Abstract
In order to explore the effects of German unification on the life course of East German women of three age cohorts, 36 biographical interviews were conducted. The purpose of the research was to examine whether unification meant a complete break with the German Democratic Republic's (GDR) standard biography in terms of a voluntary acceptance of West German patterns, or a modification of old patterns based on necessity. Results demonstrate that the historical moment of 1989/90 (the Wende or turning point) has changed the life plans of the three cohorts of women in East Germany in different ways, depending on its timing in their life course. The life patterns of the youngest cohort differ most significantly from the standard biography of the “GDR woman” in that family formation is postponed and employment prioritized over family. Rather than being a complete break with tradition and a voluntary adoption of Western norms, this means a modification of the life course, because the desire to combine work and family continues to dominate.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Adler, M. A. (1996). Impact of German unification on the status of women in the rural East and West. Sociological Focus, 29, 291-310.
Adler, M. A. (1997). Social change and declines in marriage and fertility in Eastern Germany. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 59, 37-49.
Allbus (Allgemeine Bevölkerungsumfrage der Sozialwissenschaften). (1996). Umfrage 1996 [Survey 1996]. Mannheim: Zentrum für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen (ZUMA).
Arbeitsamt Dresden. (2001). Eckdaten des Arbeitsmarktes im Arbeitsamtsbezirk Dresden, 1991–2000 [Key data of the labor market in the labor market region Dresden, 1991-2000]. Dresden.
Beyer, M. (1992). The situation of East German women in postunification Germany. Women's Studies International Forum, 15, 111-114.
Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungswissenschaft. (1999). Altersspezifische Geburtsziffern für Ostdeutschland für den Zeitraum 1952–1988 [Age-specific birth rates for East Germany for the years 1952–1988]. Wiesbaden BfB: Author.
Bundesinstitut für Bevölkerungsforschung. (2000 May). Kinder haben oder kinderlos bleiben? [To have children or to remain childless?] Bevölkerung. Fakten, Trends, Ursachen, Erwartungen. (pp. 12-15). Wiesbaden BfB: Author.
Bundesministerium für Frauen und Jugend (BFJ). (1992). Frauen in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland [Women in the Federal Republik of Germany]. Bonn BFJ: Author.
Einhorn, B. (1992). German Democratic Republic—Emancipated women or hardworking mothers. In C. Corrin (Ed.), Superwomen and the double burden (pp. 125-154). Toronto, Canada: Second Story Press.
Elder, G. H. (1985). Life course dynamics: Trajectories and transitions, 1968–1980. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.
Engelbrech, G. (1997). Erziehungsurlaub—und was dann? Die Situation von Frauen beiihrer Rückkehr auf den Arbeitsmarkt—ein Ost/West Vergleich [The situation of women upon returning to the labor market] (IABkurzbericht Nr. 8). Arbeitsmarkt-und Berufsforschung der Bundesanstalt für Arbeit. Institut für Nürnberg.
Engelbrech, G., & Jungkunst, M. (2001). Alleinerziehende Frauen haben besondere Beschäftigungsprobleme [Single mothers have spezial employment problems] (IABkurzbericht Nr. 2). Nürnberg: Institut für Arbeitsmarkt-und Berufsforschung der Bundesanstalt für Arbeit.
Geissler, B., & Oechsle, M. (1996). Lebensplanung junger Frauen [Life planning among young women]. Weinheim: Deutscher Studien Verlag.
Gerhard, U. (1992). German Women and the Social Cost of Unification. German Politics and Society, 24–25, 16-33.
Grünheid, E., & Roloff, J. (2000). Die demographische Lage 1999 in Deutschland mit dem Teil B Die demographische Entwick-lung in den Bundesländern-ein Vergleich [The demographic situation in Germany 1999-A comparison]. Zeitschrift für Bevölkerungswissenschaft, 25, 3-150.
Hullen, G. (1998). Lebensläufe in West-und Ostdeutschland [Biographies in West and East Germany]. Opladen: Leske & Bubrich.
Kappus, M. (1999, January 22). Frauen im Osten ‘erben’ West-Muster [Women in the East ‘inherit’ Western patterns]. Frankfurter Rundschau, p. C32.
