The new states of Germany () are the five re-established

states State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of the former

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

(GDR) that unified with the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

(FRG) with its 10 "old states" upon

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

on 3 October 1990. The new states, which were dissolved by the GDR government in 1952 and re-established in 1990, are

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in population; it covers an are ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...

, and

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. The state of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, the result of a merger between

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

, is usually not considered one of the new states although a number of its residents are former East Germans and some of its areas were in the former East Berlin. There have been 16 states in Germany since reunification.

Demographics

After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the former East German states experienced high rates of depopulation until around 2008. About 2,000 schools closed between 1989 and 2008, because of a demographic shift to a lower number of children. In 2006, the fertility rate in the new states (1.30) approached those in the old states (1.34) and in 2016 it was higher than in the old states (1.64 vs. 1.60 in the old states). In 2019, the new states had exactly the same fertility rate as the old states (both 1.56). More children are born out of wedlock in the new states than in the old states. In the new states, 61% of births were from unmarried women compared to 27% in the old states in 2009. Both states of Saxony-Anhalt and

had the highest rates of birth outside wedlock at 64% each, followed by Brandenburg with 62%,

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

and

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

at 26%, while the state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...

had the lowest rate at 22%.

Demographic evolution

had a population of 2,660,000 in 1989 and 2,531,071 in 2020. It has the second-lowest population density in Germany. In 1995, it was the only new state to experience population growth, aided by nearby Berlin.

had a population of 1,970,000 in 1989 and 1,610,774 in 2020, with the lowest population density in Germany. The local Landtag held several inquiries on population trends after the opposition requested an annual report on the topic.

had a population of 5,003,000 in 1989, which fell to 4,056,094 in 2020. It remains the most populated among the five new states. The proportion of the population under 20 years of age fell from 24.6% in 1988 to 19.7% in 1999.

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

are among the fastest-growing cities in Germany, both raising their population to over half a million inhabitants again.

had a population of 2,960,000 in 1989, which fell to 2,180,684 in 2020. The state has a long history of demographic decline: its current territory had a population of 4,100,000 in 1945. The emigration had already begun during the GDR years.

had a population of 2,680,000 in 1989, which fell to 2,120,237 in 2020. , the new states have 12.5 million people, about 15% of Germany's population, and slightly less than that of

Migration

There are more migrants in former West Germany than in former East Germany. About 1.7 million people (or 12% of the population) had left the new states. A disproportionately high number of them were women under the age of 35. About 500,000 women under the age of 30 left for western Germany between 1993 and 2008. In some rural regions, the number of women between the ages of 20 and 30 dropped by more than 30 percent. After 2008, the

net migration rate The net migration rate is the difference between the number of immigrants (people coming into an area) and the number of emigrants (people leaving an area) per year divided by the population. When the number of immigrants is larger than the num ...

decreased significantly. In 2017, for the first time since German reunification, more people emigrated from the old states to the new states than vice versa. All of the new states have populations where 90-95% of people do not have a migrant background.

Religion

Irreligion Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ...

is predominant in former East Germany. An exception is former

, which had a Christian plurality in 2016 (44.4% Christian and 43.5% unaffiliated). It also has a higher share of

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

at 8.5%, compared to former

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

with only 1.5% self-declared Muslims as of 2016.

Eurostat Eurostat ("European Statistical Office"; also DG ESTAT) is a department of the European Commission ( Directorate-General), located in the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide statist ...

Eurobarometer Eurobarometer is a series of public opinion statistical survey, surveys conducted regularly on behalf of the European Commission and other Institutions of the European Union, EU institutions since 1974. These surveys address a wide variety of to ...

survey in 2015, found that 27.0% of the adult population declared themselves as agnostics or non believer, while 34.1% declared themselves as atheists. Christians comprised 37.2% of the total population; by denomination, members of the Protestant Churches were 19.2%, members of other Christian denominations were 8.8%, Catholics were 7.1%, the Christian Orthodox were 2.1%. An explanation for the atheism in the new states, popular in other states, is the aggressive

state atheist State atheism or atheist state is the incorporation of hard atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It is considered the opposite of theocracy and may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. To some extent, ...

policies of the former GDR government. However, the enforcement of atheism existed only for the first few years. After that, the state allowed churches to have a relatively high level of autonomy. Another explanation could be the secularizing trend (the "

Kulturkampf In the history of Germany, the ''Kulturkampf'' (Cultural Struggle) was the seven-year political conflict (1871–1878) between the Catholic Church in Germany led by Pope Pius IX and the Kingdom of Prussia led by chancellor Otto von Bismarck. Th ...

") dating back to the second half of the 19th century in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and through the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

which was strongest in the states of

and

as well as the late arrival of Christianity to the region as opposed to southern Europe where it was the state religion from late antiquity.

