The Neo-Nazis and German Unification

Social Democracy After the Cold War

“…The East German economy collapsed in the first years after unification and could only revive as a dependent annex to the West German economy (Hickel and Priewe 1994). At the same time, a wave of racist violence and electoral success for far-right parties swept across the whole country (Lewis 1996). During the euphoria over unification that had followed the opening of the Berlin Wall, warnings about economic crisis and a resurgence of nationalism had mostly been seen as misplaced quibbling.…”