern Lander in general as the depopulation they suffered in the years after unification threatened to leave the former DDR a wasteland. Hopefully this trend has continued in the last few years?

[@christinamowatt8855]

Having been to east Germany back in 1995 shortly after reunification I would say that it looks a 100% better now than it did then. It seems to have taken a long time for the east to recover but job prospects are better now than then. People are probably feeling nostalgic especially young people. But if you had seen it shortly after reunification you wouldn't be praising communism.

[@danielnikitin2020]

They all lost the jobs they got promised and now have to hope to get one remotely to their liking

[@ericballi4701]

Yes, and the extra tax that West-Germans had to pay for some 30 years was a huge reason for those improvements. I had some neighbors in 'West' Germany who complained of their deteriorating roads at the expense of improvements in the 'East.'

[@Dummigame]

East germany had basically no natural resources, no marshall plan and had to pay reparations to the ussr. Still, it had better working conditions, a sense of unity, more direct ways to have a say in the government, you could speak out against your boss but not your government (I'll let you decide which is more important), much more social security (free healthcare, very cheap vacation, basically free public transport, cheap cars, (though they would take a long time to get delivered, but you could get really far on a liter compared to western cars, and public transport was good, so you didn't really need one,) no fascists in the government... Of course there was the wall, but you could cross it. It was an overly beurocratic process though, but that's reasonable, west and east germany were always very close to war, with west germany having nukes. East germany also had to recover from a massive brain drain, because mostly young, intelligent people thought they would have a better life in the west, taking the social security from the east as forgranted, a big mistake. For what it's situation was, east germany was amazing.

[@ianmuir3640]

If your supposed to be German you should be paid the same as any other German doing the same job , employers taking advantage of them

[@josephlarmor550]

...you’re...

[@wa9neu]

Home sweet home?

[@Yora21]

Mecklenburgers are peculiar. We have lots of Mecklemburgers commuting here for hours every day, but they never seem to consider just moving to Schleswig-Holstein.

[@audiuntur]

yes I want to go home too :) plzzz

[@philipnankabao9290]

East germany is not poor though... its just luxury is not their priority.

[@mohammadmahfuz9310]

I very much like DW documentories.

[@emirvmendoza]

What happened to the family since then?

[@finscreenname]

First, they moved before the kid started grade school. Much better then waiting. Second, I really don't see how they upgraded? From one crappy apartment to another? Figured they were going there to upgrade from a crappy apt to a house or something for the same money?

[@jaisvikt]

A perk for sure if you first decide to move....then arrive with a break for "Family Time"....the begin interviewing for a new job.

[@Rheinlander95]

Once a Commie, ALWAYS a Commie.

[@p.e.gottrocks4528]

You dirty Commie.

[@bryanholden1558]

Capitalist lackey

[@bryanholden1558]

Sycophantic neanderthal and capitalist cannon fodder

[@MrMacal1]

once a big mouth....always the same

[@Wok_Agenda]

Once a cheater always a cheater

[@flaviusbelisarius7517]

I thought this was about Germans moving back into the lands 5he Soviets removed them from in poland and Kaliningrad

[@flaviusbelisarius7517]

@Kinda Brian, But not really. Well it could have still meant the ancestorial lands

[@kolezka161]

If you read into history you will discover that pretty much all of current eastern Germany used to be Slavic in the first millennium AD, and the origin of the name Berlin, like those of countless of towns in the region, are also Slavic. And it all is the best kept secret in Germany. It is verboten to talk about it and teach in schools.

[@dennisbullard600]

You had me when Manuela appeared and then spoke!! There is nothing better than a educated gorgeous lady in a position of power that wants better for her fellow countryman/countrywomen.. Also, being the point of the story of a man knowing the importance of his family happiness and well being versus greed.. No doubt, many of us in the west should follow this mans lead... Did I mention how pretty Manuela is? Just kidding, he was pretty too! Lol

[@RFM-]

Yes the West does have some bad BUT NOTHING like the former EAST. At least in the West you can MOVE if you don't like your current situation NOT IN THE EAST. How many died trying to leave East Berlin to West Berlin. I didn't see the opposite happening. Also in this video the "Eastern" part of Germany is no longer the East it HAS WESTERN conveniences.

[@Hannodb1961]

"FGR citizen moves to GDR. Instantly regrets it". - Sounds like a good youtube video title.

[@sigurdsolli6239]

the berlin wall was not nessescary to build because people from east germany could not travel to west germany

3:08 Babe is Hot.

