Genuinely fascinating article. I had no idea that the DDR's fertility rate dropped to 0.8 after reunification. That said, I am skeptical of the assertions. Statistics can always be used to paint misleading pictures to support any narrative you like. For example, it neglects to mention that, according to the same source it links to show the birthrate dropped after reunification, that DDR's fertility rate was already down to 1.5 beforehand, well below replacement level. That strikes me as something of a lie by omission.
The emphasis on "it takes a village" seems strangely misplaced, as well. It presumes that culture is so malleable that a shift in government policy can change the culture overnight. Have East Germans completely abandoned their supposed previous culture of taking care of relatives/neighbors children after the fall? If there was a genuine cultural difference in communally raising children, and that was meant to improve fertility rates, you would expect to see higher fertility rates reflected regardless of the current government policy.
The emphasis on "it takes a village" seems strangely misplaced, as well. It presumes that culture is so malleable that a shift in government policy can change the culture overnight. Have East Germans completely abandoned their supposed previous culture of taking care of relatives/neighbors children after the fall? If there was a genuine cultural difference in communally raising children, and that was meant to improve fertility rates, you would expect to see higher fertility rates reflected regardless of the current government policy.