„Nowi Niemcy” a wschodni Niemcy – przeciwieństwo i podobieństwo
"New Germans" and East Germany - opposite and similarity

Summary/Abstract: In light of the current debate regarding the unfavorable opinion that Western Germans have of their East German counterparts, the article focuses on the attitude of migrants who arrived in the Federal Republic of Germany prior to 1989 and their offspring to East Germans. The paper focuses on the per- spective of migrants, namely guest workers from Turkey. The thesis is put forward that the Turks’ view- point was shaped by the events of the so-called peaceful revolution and the transformation of the 1990s. By examining literary works that portray the aforementioned historic events, the perspective of the first and particularly the second generation of migrants – who regard themselves as “new Germans” with an undeniable claim to German society – is presented. The study provides answers to the following queries: what role do the East and its people play in the authors’ narratives? How do they depict the revolution, reunification, and its aftermath? The picture that emerges from the literary sources stands in stark contrast to the success story of the peaceful course of the transformation and its protagonists that prevailed until recently. The East Ger- mans are seen as competitors and aggressors by the Turkish migrants, who believe they are the primary losers of the reunification. Thus, the migrant perspective complicates the debate between East and West Germans, as does the controversial thesis, shared by different sides, that there are significant similarities between East Germans and migrants in terms of negative experiences and perceived social status.

• Details
• Contents