In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, Germany was split into four zones, each administered by France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union respectively. In 1949, the Soviet-controlled zone formed the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), while the rest became the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). In this time, Berlin was also split into four zones, and the three non-Soviet zones formed West Berlin, which was a part of West Germany (although the West's administrative capital was moved to Bonn). One population grows, while the other declines Between 1949 and 1961, an estimated 2.7 million people migrated from East to West Germany. East Germany had a communist government with a socialist economy and was a satellite state of the Soviet Union, whereas West Germany was a liberal democracy with a capitalist economy, and western autonomy increased over time. Because of this difference, West Germany was a much freer society with more economic opportunities. During the German partition, the population of the west grew, from 51 million in 1950 to 62.7 million in 1989, whereas the population of East Germany declined from 18.4 million to just 16.4 million during this time. Little change after reunification In 1989, after four decades of separation, the process of German reunification began. The legal and physical barriers that had split the country were removed, and Germans could freely travel within the entire country. Despite this development, population growth patterns did not change. The population of the 'new states' (East Germany) continued to decline, whereas the population of the west grew, particularly in the 1990s, the first decade after reunification. The reasons for this continued imbalance between German population in the east and west, is mostly due to a low birth rate and internal migration within Germany. Despite the fact that levels of income and unemployment in the new states have gotten closer to those reported for the west (a major obstacle after reunification), life and opportunities in the west continue to attract young Germans from rural areas in the east with detrimental effect on the economy and demography of the new states.

Germany Population: East data was reported at 16,147.618 Person th in 2021. This records a decrease from the previous number of 16,163.795 Person th for 2020. Germany Population: East data is updated yearly, averaging 16,722.586 Person th from Dec 1950 (Median) to 2021, with 72 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18,388.172 Person th in 1950 and a record low of 15,119.530 Person th in 2000. Germany Population: East data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistisches Bundesamt. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.G001: Population.

In 1800, the region of Germany was not a single, unified nation, but a collection of decentralized, independent states, bound together as part of the Holy Roman Empire. This empire was dissolved, however, in 1806, during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic eras in Europe, and the German Confederation was established in 1815. Napoleonic reforms led to the abolition of serfdom, extension of voting rights to property-owners, and an overall increase in living standards. The population grew throughout the remainder of the century, as improvements in sanitation and medicine (namely, mandatory vaccination policies) saw child mortality rates fall in later decades. As Germany industrialized and the economy grew, so too did the argument for nationhood; calls for pan-Germanism (the unification of all German-speaking lands) grew more popular among the lower classes in the mid-1800s, especially following the revolutions of 1948-49. In contrast, industrialization and poor harvests also saw high unemployment in rural regions, which led to waves of mass migration, particularly to the U.S.. In 1886, the Austro-Prussian War united northern Germany under a new Confederation, while the remaining German states (excluding Austria and Switzerland) joined following the Franco-Prussian War in 1871; this established the German Empire, under the Prussian leadership of Emperor Wilhelm I and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. 1871 to 1945 - Unification to the Second World War The first decades of unification saw Germany rise to become one of Europe's strongest and most advanced nations, and challenge other world powers on an international scale, establishing colonies in Africa and the Pacific. These endeavors were cut short, however, when the Austro-Hungarian heir apparent was assassinated in Sarajevo; Germany promised a "blank check" of support for Austria's retaliation, who subsequently declared war on Serbia and set the First World War in motion. Viewed as the strongest of the Central Powers, Germany mobilized over 11 million men throughout the war, and its army fought in all theaters. As the war progressed, both the military and civilian populations grew increasingly weakened due to malnutrition, as Germany's resources became stretched. By the war's end in 1918, Germany suffered over 2 million civilian and military deaths due to conflict, and several hundred thousand more during the accompanying influenza pandemic. Mass displacement and the restructuring of Europe's borders through the Treaty of Versailles saw the population drop by several million more.

Reparations and economic mismanagement also financially crippled Germany and led to bitter indignation among many Germans in the interwar period; something that was exploited by Adolf Hitler on his rise to power. Reckless printing of money caused hyperinflation in 1923, when the currency became so worthless that basic items were priced at trillions of Marks; the introduction of the Rentenmark then stabilized the economy before the Great Depression of 1929 sent it back into dramatic decline. When Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933, the Nazi government disregarded the Treaty of Versailles' restrictions and Germany rose once more to become an emerging superpower. Hitler's desire for territorial expansion into eastern Europe and the creation of an ethnically-homogenous German empire then led to the invasion of Poland in 1939, which is considered the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. Again, almost every aspect of German life contributed to the war effort, and more than 13 million men were mobilized. After six years of war, and over seven million German deaths, the Axis powers were defeated and Germany was divided into four zones administered by France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the U.S.. Mass displacement, shifting borders, and the relocation of peoples based on ethnicity also greatly affected the population during this time. 1945 to 2020 - Partition and Reunification In the late 1940s, cold war tensions led to two distinct states emerging in Germany; the Soviet-controlled east became the communist German Democratic Republic (DDR), and the three western zones merged to form the democratic Federal Republic of Germany. Additionally, Berlin was split in a similar fashion, although its location deep inside DDR territory created series of problems and opportunities for the those on either side. Life quickly changed depending on which side of the border one lived. Within a decade, rapid economic recovery saw West Germany become western Europe's strongest economy and a key international player. In the east, living standards were much lower, although unemployment was almost non-existent; internationally, East Germany was the strongest economy in the Eastern Bloc (after the USSR), though it eventually fell behind the West by the 1970s. The restriction of movement between the two states also led to labor shortages in the West, and an influx of migrants from...

