Russian language instruction was compulsory in the GDR's educational system, along with classes in Marxist-Leninism. The Polytechnische Oberschule (Polytechnic Secondary Schools/POS) began instruction in Russian in the 1950s and it remained a staple of GDR education throughout the existence of the GDR. Russian was taught between grades 5-12 of the POS with the state also providing chances for additional instruction and extended courses for advanced students. Older students had the option of pursuing a second foreign language, usually English. The POS's instruction in Russian often mixed both ideological instruction that emphasized Germany's solidarity with the Soviet Union as well as trying to master the various rules and grammar of the Russian language.

The results of this compulsory Russian instruction upon Germany were quite ephemeral. Although a large portion of the GDR's population had some degree of fluency in Russian, the Russian language never quite penetrated into the daily vernacular or culture of the GDR. This was in no small measure due to the forced segregation of Red Army troops in the GDR from the wider German public. Exposure to the Russian language outside of the classroom was itself relatively rare and often limited to special cultural events. Mandatory Russian instruction was one of the first things abandoned in the German curriculum after reunification and the revised educational system gave students an option in heir mandatory foreign language instruction. When given the option, an overwhelming number of German pupils in the early 1990s opted for English or French over Russian. The soft antipathy towards having to learn the Russian language has also carried through unification. Contemporary surveys of former GDR citizens show that Russian instruction was one of the least popular classes in the POS. Not only was the instruction often overtly ideological, but the pedagogy behind instruction was often freighted with an overemphasis upon grammar and rote learning than practical communicative instruction.

Sources

Klapper, John. "German Unification and the Teaching of Modern Languages: the methodological legacy of the German Democratic Republic". Comparative Education. 1992 Jan 1;28(3):235-47.

Phillips, David. Education in Germany Since Unification. Wallingford: Symposium Books, 2000.

Rodden, John. "Report Card from East Germany". Society. 2010 Jul 1;47(4):343-52.