The east German family: Change and continuity

The incorporation of the GDR into the old Federal Republic has been accompanied by some far‐reaching changes to the pattern of family life in the five new Länder. These changes found their most vivid expression in a precipitous fall of the marriage, divorce and birth rates. The paper traces these developments and considers whether they signal an irreversible transformation of the east German family. It concludes that despite growing convergence with elements of the west German family model, many GDR‐typical patterns and attitudes towards marriage, gender roles, the value of children and combining work employment with family duties still persist in east Germany. Despite changes in its structure and function, a distinctively east German family model exists and has a future.