Major cities

Culture

Persisting differences in culture and mentality among older East Germans and West Germans are often referred to as the "wall in the head" ("Mauer im Kopf"). Ossis (Easties) are stereotyped as racist, poor and largely influenced by

Russian culture Russian culture ( rus, Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii, kʊlʲˈturə rɐˈsʲiɪ) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and both Eastern cultu ...

, while Wessis (Westies) are usually considered snobbish, dishonest, wealthy, and selfish. The terms can be considered to be disparaging. In 2009, a poll found that 22% of former East Germans (40% under 25) considered themselves "real citizens of the Federal Republic"; 62% felt they were no longer citizens of East Germany, but not fully integrated into the unified Germany; and around 11% would have liked to have re-established East Germany. An earlier poll in 2004 found that 25% of West Germans and 12% of East Germans wished reunification had not happened. In 2023, a poll found that 40% of people in the eastern states still identify as ''East Germans'' rather than just ''German''; the latter was chosen by the majority with 52%. Some East German brands have been revived to appeal to former East Germans who are nostalgic for the goods they grew up with. Brands revived in this manner include Rotkäppchen, which holds about 40% of the German sparkling wine market, and Zeha, the sports shoe maker that supplied most of East Germany's sports teams as well as the

Soviet Union national football team The Soviet Union national football team () was the national football team who represented the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1992. After the breakup of the Union the team was transformed into the CIS national football team. FIFA and UEFA considers ...

Economy

The

economic reconstruction Economic reconstruction is a process for creating a proactive vision of economic change. The most basic idea is that problems in the economy, such as deindustrialization, environmental decay, outsourcing, industrial incompetence, poverty and a ...

of eastern Germany () proved to be longer-term than originally foreseen. As of 2005, the

standard of living Standard of living is the level of income, comforts and services available to an individual, community or society. A contributing factor to an individual's quality of life, standard of living is generally concerned with objective metrics outsid ...

and average annual income remained significantly lower in the new states. The federal government spent

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

trillion ''Trillion'' is a number with two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000,000, i.e. one million 1,000,000, million, or (ten to the twelfth Exponentiation, power), as defined on the long and short scales, short scale. This is now the meaning in bot ...

to reunify and privatise 8,500 state-owned east German enterprises. Almost all East German industries were considered outdated while reunifying. Since 1990, amounts between €100 billion and €140 billion have been transferred to the new states annually. More than €60 billion were spent supporting businesses and building infrastructure in the years 2006–2008. A €156 billion

economic plan A market intervention is a policy or measure that modifies or interferes with a market, typically done in the form of state action, but also by philanthropic and political-action groups. Market interventions can be done for a number of reaso ...

, Solidarity Pact II, was enforced in 2005 and provided the financial basis for the advancement and special promotion of the economy of the new states until 2019. The "solidarity tax", a 5.5% surcharge on the income tax, was implemented by the Kohl government to match the infrastructure of the new states to the levels of the western ones and to apportion the cost of unification and the expenses of both the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

and European integration. The tax, which raises €11billion annually, was planned to remain in force until 2019. Since reunification, the

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

rate in the East has doubled that of the West. The unemployment rate reached 12.7% in April 2010, after reaching a maximum of 18.7% in 2005. As of 2020, the

unemployment rates This is a list of countries by unemployment rate. Methods of calculation and presentation of unemployment rate vary from country to country. Some countries count insured unemployed only, some count those in receipt of welfare benefit only, some co ...

in the new states were lower than in some old states. In the decade 1999–2009, economic activity per person rose from 67% to 71% of western Germany. Wolfgang Tiefensee, the minister then responsible for the development of the new states, said in 2009: "The gap is closing." The new states are also the part of the country that was least affected by the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

. Women in the eastern Germany are more likely to be employed full-time and reach higher positions in their career, and work longer hours. During the division of Germany, East German women were encouraged to seek full-time employment, housewives were derided as "parasites" (Schmarotzer); in contrast to West Germany, where tax and benefits system discouraged dual-earner families, so working mothers were seen in a negative light and derided as "raven mothers" (Rabenmutter). At the time of reunification, almost 90% of women in East Germany were in full-time employment, whilst only about 55% in West Germany. In addition, East German mothers tend to have children earlier in life and return to work after taking just one year of maternity leave (as was the standard in the former East Germany), whilst women from the Western states usually stay on maternity leave for the full 3 years until job protection ends. All the new states qualify as '' Objective 1'' development regions within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and were eligible to receive investment subsidies of up to 30% until 2013.

