Commissioner for Eastern Europe: Foreign countries more curious about the East than the West
In order to overcome mutual prejudices, people in West Germany must take more interest in the East, according to Carsten Schneider, Commissioner for Eastern Germany. "When it comes to curiosity about East Germany, I have noticed that it is sometimes greater abroad than at home," the SPD politician told the Leipziger Volkszeitung newspaper (Friday). There are structural and emotional differences between East and West, he said. "Exchange is an essential prerequisite for mutual prejudices to disappear."
Abroad, East Germans are the brave ones, the cool ones who fought oppression and won freedom, said Schneider. In recent decades, however, prejudices about the East have become entrenched in West Germany. "It is also fitting that around a fifth of West Germans have never been to the East - but very few East Germans have never been to the West." It is crucial to better showcase the diversity of the East and to be more self-confident in the East. "We are currently in a decisive phase of the unification process. How we position ourselves now will shape the coming decades."
Source: www.dpa.com
