What is Ossi??? - Page 2 - Wehrmacht-Awards.com Militaria Forums

Thälmannpionier · 03-13-2005, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael D. Gallagher

It sounded like a thousand people had all decided to crank up their lawn mowers and cut the grass on their lawns on the same day.

One good thing though. Unlike here in the US, everyone in East Germany that owned and drove one was at least in their mid-twenties.

@Michael
totally agree on both

Gerd Becker · 03-13-2005, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thälmannpionier

Hi

Let me try to give you a bit Info about that Terms "Ossi" and "Wessi".

As far as I can remember,when I was a Kid(before 1989) the Word "Wessi" was very usual if you were talking about someone from West Germany.The Opposite was "Ossi" used by the west germans,but "Ossi" was more used by west germans after 1989.

I think the most people in east germany used the word "Wessi" because there were just a bit jealous about the West Germans.Because You knew that behind the Wall they can have everything like nice Cars,all kind of Food, the permission to Travel whereever you want to travel and so on.And you felt like the west germans were thinking there are a much better Volk as the poor uneducated east germans and we would live behind the Moon here. At that Time in east germany a "Wessi" was always known as a arrogant Person.
After 1989 the word "Wessi" became even more Meaning,cause everyone was fearing to loose there Jobs. When this was happening in 1989-1991 alot people in east germany were loosing there Jobs,because many big Factorys were takenover by west german agencies called (Treuhand).
Also alot private Wessis came to east germany and claimed to have properties and houses in east germany(owned it before Germany were splitted) and some just kicked out the persons living on or in it.

The word "Ossi" became more usual after 1989.When thousands of "Ossi's) stormed over to west germany,grabbed there 100DM "Welcome-Money" and bought everything there could get for 100,-DM. I can remember the first Time we went to West Berlin, every single Bus or Train or Subway were stuffed with east germans carrying there big plastic bags home

. This Situation went on nearly 2 years until it settled down a bit.
Understandable,the west germans found it quite annoying.Also the west germans didn't like the fact that east germany needed alot money for rebuilding and to get equal to west german standarts in any ways.
But I don't wanna go to deep into that Topic.

Thats my view of the origin and the meaning of the Term "Ossi" and "Wessi".
and its still "Monkeybusiness" between East and West.

By the way,Good bey Lenin is a really funny and good Movie.I liked it alot because it reminds me of the "good old Times"

Not everything was bad in the DDR.
What they should have done is to let the people traveling and drinking Coca Cola

and everything would have been great.cheers
Hope my english isn't to hard to read.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Seid bereit,immer bereit"

Absolutely agreed from a "Wessi"

Very good explanation

best,
Gerd

AR-11 · 03-14-2005, 12:53 PM

Gentlemen,
the term "Wessi" I did not know before 1989. But after that I had to learn it quickly, what that means... We, me and my friends in Halle, called the West-german-people "BeeGees"= the short of "Bundes-Germanen".

As far as I know, and so I wrote it to Ralph, was "Ossi" the nickname by "F.R.G.rians" for the West-Berlin-inhabitants. (I wrote: the inhabitants of the biggest island in the red ocean...

)

After the army I worked in an steet-building-company. My chef and a lot of the leaders came from the west. Of course first they had the higher knowledge with the modern machines, building-methods and so on. But often they looked at our way to do things-and learned... We had good relations between us. Of course not every day the bright sunlight-but also no east-west-war.
My chef cames from Osnabrück (Tecklenburg) and lives till today near Merseburg. He and me-we became the same "third" german people-"race": the "Wossis". People, who went to the other site of our country for living there...

I think, the really disdain term for that, what Thälmannpionier meant with arrogant Westlers, is : "Besser-Wessi". These were people, they knew everything better than Ossis, sitting on a high throne and conducting everything, also that from which he has no notion.

And from those you can find a lot, also here in the West...

Otherwise I fully agree with Thälmannpionier.

AR-11