Following the Second World War, Germany was split into four territories, administered by France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States. In 1949, the zones occupied by Britain, France and the US formed the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), and the USSR zone became the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The capital city of Berlin, which was located in East Germany, was also split into two parts, with West Berlin remaining in the Federal Republic of Germany and East Berlin belonging to the Soviet satellite state of the German Democratic Republic. Between 1949 and 1961, over 2.5 million people (mostly skilled laborers) emigrated from East to West Germany in search of economic opportunities and higher standard of living. Increasing restrictions In reaction to this imbalanced migration, the communist East German government increased restrictions on movement to the West, and, despite initial requests being denied by Nikita Khrushchev in 1953, the Soviet leader eventually approved the building of a physical barrier in 1961. Initially, a wire fence was used to separate the East from the West, and this was later reinforced with concrete walls, bunkers, guard towers and landmines, most notably in the case of the Berlin Wall, which became the symbol of German division during the Cold War. From the early 1960s until the late 1980s, migration from East to West Germany dropped significantly. In the 1970s, there was no year where more than 20,000 people moved from the East to West, which is a significant drop from the 1950s, where as many as 331,000 people migrated in 1953 alone. The fall of the iron curtain As the Soviet Union's power weaned in the 1980s, and their influence in Eastern Europe diminished, communism in the Eastern block and Soviet satellite states began to collapse at the end of the decade. On November 9, 1989, when an East German politician mistakenly claimed that restrictions on travel visas would be lifted with immediate effect, thousands of people in Berlin gathered at the checkpoints along the Berlin Wall demanding to be allowed through. As tensions rose, the commanding officers eventually gave in to public demands and opened the barriers, allowing the people to move freely again between both German states. In the days that followed, Germans from both sides of the barrier began to tear down and create holes in the Berlin Wall, in a symbolic act that would represent unity and the end of German division.

Analysis of ‘Population in East German countries by age and sex’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from http://data.europa.eu/88u/dataset/https-www-datenportal-bmbf-de-portal-0-13 on 16 January 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

Table 0.13: Population in East German countries by age and sex

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

Table 0.13: Population in East German countries by age and gender

Political attitudes and behaviors with regard to demographic change.

Topics: Assessment of the national economic situation (retrospective, current, prospective); concern regarding demographic change; anticipated problems caused by an aging society; perceived age limit of older and younger people; knowledge test: Proportion of the country´s population over 65; perception of commonalities in own age group; perceived frequency of media reports on generational conflicts; political interest; assessment of one´s own economic situation (retrospective, current, prospective); voter turnout (Sunday question); party preference (voters and non-voters); perceptions of social conflicts between selected social groups (people with and without children, politically left and right, young and old, poor and rich, employed and retired, Germans and foreigners, East Germans and West Germans); most important political goals (post-materialism, Inglehart indicators); opinion on selected statements about old and young (frequent abuse of social benefits in Germany, assessment of representation of younger people´s interests in politics, assessment of representation of older people in political positions, older people should organize their own party, older people should support younger people and younger people should support older people); perceived strength of general intergenerational support; financial support of a family member of another generation resp. frequency of self-received financial support (intergenerational transfers); frequency of support from a person in everyday life who belongs to another generation or frequency of self-received support; satisfaction with democracy; political trust (Bundestag, politicians, Federal Constitutional Court, federal government, media); opinion on selected statements about young and old (importance of contact with significantly younger persons, evaluation of the representation of the interests of older persons in politics, older persons live at the expense of the following generations, older persons have built up what the younger persons live on today, importance of contact with significantly older persons, evaluation of the representation of younger persons in political positions; political efficacy; electoral norm (voter turnout as a civic duty); sympathy scalometer of political parties (CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Greens, Die Linke); satisfaction with selected policy areas (reduction of unemployment, health, education, financial security for the elderly, family, care in old age); preferred level of government spending in the aforementioned areas; preferred government responsibility in the aforementioned areas; most competent party to solve the problems in the aforementioned areas (problem-solving competence); salience of the aforementioned policy areas; self-ranking on a left-right continuum; assessment of the representation of older people´s interests by political parties (CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Greens, Die Linke); assessment of the representation of younger people´s interests by political parties (CDU/CSU, SPD, FDP, Greens, Die Linke); recall Bundestag elections 2013 (voter turnout, voting decision); expected occurrence of various future scenarios (conflicts between older and younger people, refusal of younger people to pay for the pensions of older people, older people more likely to assert their political interests than younger people, increasing old-age poverty, refusal of younger people to pay for the medical care of older people, Germany will no longer be able to afford current pension levels, Elderly will no longer receive all available medical benefits); reliance most likely on state, family or self for own retirement; knowledge test: Year of phased introduction of retirement at 67; civic engagement; hours per week of volunteering; perception of social justice; general life satisfaction; party affiliation and strength of party identification; concerns regarding own retirement security (financial/medical) or feared unemployment; religious affiliation; religiosity; salience of selected life domains (family and friends, health, leisure, politics, income, education, work, and occupation); self-assessment of class affiliation; residence description.

Demography: age (grouped) and year of birth; sex; household size; number of persons under 18 in household; household composition (one, two, or three generations); number of children and grandchildren; regrets about own childlessness; partnership; living with partner; married to partner; German citizenship; German citizenship since birth or year of acquiring German citizenship; country of birth (in the old federal states (West Germany, in the new federal states (East Germany or former GDR) or abroad); highest school degree; university degree; current and former employment; current and former occupation.

Additionally coded were: Federal state; area; region West East; weighting factors; interview date.

Timeseries of structure and development of the former German Democratic Republic’s population.

The aim of this data-collection is to inform about the population’s structure and development in the former GDR, including East-Berlin, from 1946 to 1989.

Basis of the compilation is the published statistical population overview of the German Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt (hrsg.): Sonderreihe mit Beiträgen für das Gebiet der ehemaligen DDR. Heft 3: Bevölkerungsstatistische Übersichten 1946 bis 1989. Wiesbaden, 1993), completed by census data and scientific publications.

The survey contains details on population and populationstructure (population-size, -growth, density, agegroups, etc.), on natural population movement (birth, decease, marriages, divorces), on spatial population movement (internal migration, migration beyond the borders of the former GDR), and on households.

