Hans Modrow was the regional party secretary in Dresden when Gorbachov became general secretary in the Soviet Union and introduced perestroika and glasnost. In the shake-up following the opening of the GDR borders in November 1989, he was made prime minister of the new inclusive government. 

It is now almost 25 years since the GDR disappeared and was absorbed into the German Federal Republic. Since then, many pundits have described the GDR a mere “footnote of history.” I ask him if this is a fair comment.

“If it were true that the GDR had become only ‘a historical footnote,’ then it wouldn’t be a subject of discussion anymore. But the opposite is the case. Whether on television, radio or in the press, the GDR is still viewed through the lens of anti-communism and the historical experience of that post-war period is still being distorted. 

“In September 1972, the GDR and the Federal Republic were both granted membership of the United Nations on exactly the same day, and more than 130 states very soon established diplomatic relations with the GDR. This meant that it held an significant position within the world community and was recognised and respected, especially for its contribution to peaceful coexistence between the peoples. ‘Footnotes’ which play an active role in maintaining and promoting peace, as the GDR did, are certainly missing today in large numbers.”

‏Today, the GDR is described as a “Stasi-run state” and a totalitarian dictatorship. This negative heteronomic designation of the GDR dominates the contemporary picture. How can the next generation be presented with a different experience, I wonder. Isn’t it important in terms of future political work to have a more differentiated understanding of state socialism?

“‘In my book ‘Perestroika and Germany’ I attempt to present a differentiated picture. The idea of writing such a book came about at a time when anti-communism in Germany had reached an apogee, with Gorbachov giving this tendency a tail wind by his appearances and lectures in the West, and by the notion that capitalism was the end of history and that there was no alternative. Such a position excludes a differentiated viewpoint and its purpose is to stifle any thoughts of socialism in the 21st century. 

“If humanity wishes to continue living on this planet and to survive, then it needs to address today’s realities. Wealth and power are concentrated in still fewer hands and the basis for the wellbeing and means of survival for humanity are being sacrificed on the altar of the market. In 2001 there were 538 dollar billionaires with a combined wealth of US$1.8 trillion and by 2014 there were 1,645 with US$6.4 trillion.The tempo of this development is accelerating at a rapid pace as are the number of millions living in deepening poverty. 

“Whatever the errors and weaknesses of the socialist system, by its mere existence the socialist camp set limits on capitalism, limits which today are being breached with impunity by wars, poverty and misery. New anti-capitalist ideas for the 21st century also need to be generated from a differentiated picture of a socialism that actually existed.”

After unification, GDR citizens were in many ways treated as secondclass citizens and they’d lived through a very different political and social experience. I ask Hans Modrow whether these East-West differences have, in the meantime, been overcome in the united Germany? And I would like to know what role Die Linke (The Party of the Left) plays in today’s Germany?

“In the coming months we will be looking back at the process of the demise of the GDR and the unification of both German post-war states with the distance of 25 years. Die Linke needs to do that also with a ‘Wendewissen’ — an understanding of this experience and what change it brought about. 

“Russian troops left Germany in 1993 and Nato pushed eastwards by 800km. With the war that took place in Yugoslavia and now the civil war in Ukraine, peace in Europe is by no means secure. The President of the German Federal Republic, Joachim Gauck, puts it in a nutshell as far as Germany is concerned, when he said that the nazi period was bitter, but now Germany has to accept its new responsibility, even to the extent of being prepared to take military action and even casualties. This price of politics in the name of unification is high.

‏“Divisions within Germany are still present. Prices are the same but pensions are 10 per cent lower and wages up to 20 per cent lower in the East. Someone who, like me as a former prime minister of the GDR, was considered ‘part of the GDR state’ receives a ‘punishment’ pension of around 40 per cent less than would be due to me according to my service for the state.

Die Linke wins up to 25 per cent of votes in the East, in the West the 5 per cent hurdle is still too high. That’s why we still have to struggle to maintain that percentage in the East and to gain more ground in the West.”

As Hans Modrow served as a European MP, I wondered how he viewed the role of the EU in terms of making it easier or more difficult to elaborate a progressive alternative to a now unrestrained capitalism?

“This question needs to be addressed the other way around. The EU is itself a centre of the malady and if it stays essentially as it is today it will continue to give succour to an unrestrained capitalism. The recent elections have shifted the European Parliament significantly to the right. Die Linke has won an increased number of seats but a properly thought-out concept for a solidarity-based struggle against social brutality, against a further curtailment of democracy and for a more representative participation, against a further build up of armaments and militarisation by the EU is still lacking. 

“Only when a broad movement develops throughout the countries of the EU can we begin to build the necessary strength for a progressive alternative.”

Hans Modrow will be launching the publication of his book, Perestroika and Germany, at the Marx Memorial Library on Saturday July 26.