East and West Germany reunite after 45 years - Oct 03, 1990 - HISTORY.com East and West Germany reunite after 45 years Share this: East and West Germany reunite after 45 years Author East and West Germany reunite after 45 years URL Publisher A+E Networks Less than one year after the destruction of the Berlin Wall, East and West Germany come together on what is known as “Unity Day.” Since 1945, when Soviet forces occupied eastern Germany, and the United States and other Allied forces occupied the western half of the nation at the close of World War II, divided Germany had come to serve as one of the most enduring symbols of the Cold War. Some of the most dramatic episodes of the Cold War took place there. The Berlin Blockade (June 1948–May 1949), during which the Soviet Union blocked all ground travel into West Berlin, and the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961 were perhaps the most famous. With the gradual waning of Soviet power in the late 1980s, the Communist Party in East Germany began to lose its grip on power.

Tens of thousands of East Germans began to flee the nation, and by late 1989 the Berlin Wall started to come down. Shortly thereafter, talks between East and West German officials, joined by officials from the United States, Great Britain, France, and the USSR, began to explore the possibility of reunification. Two months following reunification, all-German elections took place and Helmut Kohl became the first chancellor of the reunified Germany. Although this action came more than a year before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, for many observers the reunification of Germany effectively marked the end of the Cold War. Related Videos Angela Merkel - Chancellor - Biography.com Angela Merkel Angela Merkel is a German politician best known as the first female chancellor of Germany and one of the architects of the European Union. IN THESE GROUPS “Spying among friends is never acceptable.” “We need trust among allies and partners. Trust now has to be built anew.” Angela Merkel Synopsis Angela Dorothea Kasner, better known as Angela Merkel, was born in Hamburg, West Germany, on July 17, 1954. Trained as a physicist, Merkel entered politics after the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall.

Rising to the position of chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union party, Merkel became Germany's first female chancellor, and one of the leading figures of the European Union, following the 2005 national elections. Early Years German stateswoman and chancellor Angela Merkel was born Angela Dorothea Kasner on July 17, 1954, in Hamburg, Germany. The daughter of a Lutheran pastor and teacher who moved his family east to pursue his theology studies, Merkel grew up in a rural area north of Berlin in the then German Democratic Republic. She studied physics at the University of Leipzig, earning a doctorate in 1978, and later worked as a chemist at the Central Institute for Physical Chemistry, Academy of Sciences from 1978 to 1990. First Female Chancellor After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Merkel joined the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) political party and soon after was appointed to Helmut Kohl's cabinet as minister for women and youth and later served as minister for the environment and nuclear safety. Following Kohl's defeat in the 1998 general election, she was named secretary-general of the CDU.

In 2000, she was chosen party leader, but lost the CDU candidacy for chancellor to Edmund Stoiber in 2002. In the 2005 election, Merkel narrowly defeated Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, winning by just three seats, and after the CDU agreed a coalition deal with the Social Democrats (SPD), she was declared Germany's first female chancellor. Merkel is also the first former citizen of the German Democratic Republic to lead the reunited Germany and the first woman to lead Germany since it became a modern nation-state in 1871. She was elected to a second term in 2009. Merkel made headlines in October 2013 when she accused the U.S. National Security Agency of tapping her cell phone. At a summit of European leaders she chided the United States for this privacy breech, saying that "Spying among friends is never acceptable." Later reports revealed that the NSA may have been surveilling Merkel since 2002. Merkel was sworn in for a third term in December 2013. Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us !

Citation Information Reunification of Germany 3 October 1990 | ICV 3. 10. 2010 Reunification of Germany 3 October 1990 The reunification of Germany in 1990 is one of the most important historical milestones of the European history after 1945. However, it is not possible to narrow circumstances preceding this historical event only to the period between November 1989 and October 1990, it means to the time period between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the act of the German reunification. The entire second half of 1980’ was an important political prologue to this process. Political Situation in Europe before the Reunification Relations between both parts of Germany were very strained during the entire Cold War. However, since the half of 1980’ certain changes in communication between West German and East German politicians began to be apparent. The General Secretary of the Communist Party of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) Erich Honecker accepted, as the first Eastern Europe political representative, invitation to visit the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in 1984.