The datacompilation covers the following topics:

A) population B) natural population movement C) households D) migration

Topics:

Data-Tables in the download-system HISTAT (Thema: Bevölkerung)

A. Bevölkerungsstand:

A01 Bevölkerungsstand und Bevölkerungsentwicklung (1939-1989) A02 Bevölkerung nach Altersgruppen 1946-1989 A03 Männliche Bevölkerung nach Altersgruppen 1946-1989 A04 Weibliche Bevölkerung nach Altersgruppen 1946-1989 A05. Bevölkerungsgröße, Bevölkerungswachstum, Bevölkerungsdichte und Sexualproportion 1950- 1992 A06. Bevölkerung insgesamt, männlich und weiblich nach Ländern 1950-1998 A07. Fläche, Bevölkerung am Ort der Hauptwohnung und Bevölkerungsdichte für 1950, 1964, 1971, 1981 A08. Bevölkerung am Ort der Hauptwohnung nach Altersgruppen und Geschlecht 1950-1981 A09. Bevölkerung am Ort der Hauptwohnung nach Altersgruppen und Geschlecht 1950-1981 A10. Bevölkerung ab 18 Jahre am Ort der Hauptwohnung nach Familienstand und Geschlecht 1950-1981 A11. Fläche und Bevölkerung nach Bezirken 1950-1989 A12. Bevölkerung nach Altersgruppen und Geschlecht für die neuen Länder und Berlin Ost 1950-1990 A13 Bevölkerung nach Gemeindegrößenklassen (in 1000) 1950-1989

B. Natürliche Bevölkerungsbewegung

B01 Natürliche Bevölkerungsbewegung 1946-1995 B02a Eheschließungen, durschnittliches Heiratsalter, Ehescheidungen 1946-1989 B02b Eheschließungen nach Familienstand der Partner vor Eheschließung 1946-1989 B03 Eheschließende, Ersteheschließende und Wiederverheiratete (insgesamt) 1946-1989 B04 Eheschließende nach Ersteheschließenden und Wiederverheirateten (je 100 Eheschließende) 1946-1989 B05 Eheschließende nach Familienstand vor der Eheschließung (insgesamt) 1946-1989 B06 Eheschließende nach Familienstand vor der Eheschließung (je 100 Eheschließende) 1946-1989 B07 Zusammengefasste Geburtenziffer nach Altersgruppen 1952-1989 B08 Das Reproduktionsniveau der Bevölkerung 1946-1989 B09 Durchschnittliche Lebenserwartung Neugeborener in Jahren 1946-1989 B10a Geborene, Lebendgeborene und Totgeborene nach Legitimität 1952-1989 B10b Lebend- und Totgeborene nach Geschlecht 1950-1989 B11 Zusammengefaßte Geburtenziffer nach Gemeindegrößenklassen (1965-1989) B12 Altersgruppenspezifische Sterbeziffern nach Geschlecht ( standardisiert) 1964-1989 B13a Gestorbene insgesamt und gestorbene Säuglinge nach Geschlecht (1946-1989) B13b Gestorbene nach ausgewählten Todesursachen und nach Geschlecht 1947-1989 B13c Gestorbene nach ausgewählten Krankheiten als Todesursachen und nach Geschlecht 1947-1989 B14 Gestorbene infolge Suizid- DDR 1947-1989 B15 Gestorbene infolge Suizid- BRD B16 Gestorbene infolge Mord und Totschlag- DDR 1949-1989 B17 Gestorbene infolge Mord und Totschlag- BRD / Bundesrepublik Deutschland (1961-1989) B18 Die Entwicklung der Fruchtbarkeitsziffern in den beiden Teilen Deutschlands (1946/50-1995)

C. Haushalte

C01 Privathaushalte nach Haushaltsgröße 1950-1981 C02 Personen in Privathaushalten und Gemeinschaftseinrichtungen 1950-1981 C03 Mehrpersonenhaushalte nach im Haushalt lebenden Kindern unter 17 Jahren 1950-1981 C04 Privathaushalte nach Haushaltsgroesse und nach Altersgruppen des Haushaltsvorstandes 1950 bis 1981 C05 Privathaushalte nach Haushaltsgroesse und nach Altersgruppen des maennlichen Haushaltsvorstandes 1950 bis 1981

D. Wanderung

D01 Wanderung über die Grenzen der DDR 1951-1989 D02 Wanderung über die Grenzen der DDR nach Altersgruppen 1965-1989 D03 Binnenwanderungsgewinn bzw.- verlust (-) nach Gemeindegrößenklassen 1970-1989 D04 Saldo aus zu- und Fortzügen (-) über die Grenzen der ehemaligen DDR nach Gemeindegrößeklassen 1965-1989 D05 Binnenwanderung über die Gemeinde- bzw. Kreisgrenzen 1953-1989

1941 marked an escalation of the Second World War in Europe. By the middle of the year, Germany and its European allies had already consolidated power across most of the continent, with only the United Kingdom and Soviet Union not under Axis control or on neutral terms with Germany. As population sizes were fundamental to the war effort, both in terms of military manpower and the workforce of the home front, the annexation of other countries proved vital in supplying new volunteers, conscripts, and forced laborers for the Axis war effort. Together, Germany and Austria had a similar population to the rest of Europe's Axis powers combined, with all giving a total population of 154 million. However, the total population of the Axis-occupied territories in Europe was comparable to the Axis home fronts themselves, at almost 130 million people

Germans in the East Eastern Europe had a sizeable population of ethnic Germans who often worked with the Axis powers, and the German Army recruited upwards of a million volunteers from occupied countries. The Soviet Union in particular had a number of Russia German enclaves across the region, that reached as far as the Volga river and Kazakhstan and numbered at several million people. In Russia, these communities had existed for centuries, but they were ostracized or mistrusted by Soviet leadership and the deaths of these communities under Stalin's regime is often considered genocide. In addition to ethnic Germans, collaborators also included large numbers of Eastern Europeans who sympathized with Nazi ideology, or were hostile to Soviet or communist expansion; this also included ethnic minorities, such as Muslims from the Balkans or USSR.

Collaborators in the West The perceived threat of communism in the west saw men volunteer from countries such as France, the Netherlands, or Norway, to fight in the Axis armies. The fluctuating borders of the interwar period also meant that there were many German communities across the borders of neighboring countries, whose men also enlisted in the Wehrmacht. Within these occupied countries, conspirators with local knowledge were used to track down Jews and political adversaries, and many collaborated in order to elevate their positions in the government or enterprises. Apart from Austria, however, the majority of the public in annexed territories were unsupportive or hostile to their occupiers, and after the war, many of the surviving collaborators were tried (and often executed) for their actions.

