Together but Apart: German (Dis)Unity 32 Years after Unification

Most people on both sides of the former border between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) consider unification a success. Living standards have risen in the East. The mass exodus from East to West has been halted and even reversed. But, more than three decades after unification, the project has not been completed, and Germany is still a divided country in many ways. This can be seen in the economy and in the political landscape: Economic growth in the East still lags that of the West, and many easterners are expressing their discontent by supporting the populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

Join us on September 30 for a virtual discussion with two award-winning journalists who grew up in the former GDR about the “parallel societies” that have developed in contemporary Germany. Both from the Free State of Saxony, Vladimir Balzer grew up in Leipzig and is with Deutschlandfunk and Anja Heyde was born in Leisnig and is a well-known television host and journalist.

Vladimir Balzer is a journalist and moderator at Deutschlandfunk Kultur. He grew up in Leipzig and studied German, art history, and journalism in Dublin, Venice, and Leipzig. He spent study periods in Italy and the USA. He began his career as a presenter, reporter, and editor at Deutschlandradio and MDR. Mr. Balzer hosts, among others, the daily programs “Fazit – Kultur vom Tage” and “Studio 9” on Deutschlandfunk Kultur.

Anja Heyde is a well-known German television host and journalist. From 2008 to 2017, she was the host of ZDF’s Morgenmagazin. She also hosted “Made in Germany” on Deutsche Welle’s television station and MDR’s “Fakt Ist!” Her reporting can be seen on Auslandsjournal, ZDF’s Blickpunkt, and election coverage.