Germany through the eyes of a dog

Dear Reader,

As I wrote in my last members’ newsletter, scrutinising the differences in national psyche between Germans for the former east and former west has become a national pastime.

Some say the split is exaggerated. They point to the fact that the AfD are almost as popular in Lower Saxony (former West) as in neighbouring Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (former East).

Others assert that the east German penchant for authoritarianism is far worse than even the AfD’s strong polling figures suggest. They argue that both the CDU and the SPD in eastern states have a dodgy record when it comes to the Kremlin.

My own contribution to the debate is to propose an academic study into how East and West Germans use signs on their garden doors to communicate with strangers

My working hypothesis is that there is a commonality: both primarily use signs to scare off intruders. Scare tactic of choice: a large dog that apparently lurks on the other side of the gate.

But there are major differences.

I would p…