Infrastructure

The German Unity Transport Projects (, VDE) is a programme launched in 1991 that is intended to upgrade the infrastructure of eastern Germany and modernize transport links between the old and new states. It consists of nine railway projects, seven motorway projects, and one

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

project with a total budget of €38.5 billion. As of 2009, all 17 projects were under construction or have been completed. The construction of new railway lines and high-speed upgrades of existing lines reduced journey times between Berlin and

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

from over four hours to 96 minutes. Multiple railway lines (branches and main lines) have been closed by the unified

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

(German Railways) because of increased car usage and depopulation. The VDE states that some main lines are still not finished or upgraded, with the Leipzig-Nuremberg line (via Erfurt and part of the Munich-Berlin route) scheduled to come on-line in December 2017, almost three decades after reunification. ''Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und -bau GmbH'', (English: German Unity Road Construction Company; DEGES) is the state-owned project management institution responsible for the construction of approximately 1,360km of federal roads within the VDE with a total budget of €10.2 billion. It is also involved in other transport projects, including 435km of roads costing about €1,760 million as well as a city tunnel in

costing €685 million. The Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan 2003 includes plans to extend the A14 motorway from

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

and to build the A72 from

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

. Private ownership rates of cars have increased since 1990: in 1988, 55% of East German households had at least one car; in 1993 it rose to 67% and 71% in 1998, compared to the West German rates of 61% in 1988, 74% in 1993, and 76% in 1998.

Politics

Unlike the West, there was a three-party system ( CDU, SPD, PDS/The Left) until the ''Alternative für Deutschland'' (AfD) formed in 2013,Steffen Schoon: ''Wählerverhalten und Strukturmuster des Parteienwettbewerbs'', in: Steffen Schoon, Nikolaus Werz (Hrsg.): ''Die Landtagswahl in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2006'', Rostock 2006, S. 9. creating a four-party system. Since 2009 at least four factions have been represented in each of the East German regional parliaments, six in Saxony. In 1998/1999, for example, only one of the regional parliaments included more than three factions. In the elections to the

Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...

, the CDU, SPD, FDP and Greens almost always receive fewer votes in the new states than in the old states, while Die Linke (and since 2024 splinter group BSW) and AfD receive more votes and support in the new states than in the old states.

Far-left

The democratic socialist party, The Left (''Die Linke'', successor to the ''Party of Democratic Socialism'', the GDR state party's successor) has been successful throughout eastern Germany, perhaps as a result of the continued disparity of living conditions and salaries compared with western Germany, and high unemployment. Ever since it associated with the WASG, The Left frequently loses in state elections and has been losing members since 2010. The Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), and The Left from 2005, have gained the following vote shares in recent elections: In 2024, a faction led by Sahra Wagenknecht split from The Left, forming a new party,

Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance The Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – Reason and Justice ( , BSW) is a List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany founded on 8 January 2024. It has been described as a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-le ...

(BSW), with more populist, nationalist and cultural conservative tendencies. BSW quickly dominated over The Left in the 2024 state elections, but saw their support drop by the 2025 federal election and due to their low level of support in the West, fell narrowly short of the 5% threshold necessary to gain seats in Bundestag. In addition, The Left managed to regain some support in the East, and BSW outperformed The Left only in Saxony-Anhalt (11.24% vs 10.75%), and got only 36 votes less than The Left (10.696% vs 10.698%) in Brandenburg. After losing votes to the AfD, the Left plans to establish a regional group in eastern Germany.

Far-right

2024 European Parliament election in Germany - Results

After 1990, far-right and

German nationalist German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and of the Germanosphere into one unified nation-state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans a ...

groups gained followers. Some sources claim mostly among people frustrated by the high unemployment and the poor economic situation. ''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'' also points out that these people are primarily single men and that there may also be socio-demographic reasons. Since around 1998 the support for right-wing parties shifted from the south of Germany to the east. The far-right party

German People's Union The German People's Union (, DVU, also ''Liste D'') was a far-right nationalist political party in Germany. It was founded by publisher Gerhard Frey as an informal association in 1971 and established as a party in 1987. In 2011, it merged with ...

(DVU) formed in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

in Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg since

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. In 2009, the party lost its representation in the

Landtag of Brandenburg The Landtag of Brandenburg is the unicameral legislature of the states of Germany, state of Brandenburg in Germany. Its 88 members of parliament are usually elected every 5 years. It is responsible for deciding on state laws, controlling the s ...

. The far-right

National Democratic Party of Germany National Democratic Party of Germany (, NPD), officially called The Homeland () since 2023, is a Far-right politics, far-right, Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi and Ultranationalism, ultranationalist political party in Germany. It was founded in 1964 as ...

(NPD) was represented in the Saxon State Parliament from

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the NPD losts its representation in the parliament following the 2016 state elections. In 2009, Junge Landsmannschaft Ostdeutschland, supported by the NPD, organized a march on the anniversary of the

Bombing of Dresden in World War II The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American Area bombardment, aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy ...