The meeting was not held eventually because of deployment of intermediate range ballistic missiles in the FRG. He met Helmut Kohl as late as in 1987 during his visit to the FRG. Both leaders agreed on a "constructive cooperation in spite of different views on crucial issues". Nevertheless, a decisive factor for the German reunification was the arrival of a new Establishment in the Soviet Union after the appointment of Mikhail Gorbachev to the office of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. In contrast to his predecessors, Gorbačov regarded as necessary to change radically not only the internal economic and political conditions but also the foreign policy of the Soviet Union including the attitude to the East European countries. On 25 October 1989, during his visit to Finland, Gorbachev officially repudiated the Brezhnev's doctrine and admitted that East European countries had right to make their own policies. The new approach to the existing East European satellites became common under the term Sinatra Doctrine, which was a reminiscence of the lyrics of the Sinatra's song "I do it my way".

However, Gorbachev's attitude to the German reunification was radically negative both before 1989 and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The first meeting of Mikhail Gorbachev and the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Helmut Kohl was held on 24 October 1988. At that time Kohl did not believe that he would ever negotiate with Mikhail Gorbachev on the German reunification. When asked about a possibility of Gorbachev offer of reunification of Germany, Kohl replied: "I am not a writer of futuristic novels like Wells. What you ask me about, is rather something of the Empire of Fantasy". Events after the fall of the Berlin Wall The crucial role in the process of the German reunification was played by the West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl who, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, clearly declared his intention to reunify both parts of the divided German state. On 28 October he gave in Bundestag an important speech in which he emphasized necessity of a speedy reunification of both German republics. On 28 November 1989 he presented so-called ten-point plan for German reunification.

The most important was the fifth point of the plan in which Helmut Kohl mentioned a possibility to "develop confederate structures between the two states in Germany with the objective of creating of a federal order in Germany". However the negotiations with East German political representatives were complicated by the fact that the West German side had not known for a long time whom to regard as the legitimate partner at the negotiating table. Officially it was Egon Krenz, the General Secretary of the SED, who was the highest representative of the GDR, but he was holding his post only from 24 October 1989 to 6 December 1989 and thus he was not able to guarantee continuity of the negotiating process. It was apparent that this issue could be solved only by general elections in the GDR. They were held on 18 March 1990 and the Alliance for Germany, which won more than 47 % of votes, became a straight winner of the elections. Also Kohl’s CDU took part in the elections as a part of this alliance and won more than 40 % of votes. "Not even I had expected such a result" said Helmut Kohl.

The ensuing negotiations on the new cabinet were quite smooth and on 12 April 1990 a new cabinet was appointed. It was headed by Lothar de Maizir (CDU) who negotiated with Helmut Kohl on the future arrangements. The integration of the two states was done also at the economic level. The date of declaration of the monetary union between the GDR and the FRG was set and the union came into effect on 1 July 1990. On 23 August 1990 the East German parliament (Volkskammer) adopted at its extraordinary session the reunification of both parts of Germany in the ratio of 294 to 64 and on 31 August 1990 the Reunification Treaty was signed by the State Secretary of the GDR Günther Kraus and by the West German Minister of Interior Wolfgang Schäubl. The Treaty contained 45 articles and three annexes. In the Treaty there were defined relations between the two German republics and set down the state division of former GDR to five federal republics governed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Attitudes of the USA, Soviet Union, France and Great Britain On 13 November 1989 an important negotiation of the most significant American politicians -President George Bush, the Secretary of State James Baker and the chief expert on foreign policy Henry Kissinger – was held. Henry Kissinger said on the issue of the German reunification: "The German reunification is inevitable and the United States will have to pay for that if Germans feels that we are putting obstacles in their path". Most of American political representatives connected the support of the German reunification with its membership in NATO. The unity of NATO was more important for the United States than the act of the reunification of both German republics itself. As far as this issue is concerned, Kohl was for the United States a fundamental advocate of their strategy of incorporation of unified Germany into the NATO structures. A significant event in the process of negotiations on the German reunification was the setting-up of so-called “4+2 mechanism“. This mechanism meant regular meetings of representatives of the Soviet Union, United States, Great Britain, France and both German states. There were certain critical opinions regarding this arrangement.

