Because reunification took so long - the east Germans had/have an entirely different attitude based upon 45 year of indoctrination and political viewpoints.

Had reunification taken place in ten or even twenty years after separation - the peoples would've seemed much more like the typical pre WWII "German".

The former east Germans are aware that capitalism is better - yet are so conditioned by their upbringing that they often fall back to the expectations of cradle-to-grave bureaucracy, etc.

The west German work ethic is much more intense - and was a much more developed feature over the 45 years of rebuilding and turning Germany into one of the world's most prosperous nation.

Assimilating the east is much like having your somewhat lazier, poor relations move into your house and start telling you what you're doing wrong, while eating you out of house and home.

They can't help themselves though (45 years under communism will corrupt your work ethic) and in time it will be restored as they re-enter the ratrace.

That's what I meant. It was a sarcastic comment - I well know the US forces were there to fight the RED army from rolling through - not the east German army.

;-)

SDAI-Tech1