The New Estrangement

Why East and West Germany Are Drifting Apart and What We Can Do About It

  • The very personal view of an East German on the relationship between East and West Germany

Germany was reunified more than 30 years ago, but recently, the country has taken a significant step backwards in terms of growing together. TV presenter Jessy Wellmer, who feels at home in both East and West, traces the deep rift - and sets out in search of a way for German reunification to still succeed.

Jessy Wellmer was born in Güstrow in Mecklenburg in 1979. She was nine years old when the Wall came down. Today she is known as the host of sports and political TV programs. Since studying in Berlin, she has traveled all over the country. In the West, people ask her what's going on with people in the East. East Germans want her to explain the West to them. This role as a mediator is one of her life's themes.

Since Russia's attack on Ukraine, Wellmer is concerned to see that many in the East are becoming radicalized and that there is a growing feeling that they don't have much in common with West Germans. Conversely, she observes that many West Germans perceive East Germans primarily as a disruptive factor. Why is that the case? What has gone wrong? And above all, how can we get out of this situation?

For Wellmer, the GDR era and the reunification phase are part of Germany's shared history. Instead of presenting simplistic answers, she takes a close look and takes the different stories and narratives seriously. 

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  • Publisher: Kiepenheuer&Witsch
  • Release: 08.02.2024
  • ISBN: 978-3-462-00531-8
  • 256 Pages
  • Author: Jessy Wellmer
The New Estrangement
Jessy Wellmer The New Estrangement
Urban Zintel
© Urban Zintel
Jessy Wellmer

Jessy Wellmer wurde 1979 in Güstrow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, geboren. Nach dem Studium der Gesellschafts- und Wirtschaftskommunikation an der Universität der Künste Berlin arbeitete sie als freie Reporterin für den  rbb . 2009 übernahm sie die Sportberichterstattung im »ZDF-Morgenmagazin«. Von 2014 bis 2023 moderierte sie die »ARD Sportschau«, Sportgroßereignisse wie Olympische Spiele und Fußballwelt- und Europameisterschaften sowie die sportpolitische Sendung »Sportschau Thema«. Seit 2023 moderiert sie die »Tagesthemen«. Außerdem kennen die Zuschauer sie von ihren  ARD -Reportagen »Russland, Putin und wir Ostdeutsche«, »Hört uns zu! Wir Ostdeutsche und der Westen« und »Machen wir unsere Demokratie kaputt?«. Jessy Wellmer lebt mit ihrer Familie in Berlin.