In particular on the American side there were fears of loss of the influence on the situation in Germany because of broadening of negotiating competences to more states. Mikhail Gorbachev’s approach to the German reunification was always very reserved and he was absolutely unsympathetic to plans for the incorporation of unified Germany to the NATO structures. This issue was very sensitive for Gorbachev because these discussions had begun soon after the breakdown of the Eastern Block. Gorbachev became more involved in the negotiations on the German reunification at the end of May 1990 when he intensively discussed this issue with his American counterpart George Bush. George Bush together with the Secretary of State James Baker presented during these negotiations their idea on the role of NATO in arrangement in Europe. According to Bush and Baker, NATO intended to play a role of an "anchor of stability" which would guarantee solidarity of Europe with NATO. Mikhail Gorbachev agreed to this proposal in fact, which meant principal change in the attitude of the Soviet representatives to the issue of reunification.

Further important shift in opinion took place during the visit of Helmut Kohl in the Soviet Union in mid-July 1990, after which Gorbachev withdrew his reservations to the planned size of Bundeswehr and the German membership in NATO. Thus, main reservations on the Soviet side to the German reunification were removed. In France there were strong fears of unification of the two divided German republics. These fears were based on the idea that the strong Germany would have different view of the function of the European Union. France was afraid of weakening of its influence on the foreign policy of the European Union Also the demographic factor played its important role in this respect. While the FRG had number of inhabitants similar to that of France, the unified Germany would have about 80 million inhabitants. The advisor of the French President Mitterand, Jacques Attali, confidentially told his Soviet counterpart that "France does not wish the reunification of Germany despite its conviction that it is inevitable in the end". Not even the French President Mitterand concealed his fears of united Germany.

As early as in August 1989 began to hold an opinion that in connection with the unification of the two republics the term unification instead of reunification should be used. Mitterand’s fears of a possibility of unification of Germany further increased during 1989. In September, during his visit to Kiev, he declared that excessive haste in connection with the German unification could have negative impact on the stability of the European Community. His fears of German reunification could not be mitigated even by the fact that Mitterand and Helmut Kohl were tied by a firm bond of friendship. He expressed his feelings on 20 January 1990 when, during a private conversation with the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, stated that "reunification of Germany might lead to the birth of a new Hitler and to the revival of memories of bad Germans who ruled over Europe then". In March 1990 the French Ambassador to the United Kingdom during his visit to Margaret Thatcher said that according to the meaning of the French government "France and Great Britain must jointly face to the German threats". An extremely negative stand to the German reunification was holding by the Prime minister of Great Britain Margaret Thatcher.

Unlike other statesmen, she did not regard the German reunification as a historical crowning of the disintegration of the Soviet Block and the unification of divided Europe. She was seeing the process of German reunification from the point of view of her fears of the revision of German frontiers. Her fears increased in December 1989 after the release of ten-point plan of Helmut Kohl; in response to this plan she said: "We have defeated Germans twice and now they are here again". During her meeting with Helmut Kohl she declared that "it is possible to consider the German reunification of the two republics as late as after some 10 or 15 years when it is undoubted that both countries have sufficiently firm democracy". She was seeking allies for her approach among European politician and partly found such an ally in the person of François Mitterand who, however, did not held such a strong attitude. Unlike the French President, she did not believe that Germany would restrict its own political and economic ambitions in the framework of the European Community". She regarded the process of reunification as too fast and improvident. She also feared that the process of reunification would weaken the Gorbachev’s position in the Soviet Union.

Immediately after the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, Thatcher informed Mikhail Gorbachev that German reunification was not in the interest of Great Britain. Nevertheless, the British Prime Minister remained isolated with her flat resistance to the German reunification,. "Margaret Thatcher went too far with her opposition in this matter", said former west German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. The attitude of the British Prime Minister changed as late as after the Dublin summit in May 1990; the summit guaranteed existing frontiers on Oder and Neisse. Thus, the ensuing negotiations in the composition 2+4 could be held in a more unemotional spirit. On 12 September 1990 the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany was signed in Moscow. This principal document stipulated the German reunification from the point of view of the international law. By the adoption of this Treaty, the Allies lost their right and responsibility related to Berlin and Germany as a whole. In the Article 7 it is stipulated that "the united Germany shall have full sovereignty over its internal and external affairs".

