Скачать или смотреть East German Factory Workers Stunned by West German Automation — Industrial Gap Revealed

November 1990. Klaus Weber, a 25-year-old machinist from East Germany's Wartburg automobile plant, walked into Volkswagen's Wolfsburg factory as part of Germany's reunification training program. What he witnessed shattered everything he'd been taught about capitalism, productivity, and workers' rights. While East German propaganda claimed Western workers were exploited slaves of capitalism, the reality revealed something far different: West German factories produced 3-5 times more output with advanced automation, better working conditions, and higher wages. This is the story of the industrial gap that contributed to East Germany's economic collapse and the profound shock experienced by workers who discovered their entire economic worldview was built on lies.

Key Facts: • West German automotive productivity was 4× higher than East German plants (20 vehicles per worker annually vs 5.5) • West German factories featured 300+ industrial robots and computerized systems while East German plants used 1960s manual labor technology • Average West German factory worker earned 3-4× more than East German counterparts with better working conditions • Post-reunification, 60% of East German manufacturing jobs disappeared as obsolete factories closed • Technology gap was 20-30 years—East German plants operated with equipment from the 1960s in 1990

Research Sources: German reunification economic studies (Bundesbank) | Factory worker interviews from 1990-1991 exchange programs | Productivity comparison data (East vs West German manufacturing) | "The Rush to German Unity" by Konrad Jarausch

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