The Second World War did not only cause many deaths but also leaded to broad changes in the population and settlement structure. This data compilation shows selected consequences of population movements in the context of the displacement of persons on the population structure in the Federal Republic of Germany and partly also in the German Democratic Republic. Under the command of the first federal minister for matters concerning displaced persons Hans Lukaschek the term ‘displaced persons’ was defined nationwide in the federal expellee law (find the legislative text attached).
The data compilation is passed on data published by the Federal Statistical Office and on data from selected scientific publications. The study in hand is subdivided in section A which is based on publications from the Federal Statistical Office and section B which is based on different individual scientific publications.

Subsection A1 contains selected data from censuses and extrapolations from censuses from sources of the Federal Statistical Office. Subsection A2 contains selected data from the micro census from sources of the Federal Statistical Office. Subsection B1 contains selected data from a publication by Heinz Günter Steinberg. Subsection B2 contains selected data from a publication by Gerhard Reichling. Subsection B2 contains selected data from a publication by Friedrich Edding and Eugen Lemberg.

Data tables in HISTAT:

A: Federal Statistical Office A1: Results and extrapolations from the censuses
A1.01 Resident population and displaced persons in 1000 by federal states, end-of-year values (1945-1966) A1.02 Displaced persons in 1000 by federal states, half-year values (1946-1956) A1.03 Influx of displaced persons by sex and federal state (1952-1960) A1.04a Displaced persons altogether in the federal territory by age in 1000 (1950-1953) A1.04b Male displaced persons in the federal territory by age in 1000 (1950-1953) A1.04c Female displaced persons in the federal territory by age in 1000 (1950-1953) A1.05 Displaced persons in the federal territory by age groups in 1000 (1950-1966) A1.06 Resettlement of displaced persons (1949-1962) A1.07 Marriages of displaced persons and the rest of the population in the FRG (1950-1960) A1.08 Marriages of displaced persons and the rest of the population in the FRG in absolute numbers in the different federal states (1950-1960)

A2: Results from the micro census A2.01 Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and federal state in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02a Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in the FRG in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02b Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in Schleswig-Holstein in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02c Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in Hamburg in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02d Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in Niedersachsen in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02e Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in Bremen in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02f Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in Nordrhein-Westfalen in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02g Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in Hessen in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02h Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in Rheinland-Pfalz in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02i Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in Baden-Württemberg in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02j Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in Bayern in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02k Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in West-Berlin in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.02l Displaced persons among the resident population by sex and age group in Saarland in 1000 (1958-1973) A2.03 Displaced persons among the resident population by federal sate and civil status in 1000 (1958-1973)

B: Scientific publications B1: Steinberg: Population development in Germany in the Second World War B1.01 Changes in population in German states (1939-1946) B1.02 Regional development of the civilian population in Germany (1939-1945) B1.03 Displaced persons in Germany by territory and date of displacement (1944-1955) B1.04 Arrival of displaced persons in Germany by territory of displacement (1944-1955) B1.05 Selected data on socio-economic development in Germany (1946-1987) B1.06 Regional development of population in the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic by states (1939-1990)

B2: Reichling: German displaces persons in numbers, part 2 B2.01a Germans from the eastern territories and from foreign countries in the federal territory in 1000 (1946-1970) B2.01b Germans from the eastern territories and from foreign countries in Schleswig-Holstein in 1000 (1946-1970) B2.01c Germans from the eastern territories and from foreign countries in Hamburg in 1000 (1946-1970) B2.01d Germans from...

Over the course of the Second World War, approximately 44.5 percent of the Soviet population and 8.7 of Soviet territory was occupied by the Axis forces at some point. Despite being allied in the war's early stages, with both countries invading Poland in 1939 via the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, Germany would launch Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the USSR, in 1941, which would become the largest military invasion in history. Movement of the Eastern Front The surprise invasion began on June 22, and Axis forces caught the Soviets off-guard, quickly pushing their way eastward along a frontline that stretched from the Baltic to Black seas. The length of the front-line allowed Axis forces to execute pincer movements around cities and strongholds, which cut off large numbers of Soviet soldiers from their supply lines, as well as preventing reinforcements; in this process millions of Soviet troops were taken as prisoner. Within three weeks, the Germans had taken much of present-day Poland, Belarus, and the Baltic states, before taking Moldova and Ukraine in September, and pushing into western Russia between September and December. The front lines had reached the outskirts of Moscow by November, before exhaustion and cold weather helped Soviet forces hold the line and stall the German offensive. The Red Army was then able to regroup and turning the Germans' own tactics against them, using two-pronged attacks to encircle large numbers of troops, although harsh weather made this stage of the conflict much slower.

The lines remained fairly static until mid-1942, when the Germans focused their offensive on the south, concentrating on the Caucasian oil fields and the Volga River. By November 1942, Axis forces had pushed into these regions, establishing what would ultimately be the largest amount of occupied Soviet territory during the war. Once again, winter halted the Axis advance, and allowed the Red Army to regroup. Learning from the previous year, the Axis command strengthened their forces near Moscow in anticipation of the Soviet counter-offensive, but were caught off-guard by a second counter-offensive in the south, most famously at Stalingrad. The Battle of Stalingrad would come to epitomize the extreme loss, destruction, and brutality of war on the eastern front, with conflict continuing in the city months after the rest of the Axis forces had been pushed west. As 1943 progressed, the Red Army gained momentum by targeting inferiorly-trained and equipped non-German regiments. The spring then became something of a balancing act for the Axis powers, as the Soviets consistently attacked weak points, and German regiments were transferred to reinforce these areas. In the summer of 1943, the front line was static once more, however the momentum was with the Soviets, who were able to capitalize on victories such as Kursk and gradually force the Axis powers back. By 1944, the Red Army had re-captured much of Ukraine, and had re-taken the south by the summer. When the Western Allies arrived in France in June, the Soviets were already pushing through Ukraine and Belarus, towards Berlin. In August 1944, the last Axis forces were pushed out of Soviet territory, and Soviet forces continued their push towards the German capital, which fell in May 1945. Soviet death toll In addition to the near-five million Soviet troops who died during Operation Barbarossa, millions of civilians died through starvation, areal bombardment, forced labor, and systematic murder campaigns. Due to the nature and severity of Soviet losses, total figures are difficult to estimate; totals of 15-20 million civilians and 7-9 million military deaths are most common. Further estimates suggest that the disruption to fertility, in addition to the high death toll, meant that the USSR's population in 1946 was 40 million lower than it would have been had there been no war.

