If for some reason the GDR and the Soviet Bloc continued to exist past 1989 (and Honecker-style hard-line politics remained the norm) how do you think the state would have handled the technological and social changes of the world in the 90s and 00s?
Here are some clues from the OTL late 80s, which might provide an avenue for speculation:
-The internet: East Germany reserved the top-level domain ".dd" in 1989. I wonder if East Germany would've used the low penetration of phone lines in the country as an "excuse" not to provide internet service for regular people, or would it have been allowed, but heavily censored.
-Cars: The East German cars Trabant and Wartburg came out with 4-stroke Volkswagen engines by 1989. I wonder if these would've been progressively modernized, or whether the GDR would've outright bought licenses to manufacture local versions of Western cars.
-Religion: The GDR was State Atheist, but the local Protestant church was tolerated to some degree, there were even a few Catholics. I wonder how the state would've reacted to the spread of Pentecostal and Neoprotestant churches, and Eastern religions like Buddhism.
-LGBT rights: Homosexuality was legal in the GDR from the late 60s, and the first (and only) East German coming-out movie was shown in theatres on the same evening the Wall fell in OTL, a State-owned gay bar opened in East Berlin in 1989, though a Westerner was arrested in the 70s, when he tried marching in the East Berlin Anniversary of the DDR Parade with a rainbow flag. Perhaps the GDR's anti-traditional-gender-roles social policy would've led to some acceptance of Genderqueer and Genderfluid people at least.
-Music and Popular Culture: In the GDR in contrast to some other East Bloc countries like Poland and Hungary, there was still a State-based stigma against Western Music even in the 80s. If someone was caught listening to Western Music by the Stasi, it could have had subtle consequences, such as not getting a raise at work. I wonder how this would've continued.
What are your ideas? How would you imagine a continued GDR?
Here are some clues from the OTL late 80s, which might provide an avenue for speculation:
-The internet: East Germany reserved the top-level domain ".dd" in 1989. I wonder if East Germany would've used the low penetration of phone lines in the country as an "excuse" not to provide internet service for regular people, or would it have been allowed, but heavily censored.
-Cars: The East German cars Trabant and Wartburg came out with 4-stroke Volkswagen engines by 1989. I wonder if these would've been progressively modernized, or whether the GDR would've outright bought licenses to manufacture local versions of Western cars.
-Religion: The GDR was State Atheist, but the local Protestant church was tolerated to some degree, there were even a few Catholics. I wonder how the state would've reacted to the spread of Pentecostal and Neoprotestant churches, and Eastern religions like Buddhism.
-LGBT rights: Homosexuality was legal in the GDR from the late 60s, and the first (and only) East German coming-out movie was shown in theatres on the same evening the Wall fell in OTL, a State-owned gay bar opened in East Berlin in 1989, though a Westerner was arrested in the 70s, when he tried marching in the East Berlin Anniversary of the DDR Parade with a rainbow flag. Perhaps the GDR's anti-traditional-gender-roles social policy would've led to some acceptance of Genderqueer and Genderfluid people at least.
-Music and Popular Culture: In the GDR in contrast to some other East Bloc countries like Poland and Hungary, there was still a State-based stigma against Western Music even in the 80s. If someone was caught listening to Western Music by the Stasi, it could have had subtle consequences, such as not getting a raise at work. I wonder how this would've continued.
What are your ideas? How would you imagine a continued GDR?
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