> It took a lot of additional energy to be able to go to "Gymnasium" in Bavaria. In the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, were I was born, this was much easier t

> It took a lot of additional energy to be able to go to "Gymnasium" in Bavaria. In the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, were I was born, this was much easier though. This is one of the very few aspects that socialist/Eastern Bloc countries actually did better than the capitalist Western ones. Working-class kids had a fairly equal opportunity at getting into the same schools as the rich kids.