In this dissertation, I will compare the situation and position of women in West and East Germany. In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany, and the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, were officially established. The two countries existed until 1989 when they were reunited with the fall of the Berlin Wall. The dissertation compares women's situation in education, work, the household and sexual reproduction during this period. It also compares the emergence and development of women's movements in the two countries. At that time, the two countries were governed by two different economic and social policies, which also led to differences in the situation of women in the two countries. West Germany continued the pre-war tradition and predominantly placed women in the roles of mother, wife and housewife. Meanwhile, East Germany, with its new ideology, began to promote women as working mothers. It was in the area of combining work and motherhood that the two countries differed most. However, the two countries were also similar in many respects in their regulation of the status of women, due to their long shared history. Most notably in the domestic sphere, where, despite new laws and efforts by the state, women still did much more housework than men.
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