Im Glanze dieses Glückes

Rhine wine in Saxony! It is being served at an information stand set up by West Germany’s Christian Democratic Union party (CDU) just before the first and only free elections to East Germany’s People’s Assembly; the ballot will give the CDU almost 41% of the vote. But while the East Germans appear entirely sober about it all despite the sweet swill on offer, during the election campaign in February/March of 1990 the West Germans seem drunk on the new order. “Socialism is over. Nobody wants it anymore”, exults Helmut Kohl. Meanwhile, his finance minister is speaking of an “expanded economic territory”. And very soon, a Nazi banner is proclaiming the “east regions” of Germany as the next goal for a “reunification”.
“How do various generations experience the uncertainty, the disorientation and the reconsideration of East Germany’s old values?”, asked the East-West German documentary film collective Blick ins Land. In their questioning of workers, schoolchildren, border guards and police, a teacher and an East German state security (Stasi) officer about their experiences and feelings, the collective provided an unvarnished look at the downsides of the “splendid happiness”.