Abstract

The World Values Survey (www.worldvaluessurvey.org) is a global network of social scientists studying changing values and their impact on social and political life, led by an international team of scholars, with the WVS association and secretariat headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The survey, which started in 1981, seeks to use the most rigorous, high-quality research designs in each country. The WVS consists of nationally representative surveys conducted in almost 100 countries which contain almost 90 percent of the world’s population, using a common questionnaire. The WVS is the largest non-commercial, cross-national, time series investigation of human beliefs and values ever executed, currently including interviews with almost 400,000 respondents. Moreover the WVS is the only academic study covering the full range of global variations, from very poor to very rich countries, in all of the world’s major cultural zones. The WVS seeks to help scientists and policy makers understand changes in the beliefs, values and motivations of people throughout the world. Thousands of political scientists, sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists and economists have used these data to analyze such topics as economic development, democratization, religion, gender equality, social capital, and subjective well-being. These data have also been widely used by government officials, journalists and students, and groups at the World Bank have analyzed the linkages between cultural factors and economic development.

Geographic coverage

This survey covers East and West Germany.

Analysis unit

• Household
• Individual

Universe

The WVS for Germany covers East and West Germany national population, aged 18 years and over, for both sexes.

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

East Germany Sampling Procedure:

The sample was designed to be representative of the entire adult population, i.e. 18 years and older, of your country. The lower age cut-off for the sample was 18 and there was not any upper age cut-off for the sample. Population: Total non-institutionalized population of East-Germany, 18 years and older. Four-stage area probability sample: (1) East Germany is divided into strata. For each stratum the desired number of respondents is defined proportionally to population size. (2) Within each stratum the primary sampling units (communities) are selected at random, proportionally to size. (3) Within each primary sampling unit secondary sampling units (mail-code-areas) are randomly selected. The total number of secondary sampling units was 101. (4) Within each secondary sampling unit households as third sampling units are selected at random from the Telekom phoneregister on CD-ROM (D-Info 3.0). (5) Within each household respondent are randomly selected by phone using the (last) birthday method (fourth sampling unit). Selection is done: 46% Male and 54% Female. 86% Urban and 14% Rural. The sample size is N=1009.

Remarks about sampling: - Final numbers of clusters or sampling points: 101 - Sample unit from office sampling: Household

West Germany Sampling Procedure:

The sample was designed to be representative of the entire adult population, i.e. 18 years and older, of your country. The lower age cut-off for the sample was 18 and there was not an upper age cut-off for the sample. Population: Total non-institutionalized population of Germany, 18 years and older. Four stage area probability sample: (1) West Germany is divided into strata. For each stratum the desired number of respondents is defined proportionally to population size. (2) Within each stratum the primary sampling units (communities) are selected at random, proportional to size. (3) Within each primary sampling unit secondary sampling units (mail-code-areas) are randomly selected. The total number of secondary sampling units was 99. (4) Within each secondary sampling unit households as third sampling units are selected at random from the Telekom phone-register on CDROM (D-Info 3.0). (5) Within each household respondents are randomly selected by phone using the (last) birthday method (fourth sampling unit). Selection is done: 46% Male and 54% Female. 91% Urban and 9% Rural. The sample size is N=1017.

Remarks about sampling: - Final numbers of clusters or sampling points: 99 - Sample unit from office sampling: Household

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

East Germany Questionnaire: The WVS questionnaire was in German. Some special variable labels have been included such as: V56 Neighbours: Muslims and V149 Institution: The European Union. Special categories labels are: V167 Least liked groups: 1. Turks; V179: Other Christian Community; V203/ V204: Geographical affinity, 1. Locality or town where you live, 2. Region of country where you live, 3. Own country as a whole, 4. Europe, 5. The world as whole. Country Specific variables included are: V209: Language at home: 2. English, 3. Dutch, 4. Polish, 5. Russian, 6. Turkish and 7. Other. The variables political parties V210 a V212; Ethic group: V 233 and Region: V 234 are also included as country specific variables. The V 206 Born is also different in East Germany.

West Germany Questionnaire: The WVS questionnaire was in German. Some special variable labels have been included such as: V56 Neighbours: Muslims and V149 Institution: The European Union. Special categories labels are: V167 Least liked groups: Turks and V203/ V204: Geographical affinity, 1. Locality or town where you live, 2. Region of country where you live, 3. Own country as a whole, 4. Europe, 5. The world as whole. Country Specific variables included are: V209: Language at home: 2. English, 3. Dutch, 4. Polish, 5. Russian, 6. Turkish, 7. Other. The variables political parties V210 a V212; Ethic group: V 233 and Region: V 234 are also included as country specific variables. The V 206 Born in this country is also different in West Germany.

Response rate

East Germany: The response rate for East Germany is 51% and is caluculated as follows: (1009/1977) x 100=51%

West Germany: The response rate for West Germany is 50.2% and is calculated as follows: (1017/2025) x 100= 50.2 %

Sampling error estimates

East Germany sampling error: +/- 3,1%

West Germany sampling error: +/-3,1%

Currently, the German population amounts to around 84.04 million. This number is predicted to rise in the following years, at least until 2025, after which population numbers will decrease, amounting to 80.67 million people by 2045.

The Germany Monitor is an annual survey with the aim of empirically surveying the development of political and social moods and attitudes of the population nationwide. Each year, a new annual focus is set. A nationwide main survey and a regional in-depth survey are carried out. In the regional in-depth survey, only people in pre-selected districts are interviewed. These surveys are available in separate data sets.

