Now an invisible wall between West and East Germany remains. More than thirty years after its fall, former East Germans are underrepresented in leadership positions in the public sector. The three parties participating in the Berlin government, the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and the Free Democrats, are striving to change this fact. The starting point was the investigation presented to the cabinet yesterday Karsten Snyderresponsible for the affairs of East Germany.

According to the report’s findings, former East Germans rarely hold positions of power in federal agencies and the courts. Thus, while 20% of the population was born in the states of East Germany, the percentage of those who hold the highest or highest positions in the federal government is only 13.9%. If Berlin is excluded and only those born in the five East German states are taken into account, the percentage does not exceed 7.5%. “Thirty-two years after the reunification of the two Germanies, East Germans are vastly underrepresented in leadership positions. This is a delayed mission, ”Schneider admitted in an interview with a German agency.

However, to change this picture, the establishment of a quota is not envisaged. Instead, many small changes in the hierarchy are planned to encourage East Germans to take higher positions. In this way, the place of birth will be taken into account much more systematically, and the authorities will be obliged to promote inclusion. Evaluation committees need to be more representative and task forces need to be more focused to encourage networking.

Second class citizens

It is not only the areas of politics and governance that need enrichment. The same applies to the economy, culture, science, justice and the media, where more East Germans should be recruited into positions of responsibility, Snyder stressed in the same interview. “This is vital to the cohesion of society and the stability of our democracy,” he explained, presenting his plans. His report notes, among other things, that many East Germans still feel like second-class citizens because they are underrepresented in the elite.

It is noted that an East German is considered to be anyone who has reached the age of majority in the former East Germany before or after unification. In the five former states of East Germany, 87% of the inhabitants are considered East Germans. Last year, the Left Party proposed affirmative action in favor of East Germans, but this initiative was rejected.