The Treaty also bound member states to maintain limited number of German armed forces of Germany at the level of 300 000 men. After the signature of this Treaty nothing hampered the German reunification. German Unity Day On the night of 2 October to 3 October 1990, more than 100 000 people came to celebrate the reunification of both German states at the Republic Square in Berlin. As Helmut Kohl highlights in his memoirs, the act of the German reunification at the place in front of the Reichstag building was a historical symbol: "From the window of the western portal, the social democrat Scheidemann declared in November 1918 the First German Republic. Its end was symbolized by flames which flared up out of the cupola of the building in 1933. After the end of the Second World War, Soviets hoisted on its ruins the red flag and started the division of Germany and Europe.

What could have been a better place, after those forty-five years, for celebration of the end of this division and of the start of a new and let us hope more peaceful era?" Kohl likely to see dream fulfilled-- first chancellor of reunited Germany - tribunedigital-baltimoresun Kohl likely to see dream fulfilled-- first chancellor of reunited Germany December 02, 1990|By Diana Jean Schemo | Diana Jean Schemo,Sun Staff Correspondent BERLIN -- As Germans from Leipzig to Hamburg vote in their first free elections since 1932, Helmut Kohl -- whose own conservative party considered replacing him just last year -- appears set to realize his avowed dream of becoming the first elected chancellor of the reunited Germany. It was Mr. Kohl who, as West German chancellor, first recognized, then seized, prodded and drove the historic opportunity that thousands of refugees fleeing the former East Germany presented him with last year. Now, he has left his main rival, a sassy Social Democrat named Oskar Lafontaine, in the political dust. The most recent poll by the Infas polling institute shows Mr.

Kohl's Christian Democratic Union, along with its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, picking up 45 percent of today's vote. The Free Democrats, Mr. Kohl's coalition partner, are expected to win 9.5 percent, giving the team a 54 percent majority. Mr. Lafontaine's party is expected to come in with 34 percent. In large measure, Mr. Lafontaine's surprisingly dismal showing may be due not just to Mr. Kohl's success in bringing about German unity and restoring his country's sovereignty before Election Day, but also to Mr. Lafontaine's apparent preference for being right over being politically wise. The twice-divorced, dapper young politician appears at campaign rallies sporting dark shirts and thin leather ties, in sharp contrast to the bulky and staid Mr. Kohl. In a predominantly conservative country, Mr. Lafontaine's spicy style may win him the amusing interest of voters, but the unexciting Mr. Kohl inspires a sense of confidence and reliability at a time of sharp change in Germany.

"Kohl gives out such solid vibrations," said Sybille Altendorf, 44, a housewife, who went to hear both candidates speak in the past two weeks. Mr. Lafontaine also misjudged the sentiment among voters in placing himself squarely against rapid reunifiSee GERMANY, 20A, Col. 4GERMANY, from 15Acation, at a time when the euphoria over the opening of the long-closed border was still high. Even after that euphoria turned into grudging acceptance, Mr. Lafontaine won no points for his reluctance to celebrate the coming together of East and West Germany. Instead, he consistently criticized Mr. Kohl for his handling of German unity, complaining of hidden, higher costs than the government initially acknowledged and predicting -- against the chancellor's assurances -- that Mr. Kohl would raise taxes after the election to finance unification. It is not that anyone doubts that Mr. Kohl will increase taxes, or that he could not possibly say so just before an election. "Sure we'll have to pay something.

Sure it'll cost," said Ilse Schaeffer, 65, who stood on a park bench in Stuttgart Thursday waving a CDU flag to welcome Mr. Kohl. "We want to pay for this." Mr. Lafontaine has proved to be right about the high cost of unification, but it has somehow become beside the point among voters. "What Kohl says gives people more courage," said Dieter Altendorf, 47, Sybille's husband. "Lafontaine just brings up the hardship. He makes people feel bad." Former East Germans will also be slow to forgive Mr. Lafontaine for his attempts to block the currency union between the two countries July 1. His party is expected to get just 23 percent support among voters in eastern Germany. The 47-year-old Social Democrat does not appear to be winning much of a sympathy vote from the assassination attempt in April when a mentally deranged woman dressed in white slipped a kitchen knife out of a bouquet of flowers to slit his throat. So slim are Mr.

