Integriert doch erst mal uns!

Why is there such a great distrust and distance towards democracy and politics in East Germany? Where does all the anger come from? This is the question posed by Saxony's Minister for Integration and Equality, Petra Köpping. "First, integrate us!" - this is a phrase she has repeatedly heard in conversations with citizens and supporters of Pegida. Köpping is calling for a comprehensive national reckoning with the post-reunification period. She sees the unresolved humiliations, insults, and injustices, as well as the disruptions and uprootings of the 1990s, as a significant cause of today's dilemma. She elaborates on many issues that were overlooked or consciously suppressed at that time - from the failed Treuhand policy to the exchange of elites, the devaluation of professional qualifications, the loss of company pensions, and the general suspicion of political rudeness.