During this period, the German language in the East and West began to diverge to reflect changing experience. Communist East Germans used words meaning “year-end winged figure” for “Christmas angel,”...

During this period, the German language in the East and West began to diverge to reflect changing experience. Communist East Germans used words meaning “year-end winged figure” for “Christmas angel,” a word meaning “waving element” (Winkelement) for “flag” (Fahne) because the people were expected to wave flags at parades, and der antifaschistische Schutzwall (“antifascist protective wall”) for the Berlin Wall, which divided the city of Berlin.