The main survey of the Germany Monitor ´24 was conducted by the opinion research institute forsa on behalf of the Zentrum für Sozialforschung Halle e.V. (Halle Social Research Center). In the survey period 18.04.2024 - 24.05.2024, the German-speaking resident population aged 16 and over was surveyed in telephone interviews (CATI). The focus in 2024 was on “What kind of society do we want to live in?”. Central topics include social goals, the importance and perceived fulfillment of central civil liberties and ideas of a just or unjust society. Furthermore, established attitudinal concepts, including satisfaction with democracy, trust in institutions and populism, as well as socio-demographic characteristics are also surveyed in the current wave. Respondents were selected using a multi-stage random sample from an ADM selection frame including landline and mobile phone numbers (dual-frame sample) in a ratio of 70:30. 3,986 telephone interviews were conducted in total.
Opinion on general state responsibility for life risks such as illness or unemployment; solidarity with Germany as a whole, with East Germany, with West Germany; importance of civil liberties (freedom of religion, freedom of opinion, freedom of the press, freedom to demonstrate, freedom of property and the right to strike); assessment of the implementation of individual civil liberties; agreement with various statements on the restriction of civil liberties (religious symbols such as the headscarf or the cross should be banned in public buildings and schools, stricter regulation of social media such as Facebook, TikTok or Telegram threatens freedom of expression, freedom of the press must have its limits where people are insulted or slandered, freedom of assembly and demonstration must have its limits where people are hindered in their everyday lives, large private housing companies should be able to be nationalized, even if this affects freedom of ownership, the right to strike must have its limits where important areas of public transport infrastructure are affected, e.g. in the rail and aviation sectors); satisfaction with democracy in Germany according to the constitution; satisfaction with the functioning of democracy in Germany; attitude towards the idea of democracy; discrimination: Importance of reducing discrimination on various grounds (migration background, gender; age, poverty, religion or belief, political attitude or outlook, East German origin); assessment of current economic situation in Germany as a whole and in place of residence, as well as own economic situation; Extremism (In the national interest, a dictatorship is the better form of government under certain circumstances, What Germany needs now is a single strong party that embodies the national community as a whole, We should have a leader who rules Germany with a strong hand for the good of all, As in nature, the strongest should always prevail in society, Those who have always lived here should have more rights than those who moved here later); ideas of a just society (open answers recoded into categories, e.g. freedom and personal rights, equality and equal opportunities in general, social justice and support, etc.); split: ideas of an unjust society (open responses recoded into categories, e.g. social inequality and wealth distribution, pensions and poverty in old age, dysfunctional migration and integration, etc.); priority of climate protection vs. economic growth; priority of freedom vs. equality; priority of freedom vs. security; preferences with regard to more or less government spending on certain areas (targeted recruitment of qualified specialists and trainees from abroad, strengthening of structurally weak regions, subsidies for the establishment of large companies, improvement of roads, improvement of railroad infrastructure, improvement of educational infrastructure (schools, kindergartens, universities), strengthening of police and law enforcement, strengthening of the Bundeswehr); politicians strive for close contact with the population (responsiveness); party identification (general and party); political interest; populism (members of the German Bundestag should be exclusively committed to the will of the people, the people agree in principle on what needs to happen politically, politicians talk too much and do too little, an ordinary citizen would represent my interests better than a professional politician, what is called compromise in politics is in reality just a betrayal of principles, the people, and not the politicians, should make...

The Politbarometer has been conducted since 1977 on an almost monthly basis by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen on behalf of the Second German Television (ZDF). Since 1990, this database has also been available for the new German states. The survey focuses on the opinions and attitudes of the voting-age population in the Federal Republic on current political issues, parties, politicians, and voting behavior. From 1990 to 1995 and from 1999 onward, the Politbarometer surveys were conducted separately both in the newly formed eastern and in the western German states (Politbarometer East and Politbarometer West). The separate monthly surveys of a year are integrated into a cumulative data set that includes all surveys of a year and all variables of the respective year. Starting in 2003, the Politbarometer short surveys, collected with varying frequency throughout the year, are integrated into the annual cumulation.
Most important problems in Germany; party preference (Federal Parliament election, state parliament election, Sunday question and rank order procedure); behavior at the polls in the last Federal Parliament election and the last state parliament election; sympathy scale for the parties, coalition, opposition, state government and selected federal politicians; self-classification on a left-right continuum; personal job security; ability of the government or opposition in solving economic problems in Eastern Germany; judgement on individual as well as current economic situation in Eastern Germany and its further development; union membership; religiousness; party inclination and party identification; living together with a partner. Also encoded was: day of survey. Beyond this common part for all survey months of the year 1993 the following questions were also posed in at least one further survey month: assessment of disagreement of the federal parties; most important politicians in the country; preference for federal chancellor; satisfaction with democracy; the right people in leading positions; interest in politics; general judgement on the condition of society as well as comparison with other western societies; judgement on introduction of political order according to western pattern; general judgement on unification of Germany and personal expectations fulfilled in unification; general judgement on economic development in Germany; desire for separation of the two German nations; satisfaction with achievement of equivalent living conditions in east and west; adequate activities of the Federal Government for such an equalization; adequate effort of the West German economy and East German population to develop Eastern Germany; too much complaining in public opinion; judgement on the job of the trust-company; ability of the government or opposition regarding stability of monetary value, national debt and securing of prosperity; perceived threat from crime; necessity of tax increases to finance German unity; attitude to reintroduction of the solidarity tax and preferred point in time for this; attitude to reduction in social services and to a job market tax for civil servants, self-employed and higher earners; preferred savings recommendations for social services; judgement on the reductions introduced by the Federal Government in the social area; assumed extent of abuse of social services; expected result of the government program to combat abuse; attitude to the sale of government assets to avoid tax increases; judgement on disputes in important questions; advantageousness of EC membership for the German population; judgement on the speed of European unification and preference for strengthening bonds between current EC countries or for admission of new countries; preference for independence of Germany or stronger merger into a European nation; advantageousness of the European domestic market and attitude to a European currency; personal voting behavior in case of a vote on the resolutions of Maastricht; preferred countries for new acceptance into the EC; too many foreigners in Germany; general judgement on German right to asylum; assumed abuse of the right to asylum; necessity of an ammendment to the constitution to reduce abuse of the right to asylum; ability to cope with current influx of applicants for political asylum; party most able to solve the problem of applicants for asylum; attitude to immediate deportation of applicants for political asylum from countries in which there is no political persecution; expected changes through change to the right to asylum; proximity to accomodations for applicants for political asylum; problems experienced with applicants for political asylum; attitude to increased or reduced admission of applicants for political asylum; understanding for the violent demonstrations against applicants for political asylum; being ashamed of this violence; necessity of stricter laws to combat right-wing extremism; dedicated supporters or protest voters in the elections; increase...

