"Genosse Bauer, wir sind keine Genosssen mehr!" Page 21, line 9
While this line is only a minor expression of wit by Maik, it expresses both a literal paradox and unintentional paradox. The Obvious literal paradox is that Maik still uses "Genosse" to refer to Herr Bauer, while saying that the fall of the wall effectively ends the appropriate cultural usage the word as a title for anyone. The less obvious paradox is that even though the wall has fallen, and Germany is reunifying, the East/West mentality is still widely happily present in many people. While the huge political shift has already taken place, and the line on the map has been erased, most people haven't yet experienced anything different other than disruptions of the work schedule. The lag bewtween the political action and the immediate effects is large enough for this paradox to occur.
Hmm,... your comment makes me think about all the disruptions I experienced. You are right at first it was just school in my case and work for my mother and grandparents. However, loosing your job effects many other areas of life for the entire family. Having to worry about ones future and uncertainties were new for East Germans.
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