[@brianjohnson1705]

t. pajeet

[@ThomasDoubting5]

Miss the social evil in the east

[@christopersambeli6566]

How about the evil empire of the west

[@zidorovichburblyatya2862]

It's useless... Ruins are there in the East, nostalgia won't help. Empty promises from the West blinded many. The future is uncertain.

[@erikcortez1611]

The BIG difference is the Behrenbruch's CAN go anywhere in Germany today and, have a 'smorgasbord' of other nations in the Schengen Zone as well.

[@petezereeah517]

Democracies don't build walls.

[@MrMacal1]

Don`t need to, taxes and eternal debt are enough,

[@danielz56037]

Yes they do! George W Bush started the border wall between the US and Mexico. President Trump wants to finish/improve it.

[@zcopbccibkczilc1605]

Yeah no wall around palestine ...

[@jagdpanther2224]

Democracies do drug business in an industry scale! Good for you!

[@lenblack1462]

GDR Had wall to keep people in, USA building wall to keep people out.

[@Zooboo1]

You are able to return because of steadfast defenders of Democracy in the West. It will be better on your return because you will be able to express yourself freely.

[@eprofessio]

There is only Germany. The fatherland which we all love. No East, No West. Only a unified country where families and people grow.

[@henryseidel5469]

But if you had a closer look you would realize that there are large differences in prices, in payment and in pensions. Even thirty years after the so called reunification there is no unity at all.

[@ritwikachatterjee5792]

People who are used to oppression

[@bryanholden1558]

Slavery in the USA ?

[@mikelkiparski638]

STOCKHOLM syndrome

[@Hannodb1961]

@@bryanholden1558 2019 - 1865 = ?

[@bryanholden1558]

@@Hannodb1961 As capitalism traverses its historical path, exploiting workers, perpetuating inequalities and deprivation, pitting individuals, institutions and nations against each other in a struggle for survival, legitimizing the use of force as a solution to their disagreements and utilizing war as a means of resolving its problems, all in order to maximise private profits.

[@Hannodb1961]

@@bryanholden1558 NEWS FLASH! Nothing is for free, and you are not entitled to anyone's labor. Capitalism is simply the idea that people have the freedom and right to enter into mutually beneficial contracts that would add value for both parties. Those who have the most to offer, have the most to gain, those who have little to offer, must be happy with what they get. Fact of the matter is: For all its flaws, it is still the most efficient, effective and fair system to generate wealth. You can criticize it all you want, but unless you can come up with a WORKING alternative (And no, neither socialism nor communism works) its nothing but hot air by a spoiled brat who think he's entitled to take more value from society than he is putting in. If you don't like working for McDonalds, no one if preventing you from returning to the stone age and live in a cave. Just quit blaming other people for your choices.

[@rfk6571]

My father studied engineering and got his doctorate at Humboldt University and lived several years in East Berlin. The East German diplomats who visited our house in India in the 1980s were incredibly soft spoken, gentle and polite. They were the only foreigners who had the courtesy to ask my mother her name. The Soviets (mostly Russians, occasionally Uzbeks etc) were full of jokes and ate and drank a lot. In contrast the West German diplomats were cold. The Americans were loud and almost arrogant. But I'm not saying the communist system was better. Having to drive around in a Trabant would be not very nice I guess. Plus the Stasi. Freedom is important too but not too much. Countries like the Soviet Union and East Germany could have transitioned to a China style system instead of pressing the self destruct button the moment Gorbachev arrived with Glasnost. Singapore offers the best balance between freedom and prosperity.

[@grantbeerling4396]

A case of either being owned by the the state or the 'man' (corporations). More than ever Debt is the prison. Much of the Neoliberal dream is built on the myth of choice.... In my travels I have always found an oppressed people (East Germany, Romania, Poland, Hungry 1980's, Zimbabwe late 90's ) always show empathy towards others. Oppression is not good, but rampant choice driven by consumerism seems just to produce a society of selfish individuals, ie London British, Silicon Valley Constitutionalist/Libertarian Americans....I understand why now some look to the past with rose tinted glasses..Is the Nordic form of Socialism the way to go? Jenkes Law....

[@DASSANTAMARIA]

Oh man! I understand you, in rural areas of Colombia people are a lot nicer than in the cities, but they've never been communists. Also Singapore is one of the the three most libertarian economies of the world, with an unusual political system.