My story of belonging

Several times, invisible borders have played a role in my personal life. What used to be a physical border has now become a mental one for many people. I never identified with either east or west Germany in my youth. However, over the years it has become more visible to me that my generation, the generation that experienced a little of the division, enough for them to discern there was a division, is going through an adjustment period. Raised with more “eastern” values, placed sometimes in an eastern and sometimes in a united Germany context... confusing and really without sense of belonging for some of us. Some people like that I am from the East while others don't like me because of it, yet others say I was too young when the border opened, to even be able to know what East Germany looks or was like. So, I am still trying to figure it all out, trying to understand where or if I belong.

Annika