Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of industry in the former East Germany, many women have left the region and never returned. Men are now over-represented, with a surplus of up to 25 percent in some municipalities. This shortage of women has created a vicious cycle: a rapidly ageing population, a loss of social cohesion and a decline in the attractiveness of eastern cities. The gender imbalance is also fuelling political radicalisation, which Germany's far-right AfD party is taking advantage of.