Representing East Germany Since Unification: From Colonization to Nostalgia

When the Berlin Wall came down and the two Germanies were reunited, culture was held up to be one of the keys to national unity. Ironically, however, it is the realm of culture that most clearly demonstrates the continued divisions between east and west. Taking culture as broadly defined, this book examines state memorialization, literature, television, film, and the internet, to map out the problematic path of German national identity as it struggles to deal with the legacy of division. Drawing on postcolonial theory, the author argues that the east has been defined as the west's "exotic other" and shows how this stereotype has been vigorously challenged. Cooke also discusses the growing phenomenon of nostalgia for East Germany, as evident in the recent international hit film Good Bye, Lenin!