Socialism doesn't mean "utopia," it's a Mode of Production. Either way, there were a number of factors working in West Germany's favor over East Germany that don't have to deal with the Mode of Production:
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East Germany was made to pay reparations for the immense damage the Nazis dealt to the USSR (80% of combat with the Nazis was on the Eastern Front). West Germany was kept largely unaccountable.
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West Germany had almost all of Germany's industry, the East Germans had to industrialize and pay reparations.
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East Germany provided free, high quality education, whereas West Germany did not, but paid higher wages. An effective tactic was to lure educated workers from East Germany over to the West, essentially subsidizing education in the West.
All of these factors contributed to serious economic problems more caused by circumstance than Socialism.