Juliane Marie Schreiber: Das Prinzip des ehrlichen Ossis

Juliane Marie Schreiber, a bestselling author and child of the post-reunification era, explores why East Germans are less adept at self-promotion compared to West Germans, attributing this to their socialization under the GDR regime. In her analysis, she references a Germany map created by researchers that illustrates the geographical distribution of the five major personality traits: openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional instability. The map reveals that people in large cities tend to be more open than those in surrounding areas, and southern Germans are more agreeable than their northern counterparts. However, the most striking finding pertains to extraversion, where East Germans score lower, a trait Schreiber links to the GDR's emphasis on modesty and collective values over individual achievement. She argues that this 'honest Ossi' principle, as she calls it, persists in the post-reunification era, affecting career advancement and social dynamics. The article, published in the current issue of Der Freitag, invites readers to consider the psychological dimensions of German reunification, which are often overshadowed by economic and political analyses. Schreiber's insights challenge the assumption that reunification is complete, suggesting that deep-seated personality differences continue to shape interactions between East and West Germans.