Celebrating its best-ever result, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has made extraordinary gains in the last few years. It has doubled its vote share since 2021 with more than 10 million people picking them in this year's federal election. You only have to look at a map of Germany to see where much of its support comes from.
Almost all of the old East Germany has turned AfD blue. The party has always been more popular in German areas that were once under Soviet rule, but this year has tightened its grip. In the stronghold state of Thuringia, the party got more than 38% of the vote.
Feeling fed up and ignored by mainstream parties, many have flocked to the far-right. Some of that support is fuelled by resentment that 35 years after Germany reunified, wages in the east are still lower than the west. People are increasingly disconnected from centrist politicians they feel don't understand them.
On a recent road trip to AfD heartlands, people told me that migration, the economy, and the war in Ukraine were all reasons why they were supporting the party. Initial statistics show the AfD is now the most popular party among young men. It also managed to successfully convert nearly two million non-voters to its cause.
Be the first to get Breaking News. Install the Sky News app for free. While it is strongest in the east, it has made gains in the west and, in total, took almost a million votes from the leading Christian Democrats. If centrist parties fail to solve the issues worrying Germans, the far right is waiting in the wings ready to seize power at the next election in 2029.
After Germany lost in World War Two, the country was split into four zones of occupation that were controlled by the UK, US, France and the Soviet Union. The American, British and French sectors formed West Germany in 1949, while the Soviet sector was East Germany.
Berlin was also split four ways even though it was in the Soviet zone, with the famous Berlin Wall signifying the divide. Over the second half of the 20th century, East and West Germany reflected the Cold War ideologies of Russia and the US. West Germany was a capitalist democracy with a prosperous economy, while East Germany was a communist country with a very poor economy.
The border between East and West Germany shut in 1952, with the divide in Berlin closing in 1961 - separating families and communities overnight. The borders remained shut until the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, with Germany reuniting in October 1990.
The wall came down amid unrest in East Germany and a wave of revolutions in the countries of the Soviet bloc. The Soviet Union eventually collapsed in 1991. The almost four decades of very different levels of economic growth was clear after reunification. East Germany's centrally planned economy had far lower living standards, stagnant productivity and poor consumer choice compared to the more advanced, capitalist West Germany.
The East German economy was so underdeveloped in the years since reunification, and that part of the country has never caught up to the more prosperous west. While the gap has narrowed in recent years, it stubbornly remains. Median gross pay for eastern workers was €3,013 (£2,497) per month in 2024, versus €3,655 (£3,029) in the west, according to the Reuters news agency.
