East Germany's failed integration experiment reveals limits of political language
A new study shows how the Cold War regime's official 'peoples' friendship' doctrine collapsed when tested against everyday reality with migrant workers. The research reveals how language alone—without structural support—cannot bridge cultural divides, offering cautionary lessons for modern integration policy across Europe.
Originaltitel: 'Völkerfreundschaft' als innenpolitischer Sprechakt.: Ambitionen, Begrenzungen und Folgen des Konzepts für interkulturelle Begegnungen in der DDR
<p><em> “Peoples’ Friendship” as a Domestic Speech Act. Ambitions, Limita-tions, and Consequences of the Concept for Intercultural Encounters in the GDR</em>.</p><p>With a specific focus on labour migrants from other socialist countries whocame to the GDR from the 1960s onwards, this article explores how intercul-turality and integration were addressed in East German society, both political-ly and in daily life. Against this backdrop, the concept of “peoples’ friendship”,originally employed within the scope of foreign affairs, became increasinglyimportant. The article analyses the ambitions and limitations of this conceptas manifested during the Honecker era, discussing its possible consequencesbeyond the historical watershed of 1989-90. In doing so, it links research on aspecific GDR context with the broader question of the power and powerless-ness of language in intercultural communication and integration.</p>