Clara Marz explores the complex dynamics surrounding women's roles in communist East Germany and capitalist West Germany, highlighting that while East German women were integrated into the workforce and received state-supported childcare, many West German women remained housewives until the late 20th century. Marz's personal experiences as a child of GDR women inform her perspective, recognizing that individual family narratives shape broader societal experiences. Through her exhibition "Women in Divided Germany," she aims to prompt reflection on current gender issues in reunified Germany by showcasing these divergent historical contexts.
"I think that's how it is for many children, especially girls, who grow up with their mothers' and grandmothers' experiences," says Marz, who was born in the city of Rostock, and is now 29 years old.
In the GDR, state-owned companies also provided childcare. In today's reunified Germany, reconciling work and family life is not a matter of course.
Marz says she was quite surprised by the different experiences of women in East and West Germany. She realized the extent of that when she got to know female students from the West while at university.
Marz feels that the experiences of the women in her own family have shaped her. "How it is for many children especially girls who grow up with their mothers' and grandmothers' experiences."
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