. There were 6,000 Nationalists which were met by tens of thousands of ″anti-Nazis″ and several thousand policemen. The Free Voters of Germany emerged in 2009 from the Land Brandenburg regional branch of

Free Voters Free Voters (, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These a ...

, after being excluded because of "signs of right infiltration" from the Federal Association of Free Voters Germany.''Freie Wähler schließen Zwei Landesverbände Wegen Rechtskurs aus,''
pr-inside.com (

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

), 4 April 2009. Pegida has its focus in eastern Germany. A survey by TNS Emnid reports that in mid-December 2014, 53% of East Germans in each case sympathised with the PEGIDA demonstrators. (48% in the West) The

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

(''Alternative für Deutschland''; AfD) had the most votes in the new states of Germany in the

2013 German federal election The 2013 German federal election was held on 22 September to elect the members of the 18th Bundestag of Germany. At stake were all 598 seats to the Bundestag, plus 33 overhang seats determined thereafter. The Christian Democratic Union of German ...

s, in 2017. and in 2021 elections. The party is seen as harbouring anti-immigration views. In 2016, AfD reached at least 17% in

(where the NPD lost all seats) and

. In 2015,

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

interior minister Roger Lewentz said the former communist states were "more susceptible" to "xenophobic radicalization" because former East Germany had not had the same exposure to foreign people and cultures over the decades that the people in the West of the country have had. In the 2017 federal election, AfD received approximately 22% of the votes in the East and approximately 11% in the West. In the 2021 federal election, the AfD emerged as the largest in the states of

and

, and saw a strong performance in eastern Germany. The AfD became the biggest party in all five former

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

states in the

2024 European Parliament election in Germany The 2024 European Parliament election in Germany (European Parliament constituency), Germany was held on 9 June 2024. It was the tenth parliamentary election since the 1979 European Parliament election, first direct elections in 1979, and the fi ...

. In the 2024 Thuringian state election, the AfD became the first far-right party in Germany since the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

to win a plurality of seats in a state election, its was also the best ever performance and the first time it placed first in a state election in Germany. In the 2025 federal election, the AfD emerged as the largest party in all five former

states. *With the votes of the FDP gains of 2001/02.

Protest vote

Fringe parties, particularly the AfD and The Left,Iris Huth: ''Politische Verdrossenheit. Erscheinungsformen und Ursachen als Herausforderungen für das Politische System und die Politische Kultur der Bundesrepublik Deutschland im 21. Jahrhundert'', Dissertation Universität Münster 2003, LIT Verlag, Münster 2004, (Politik und Partizipation 3), S. 170. receive a large number of protest votes in eastern Germany, which causes voter shifting from left to right and vice versa. The Pirate Party Germany was chosen slightly more frequently in the East (10.1 percent) than in the West (8.1 percent) of Berlin. Among those under 30 years of age in East Berlin, the Pirates were the second most popular party with 20 percent of the votes.Wahlanalysen.
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen; retrieved 1 October 2011. For example, none of the parties elected to the Berlin House of Representatives in 2011 lost a high proportion of their voters to the AfD as the Pirates at the next election in 2016 (16%).Infratest dimap
Analysen Zu den Wählerwanderungen in Berlin 2016
, retrieved 29 September 2016. Other findings also suggest that some of their voters, like the AfD, regard the Pirate Party primarily as a protest party.Felix Neumann: ''Plattformneutralität. Zur Programmatik der Piratenpartei.'' In: Oskar Niedermayer (Hrsg.): ''Die Piratenpartei''. Springer, Wiesbaden 2013, S. 175. The election slogans of the DVU in the regional elections in Saxony-Anhalt in 1998 were directed primarily against the politicians already represented in parliament: "Not the people – the political bigwigs, will dole!" And "German, let's not make the sow you. DVU – The protest in the election against dirty things from above". In particular, politically dissatisfied people were advertised towards with the slogan "vote protest – vote German." At the time, the DVU had 12.9% of the votes.

Independence

In 1991, the PDS demanded the right for Thuringia to leave the united Germany in its draft of the constitution, which ultimately did not pass. Tatjana Festerling was a leader in the Dresden Pegida demonstrations from February 2015 to mid-April 2016 after Kathrin Oertel withdrew. She demanded the "Säxit"the secession of Saxony from the Federal Republic of Germanyon October 12, 2015, after she had already demanded the rebuilding of the former

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

over Germany on March 9, 2015. The Freie Sachsen (Free Saxons) party supports "Säxit".

Opinion polls

Percentage of respondents supporting independence from the new states of Germany:

References

External links

The Federal Government's Annual Report on the State of German Unity 2009

{{DEFAULTSORT:New States Of Germany Society of Germany Political history of Germany German reunification 1990 in Germany Regions of Germany