The Germany Monitor is an annual survey with the aim of empirically surveying the stability and changes in political and social moods and attitudes of the population in East and West Germany. Each year, a new annual focus is set. A main survey (nationwide) and a regional in-depth survey are carried out. The latter includes pre-selected districts. These surveys are available in separate data sets.

The Deutschland-Monitor ´23 regional survey was conducted by the opinion research institute forsa on behalf of the Zentrum für Sozialforschung Halle e.V.. During the survey period from 03.07.23 to 28.07.23, the German-speaking resident population aged 16 and over was interviewed by telephone (CATI) in a total of eight districts. At least 500 respondents from the population were to be interviewed in each district. The focus in 2023 was on ´urban and rural areas´. In addition to socio-demographic and political attitudes, regional issues were also addressed. This included the coexistence of people, the challenges and strengths of the place of residence, the socialization of the respondent and attachment to the place of residence. Respondents were selected using a multi-stage random sample from an ADM selection frame, excluding mobile phone numbers. A total of 4,018 telephone interviews were conducted.
Life satisfaction; affiliation to Germany as a whole, to East Germany, to West Germany, to the federal state and to the place of residence; assessment of the economic situation in Germany as a whole, in East Germany, in West Germany, in the federal state and in the place of residence as well as of one´s own economic situation; migration is necessary to meet the demand for qualified skilled workers; year since moving to the current place of residence; perceived development of the place of residence in the last 10 to 15 years; expected development of the place of residence in the next 10 to 15 years; sociality index where I live (People here help each other, you can trust the people here, people here motivate each other to achieve something, the interaction between young and old works well here, my town/municipality involves citizens in municipal planning, my town/municipality uses public funds responsibly, there is a lively club life in my place of residence, I am generally satisfied with the quality of life in my place of residence, I am generally satisfied with the quality of life in my immediate neighborhood, I would not want to live anywhere else, I have a positive view of my personal future in the place where I currently live); challenges in the place of residence (integration of people from other countries, emigration of young people, lack of skilled workers, availability of affordable housing, increasing contrast between rich and poor, indebtedness of the place of residence); greatest challenge for the place of residence (open ended query, text); characterization of the place of residence using pairs of opposites (rural - urban, traditional - cosmopolitan, wealthy - poor, central - remote, family-friendly - family-unfriendly, attractive place to live - not an attractive place to live); satisfaction with the infrastructure in the place of residence (provision of fast internet, provision of public transport, availability of childcare facilities, provision of general practitioners, availability of care services, accessibility of specialists, accessibility of cultural and leisure facilities and accessibility of shopping facilities for daily needs); regional resentment (feeling of being left behind): Politicians in Berlin are not interested in the region where I live, people in the rest of Germany do not respect how people live here in our region, politicians in Berlin have done too little to improve the economic situation in my region, my region has developed worse economically than other regions in Germany, compared to other regions in Germany, the condition of public buildings in my region is very good); interest in politics; responsiveness: Politicians strive to maintain close contact with the population; populism (Members of the German Bundestag should be exclusively committed to the will of the people, the rulers and powerful in our society act against the interests of ordinary people, the people agree in principle on what needs to happen politically, decisions made after a debate in parliament are better than decisions made directly by the people); internal efficacy (I can understand and assess important political issues well); attitude towards the idea of democracy; satisfaction with democracy in Germany according to the constitution; satisfaction with the functioning of democracy in Germany; general party identification; party identification: party; political positioning (right-left); political participation in the last 12 months (involvement in a political party, political content shared, posted, e.g. on Facebook, in a blog, via Twitter, etc.); extremism (every democratic society has certain conflicts...

The Germany Monitor is an annual survey with the aim of empirically surveying the development of political and social moods and attitudes of the population nationwide. Each year, a new annual focus is set. A nationwide main survey and a regional in-depth survey are carried out. In the regional in-depth survey, only people in pre-selected districts are interviewed. These surveys are available in separate data sets.

The main survey of the Germany Monitor ´24 was conducted by the opinion research institute forsa on behalf of the Zentrum für Sozialforschung Halle e.V. (Halle Social Research Center). In the survey period 18.04.2024 - 24.05.2024, the German-speaking resident population aged 16 and over was surveyed in telephone interviews (CATI). The focus in 2024 was on “What kind of society do we want to live in?”. Central topics include social goals, the importance and perceived fulfillment of central civil liberties and ideas of a just or unjust society. Furthermore, established attitudinal concepts, including satisfaction with democracy, trust in institutions and populism, as well as socio-demographic characteristics are also surveyed in the current wave. Respondents were selected using a multi-stage random sample from an ADM selection frame including landline and mobile phone numbers (dual-frame sample) in a ratio of 70:30. 3,986 telephone interviews were conducted in total.
Opinion on general state responsibility for life risks such as illness or unemployment; solidarity with Germany as a whole, with East Germany, with West Germany; importance of civil liberties (freedom of religion, freedom of opinion, freedom of the press, freedom to demonstrate, freedom of property and the right to strike); assessment of the implementation of individual civil liberties; agreement with various statements on the restriction of civil liberties (religious symbols such as the headscarf or the cross should be banned in public buildings and schools, stricter regulation of social media such as Facebook, TikTok or Telegram threatens freedom of expression, freedom of the press must have its limits where people are insulted or slandered, freedom of assembly and demonstration must have its limits where people are hindered in their everyday lives, large private housing companies should be able to be nationalized, even if this affects freedom of ownership, the right to strike must have its limits where important areas of public transport infrastructure are affected, e.g. in the rail and aviation sectors); satisfaction with democracy in Germany according to the constitution; satisfaction with the functioning of democracy in Germany; attitude towards the idea of democracy; discrimination: Importance of reducing discrimination on various grounds (migration background, gender; age, poverty, religion or belief, political attitude or outlook, East German origin); assessment of current economic situation in Germany as a whole and in place of residence, as well as own economic situation; Extremism (In the national interest, a dictatorship is the better form of government under certain circumstances, What Germany needs now is a single strong party that embodies the national community as a whole, We should have a leader who rules Germany with a strong hand for the good of all, As in nature, the strongest should always prevail in society, Those who have always lived here should have more rights than those who moved here later); ideas of a just society (open answers recoded into categories, e.g. freedom and personal rights, equality and equal opportunities in general, social justice and support, etc.); split: ideas of an unjust society (open responses recoded into categories, e.g. social inequality and wealth distribution, pensions and poverty in old age, dysfunctional migration and integration, etc.); priority of climate protection vs. economic growth; priority of freedom vs. equality; priority of freedom vs. security; preferences with regard to more or less government spending on certain areas (targeted recruitment of qualified specialists and trainees from abroad, strengthening of structurally weak regions, subsidies for the establishment of large companies, improvement of roads, improvement of railroad infrastructure, improvement of educational infrastructure (schools, kindergartens, universities), strengthening of police and law enforcement, strengthening of the Bundeswehr); politicians strive for close contact with the population (responsiveness); party identification (general and party); political interest; populism (members of the German Bundestag should be exclusively committed to the will of the people, the people agree in principle on what needs to happen politically, politicians talk too much and do too little, an ordinary citizen would represent my interests better than a professional politician, what is called compromise in politics is in reality just a betrayal of principles, the people, and not the politicians, should make...

