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Abstract
The demise of the German Democratic Republic in 1989 provides an excellent source for the type of derisive expressions which occur in a country in which the governmental and economic systems form a monolithic, oppressive life-style for its population. In spite of the tight control of the society by the government, many contrapolitical expressions arose as a means to vent the frustrations of daily life. Many of these expressions appeared in public and were circulated openly, while others were disseminated from one friendship circle to another. The expressions were isolated vocabulary items, idioms, acronyms, slang, colloquialisms, and short rhymes. This article examines a sampling of these expressions in an attempt to gain insight into the feelings of a people caught in the web of a Socialist/Communist government. The expressions discussed herein focus on the politico-economic spheres, the leaders, the secret police, the Russian influences, and some general expressions based on the day-to-day problems of existence in that former country.