Kolinsky, E. (1992). Women in the new Germany: The East—West divide. In G. Smith, W. E. Paterson, P. H. Merkl, & S. Padgett (Eds.), Developments in German Politics (pp. 264-280). Durham: Duke University Press.
Kolinsky, E. (1993). Womenin contemporary Germany. Providence, RI: Berg Publishers.
Kreyenfeld, M. (2000). Employment Careers and the Timing of first births in East Germany (Working Paper WP 2000-004). Germany: Max Planck Institut für demografische Forschung.
Kreyenfeld, M. (2001). Employment and Fertility-East Germany in the 1990s. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Economics and Social Science Faculty of the University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
Lenz, K. (1997). Ehe? Familie?—beides, eines oder keines? Lebensformen in Umbruch [Marriage? Family?—both, one, or neither? Changing life forms]. In L. Boehnisch & K. Lenz (Eds.), Familien. Eine interdisziplinäre Einführung (pp. 181-197). Weinheim und München: Juventa Verlag.
Marvin, G. M. (1995). Two steps back and one step forward: East German women since the fall of the wall. Humanity and Society, 19, 37-52.
Nickel, H. M. (1992). Women in the German Democratic Republic and in the new federal states: Looking backwards and forwards. German Politics and Society, 24–25, 34-52.
Ostner, I. (1994). Back to the fifties: gender and welfare in unified Germany. Social Politics, 1, 32-59.
Presser, H. B. (1999). Time of one's own and the timing of births: A gender perspective for understanding low fertility in post-transition societies. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Sociological Association, Chicago, IL.
Rudd, E. C. (2000). Reconceptualizing gender in postsocialist transformation. Gender and Society, 14, 517-539.
Shoemaker, S. (Producer). (1996). My Second Life. East German Women in a Changed World [Video]. (Available from Bronco Video, P.O. Box 343, San Marcos, CA 92079)
Seidenspinner, G., Keddi, B., Wittmann, S., Gross, M., Hildebrandt, K., & Strehmel, P., (1996). Junge Frauen heute-Wie sie leben, was sie anders machen [Young women today-how they live and what they do differently]. Opladen: Leske & Bubrich.
Statistisches Bundesamt. (1992a). Datenreport 1992 [Data report 1992]. Bonn: Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung.
Statistisches Bundesamt. (1992b). Statistisches Jahrbuch 1991 für das Vereinte Deutschland [Statistical yearbook 1991 for unified Germany]. Bonn: Metzler-Pöschel.
Statistisches Bundesamt. (1999). Bevölkerung und Erwerbstätigkeit [Population and employment]. Gebiet und Bevölkerung 1997. Fachserie I Reihe I. Stuttgart: Metzler-Pöschel.
Statistisches Bundesamt. (2000). Bevölkerung und Erwerbstätigkeit [Population and employment]. Gebiet und Bevölkerung 1998. Fachserie I Reihe I. Stuttgart: Metzler-Pöschel.
Trappe, H. (1995). Women's changing life courses in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Paper presented at the meeting of the American Sociological Association, Washington, DC.
Trappe, H. (1996). Work and family in women's lives in the German Democratic Republic. Work and Occupations, 23, 354-377.
Trappe, H. (2002). Zur Erwerbssituation ostdeutscher Frauen im Kontext des geschlechtsspezifischen Umbaus des Wirtschaftssystems [About the employment situation of East German women in the context of the gender specific transformation of the economic system]. In V. Hammer (Ed.), Alleinerziehende-Stäerken und Probleme Impulse für eine handlungsorientierte Forschung. Erfurt: LIT-Verlag.
Trappe, H., & Rosenfeld, R. A. (2000). How do children matter? A comparison of gender earnings inequality for young adults in the former East Germany and the former West Germany. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 489-507.
Wallrabe, K., & Graf, M. (1999). Erarbeitung einer Stadtgeschichte aus weiblicher Sicht [Creation of a city history from a female perspective]. Report for the Gender Equalizing Office, Stadtverwaltung Radbeul.
Winkler, G. (Ed.). (1990). Frauenreport 90 [Report on women 90]. Berlin: Verlag Die Wirtschaft Berlin GmbH.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Adler, M.A. German Unification as a Turning Point in East German Women's Life Course: Biographical Changes in Work and Family Roles. Sex Roles 47, 83–98 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020635804707
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020635804707