The Germany Monitor is an annual survey with the aim of empirically surveying the development of political and social moods and attitudes of the population nationwide. Each year, a new annual focus is set. A nationwide main survey and a regional in-depth survey are carried out. In the regional in-depth survey, only people in pre-selected districts are interviewed. These surveys are available in separate data sets.

The main survey of the Germany Monitor ´24 was conducted by the opinion research institute forsa on behalf of the Zentrum für Sozialforschung Halle e.V. (Halle Social Research Center). In the survey period 18.04.2024 - 24.05.2024, the German-speaking resident population aged 16 and over was surveyed in telephone interviews (CATI). The focus in 2024 was on “What kind of society do we want to live in?”. Central topics include social goals, the importance and perceived fulfillment of central civil liberties and ideas of a just or unjust society. Furthermore, established attitudinal concepts, including satisfaction with democracy, trust in institutions and populism, as well as socio-demographic characteristics are also surveyed in the current wave. Respondents were selected using a multi-stage random sample from an ADM selection frame including landline and mobile phone numbers (dual-frame sample) in a ratio of 70:30. 3,986 telephone interviews were conducted in total.
Opinion on general state responsibility for life risks such as illness or unemployment; solidarity with Germany as a whole, with East Germany, with West Germany; importance of civil liberties (freedom of religion, freedom of opinion, freedom of the press, freedom to demonstrate, freedom of property and the right to strike); assessment of the implementation of individual civil liberties; agreement with various statements on the restriction of civil liberties (religious symbols such as the headscarf or the cross should be banned in public buildings and schools, stricter regulation of social media such as Facebook, TikTok or Telegram threatens freedom of expression, freedom of the press must have its limits where people are insulted or slandered, freedom of assembly and demonstration must have its limits where people are hindered in their everyday lives, large private housing companies should be able to be nationalized, even if this affects freedom of ownership, the right to strike must have its limits where important areas of public transport infrastructure are affected, e.g. in the rail and aviation sectors); satisfaction with democracy in Germany according to the constitution; satisfaction with the functioning of democracy in Germany; attitude towards the idea of democracy; discrimination: Importance of reducing discrimination on various grounds (migration background, gender; age, poverty, religion or belief, political attitude or outlook, East German origin); assessment of current economic situation in Germany as a whole and in place of residence, as well as own economic situation; Extremism (In the national interest, a dictatorship is the better form of government under certain circumstances, What Germany needs now is a single strong party that embodies the national community as a whole, We should have a leader who rules Germany with a strong hand for the good of all, As in nature, the strongest should always prevail in society, Those who have always lived here should have more rights than those who moved here later); ideas of a just society (open answers recoded into categories, e.g. freedom and personal rights, equality and equal opportunities in general, social justice and support, etc.); split: ideas of an unjust society (open responses recoded into categories, e.g. social inequality and wealth distribution, pensions and poverty in old age, dysfunctional migration and integration, etc.); priority of climate protection vs. economic growth; priority of freedom vs. equality; priority of freedom vs. security; preferences with regard to more or less government spending on certain areas (targeted recruitment of qualified specialists and trainees from abroad, strengthening of structurally weak regions, subsidies for the establishment of large companies, improvement of roads, improvement of railroad infrastructure, improvement of educational infrastructure (schools, kindergartens, universities), strengthening of police and law enforcement, strengthening of the Bundeswehr); politicians strive for close contact with the population (responsiveness); party identification (general and party); political interest; populism (members of the German Bundestag should be exclusively committed to the will of the people, the people agree in principle on what needs to happen politically, politicians talk too much and do too little, an ordinary citizen would represent my interests better than a professional politician, what is called compromise in politics is in reality just a betrayal of principles, the people, and not the politicians, should make...

人口：东在12-01-2021达16,147.618千人，相较于12-01-2020的16,163.795千人有所下降。人口：东数据按年更新，12-01-1950至12-01-2021期间平均值为16,722.586千人，共72份观测结果。该数据的历史最高值出现于12-01-1950，达18,388.172千人，而历史最低值则出现于12-01-2000，为15,119.530千人。CEIC提供的人口：东数据处于定期更新的状态，数据来源于Statistisches Bundesamt，数据归类于Global Database的德国 – Table DE.G001: Population。

The Politbarometer has been conducted since 1977 on an almost monthly basis by the Forschungsgruppe Wahlen on behalf of the Second German Television (ZDF). Since 1990, this database has also been available for the new German states. The survey focuses on the opinions and attitudes of the voting-age population in the Federal Republic on current political issues, parties, politicians, and voting behavior. From 1990 to 1995 and from 1999 onward, the Politbarometer surveys were conducted separately both in the newly formed eastern and in the western German states (Politbarometer East and Politbarometer West). The separate monthly surveys of a year are integrated into a cumulative data set that includes all surveys of a year and all variables of the respective year. Starting in 2003, the Politbarometer short surveys, collected with varying frequency throughout the year, are integrated into the annual cumulation.