IIRC life in the DDR was quite austere because they had to pay war reparations for Nazi crimes. The BRD got help from the US to pay- (yes in a very self serving fashion from the US side but still), whereas the DDR obviously didn’t get any help. It’s an interesting layer of context in the greater picture of post-war development and the tale of two Germanies.
Then again it’s not like life suddenly got better after the annexation. Reunification and Treuhand were unmitigated disasters for the east, and it’s noticeably behind even a generation later.
IIRC life in the DDR was quite austere because they had to pay war reparations for Nazi crimes. The BRD got help from the US to pay- (yes in a very self serving fashion from the US side but still), whereas the DDR obviously didn’t get any help. It’s an interesting layer of context in the greater picture of post-war development and the tale of two Germanies.
Then again it’s not like life suddenly got better after the annexation. Reunification and Treuhand were unmitigated disasters for the east, and it’s noticeably behind even a generation later.