The GDR preschool education system represented one of the world’s “largest ‘experiments’ in the institutionalization of early childhood education, involving millions of children” (Heinsohn 1974, p. 24). The education reform of the 1970s in Western Germany therefore called for critical comparative analyses of its structures and effects. In the educational discourse after 1990, pre-school education in the GDR was relegated to the margins, primarily identified with forced politicization and ideological influence on children and educators. From a differentiation-theoretical perspective on organisation and interaction, this article argues that the highly organised kindergarten and nursery education system in the GDR nevertheless provides valuable insights into the implementation of education in educational organisations and the forms of interaction.
