A divided sky? Interdependencies and asymmetries along the former inner German border. – DIVSky

We use an ethnographic approach complemented by statistical and cartographic methods to trace the dissolution and transgression of boundaries, as well as their reorganization and redefinition.
The geographical proximity of the villages we are studying allows us to observe, in great detail, all the factors that now bring together village communities east and west of the former border (a dense network of transport links, shared labour markets, a common dialect and similar lifestyles), but also to identify asymmetries that bear witness to the still very much present repercussions of the processes set in motion in 1990 at the time of reunification, which manifest themselves at various levels (voting behaviour, the organisation of social and village life, intra-family practices). The choice of research sites spread across different points along the former border also allows for variation in local configurations and parameters, enabling a critical examination of the nature of these asymmetries and the processes that drive them.

In this initial phase of the project, most of our activities consisted of collecting empirical materials across our various field sites. This data collection was particularly intensive for the two doctoral researchers recruited for the project.
Since the summer of 2025, Judith Althaus has been undertaking a long-term stay (11 months) in a village located in northern Thuringia. Her dissertation, situated within the field of social anthropology, examines how the inhabitants of this formerly border-area village relate to the future. It is based on prolonged immersion in the village community, enabling her to capture the aspirations and future projections of different generations, some of whom experienced the division of Germany and others who did not. The French doctoral researcher, Hugo Zusslin, whose dissertation is in sociology, has adopted a more comparative approach, leading him to conduct research across multiple sites along the former border. His work focuses on mobility linked to educational and employment trajectories, and on how these movements reshape the territorial attachments of inhabitants on both sides of the former border. Relying primarily on interviews, he gathers life stories centered on experiences of education and work. While villages constitute an important entry point in his empirical strategy, Hugo Zusslin also conducts research within companies located in these formerly border regions. This allows him to examine relational dynamics in the workplace, as well as recruitment-related issues across different labor markets, and to develop analyses closely connected to the world of work.
The other researchers involved in the project have also carried out several field missions, which have helped advance the other thematic areas at the core of the DivSky project. From an anthropological perspective, Carolin Leutloff-Grandits addresses issues related to demographic and generational dynamics, focusing on different forms of attachment to place (long-term residents, newcomers, returnees, etc.). Laure de Verdalle and Béatrice von Hirschhausen are examining how to approach the question of political attitudes, which is particularly sensitive in these regions where the AfD receives high levels of support. Laure de Verdalle has also explored the territorial attachments of younger generations born after reunification. Joséphine Lécuyer and Hélène Roth have focused on issues of local development and urban and regional planning. Finally, Bastien Fond has begun working on controversies related to the challenges of energy transition during an initial research stay in Thuringia.

In addition to continuing data collection and analyzing these initial materials, the collaboration established with Simon Brunel and Nicolas Pannetier from Atelier Limo has led to the production of a short animated film (4 minutes long), designed to be both educational and accessible. We use it in our fieldwork, but it can also be mobilized in the context of our academic presentations and, more broadly, within the project’s dissemination and outreach strategy.
A second, more ambitious production is currently in preparation. This time, it takes the form of a documentary, based on Simon and Nicolas following our research process—more specifically, the way in which Judith Althaus and Hugo Zusslin, as doctoral researchers, engage with fieldwork and the challenges of ethnographic inquiry. The documentary examines our research practices, our relationship with participants, as well as the local impact of our presence and repeated questioning.
The approach adopted is thus to simultaneously explore what the field does to research and what research does to the field, through the contrasting experiences of Judith and Hugo.

PUBLICATIONS
1. Carolin Leutloff-Grandits, Laure de Verdalle, Béatrice von Hirschhausen, 2026, « Ein immer noch geteilter Himmel ? Alltag und Erinnerung im ehemaligen innerdeutschen Grenzraum », Politik & Kultur. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Kulturrates, n. 3/26.
2. Laure de Verdalle et Béatrice von Hirschhausen, 2025, « Mobilités, travail et sociabilités rurales sur l’ancienne frontière interallemande : Des rapports encore asymétriques au territoire », Formation emploi, n. 169, p. 53-71.
3. Laure de Verdalle et Béatrice von Hirschhausen, 2025, « ‘J’ai toujours voulu (re)voir mon clocher’. Logiques d’appartenance et attachement au territoire à l’Est de l’ancienne frontière interallemande », Géographie et cultures, n. 124, p. 101-120.
4. Hélène Roth, Joséphine Lécuyer, Béatrice von Hirschhausen, 2025, « A l’Ouest, du nouveau. Continuités et recompositions des géographies partisanes en Allemagne », Métropolitiques, en ligne.

COMMUNICATIONS
1. June 2025: At the Viadrina Open Day, Carolin Leutloff-Grandits and Judith Althaus gave a presentation to introduce their project.
2. July 2025: Carolin Leutloff-Grandits and Judith Althaus took part in the workshop ‘What moves us – East, West and Us in Frankfurt (Oder)’, at the Friedenskirche in Frankfurt (Oder).
3. July 2025: Presentation by Laure de Verdalle and Béatrice von Hirschhausen at the conference of the French Sociological Association, ‘“Always consuming and always buying isn’t our style”. Distancing oneself from consumer society and defending rural life east of the former inter-German border’, Toulouse, Jean Jaurès University.

While neighbouring village societies, formerly separated by the inner-German border, are today connected in a dense network of mobilities, share the same workplaces and the same social and economic stability, it is striking that they hardly cooperate beyond work or form deep social bonds or friendships. The project aims to shed light on this paradox by capturing and analyzing the life experiences, social practices, and worldviews of residents in the former border region of two ideologically hostile states. The project uses the spatial proximity of the village societies along the former inner-German border to pose the question of the effects of the separation of the two German states as well as the multiple and often asymmetrical transformations that accompanied the reunification of the two German states and are still effective today.
The choice of three study sites straddling the former border will make it possible to examine the changes affecting both the West and the East, and to critically examine the nature of the processes underway since 1989, interpreted in the literature as either "convergence," "integration," or more recently, "co-transformation." The decision to "revisit" villages that have been the subject of previous studies in the 1990s will add an original temporal depth to our analyses.
We use an ethnographic approach complemented by statistical and cartographic methods to trace the dissolution and transgression of boundaries, as well as their reorganization and redefinition. Based on three disciplinary approaches (social anthropology, sociology and geography) applied in the same study sites, we will examine in more detail three dimensions that we assume will shed light on the fascinating observation of the emergence of a phantom border between these social spaces despite the disappearance of territorial and economic barriers: The organization of their social life and the development of social, family and intergenerational ties (WP2), territorial anchorage, , their mobility practices and relational aspects related to educational and employment experiences (WP3), and relations with politics and forms of engagement (WP4). In line with ethical and transfer considerations, the valorisation (WP5) will address both the academic field and local societies, which will be invited to participate in the shooting of a documentary film by a professional team.