Lafontaine's chances, and so divided is his party, that former Social Democratic Chancellor Helmut Schmidt caused something of a scandal in party circles when a Dutch newspaper recently quoted him as saying Mr. Lafontaine would not win and did not deserve to win. Mr. Schmidt did not deny having made the statement, but he contended that its use was "unauthorized." He apparently made the remarks to the journalist after their formal interview had ended. German unity may not be the issue of the future, but it has surely been decisive in rescuing Mr. Kohl from the political doldrums. A man who has built his career until now on the gritty work of local politics, Mr. Kohl is now latching on to his role as statesman in this year's campaign. During his campaign pitch, he speaks little about housing, pensions or education -- the stuff of Mr. Lafontaine's speeches. Instead, he speaks about Germany's role in developing the Third World, about the need to strengthen relations and overcome Germany's historical enmity with Poland, the way it has with France. He acknowledges there will be sacrifices ahead as western Germany strives to bring the eastern sector up to its standard of living.

But the 60-year-old Mr. Kohl turns hardship to virtue by reminding audiences of Germany's postwar devastation. "Did we already forget how to find new solutions?" he asks. Two Germanys Unite After 45 Years With Jubilation and a Vow of Peace Two Germanys Unite After 45 Years With Jubilation and a Vow of Peace A Million in Berlin Flag at Reichstag Marks Start of a New Era at Center of Europe By SERGE SCHMEMANN Special to The New York Times OTHER HEADLINES Dinkins Proposes Record Expansion of Police Forces: Mayor Offers New Programs for Corrections and Youth to Help Combat Crime In Appeal for Support for Budget, President Calls Plan Best for Now Pivotal Moment for Bush Senate Confirms Souter, 90 to 9, as Supreme Court's 105th Justice Bitter Dispute Is Threatening Program for Marrow Donors Top Soviet General Tells U.S. Not to Attack in Gulf Berlin, Wednesday, Oct. 3 -- Forty-five years after it was carved up in defeat and disgrace, Germany was reunited today in a midnight celebration of pealing bells, national hymns and the jubilant blare of good old German oom-pah-pah.

At the stroke of midnight Tuesday, a copy of the American Liberty Bell, a gift from the United States at the height of the cold war, tolled from the Town Hall, and the black, red and gold banner of the Federal Republic of Germany rose slowly before the Reichstag, the scarred seat of past German Parliaments. Then the President, Richard von Weizsacker, drawing on the words of the West German Constitution, proclaimed from the steps of the Reichstag: ''In free self-determination, we want to achieve the unity in freedom of Germany. We are aware of our responsibility for these tasks before God and the people. We want to serve peace in the world in a united Europe.'' Singing of Anthem With that, a throng estimated at one million joined in the West German national anthem, now the anthem for united Germany: ''Unity and justice and freedom for the German fatherland . .

.'' The words are from the third stanza of the prewar anthem, whose opening verses, now banned, began, ''Deutschland, Deutschland uber Alles.'' The moment marked the return of a nation severed along the front line between East and West to the center stage of Europe, this time as an economic powerhouse vowing never again to bring grief to a continent it had so terribly ravaged in the past century. It is the smallest unified German state to rise in the 119 years since Otto von Bismarck first gathered the Germans under the Prussian crown. Beer and Revelry Hundreds of German flags waved and firecrackers snapped in the chilly autumn night. Beer and sparkling wine flowed freely and the strains of divergent bands mingled in a rowdy cacophony. Soon bottles began smashing on the pavement and celebration turned to intoxication, and by early morning the center of the new capital was deep in smashed bottles and weaving revelers. A force of about 5,000 police officers had been massed in case radicals tried to disrupt the festivities, and the police reported seven arrests. But what protests there were passed with no major incidents.

Unity essentially meant that the German Democratic Republic with its 16 million citizens acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany, which expanded to become a state of 78 million souls and 137,900 square miles. The accession meant that the name, anthem, Constitution and Government of the Federal Republic became those of all Germany, that Chancellor Helmut Kohl became the first Chancellor of the reunited state and Mr. von Weizsacker the first President. Berlin Is Capital Berlin, a city divided by the infamous wall into a gray Communist capital and a glittering capitalist enclave, became once again the political and spiritual capital of Germany. ''Everybody should know: Germany will not go it alone, there will be no unilateral nationalism and no 'restless Reich,' '' vowed Mr. Kohl in an article written for the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper. It was also a moment of poignant lasts. The German Democratic Republic, founded by Soviet occupiers as the ''first state of workers and peasants on German soil,'' expired bankrupt but not entirely unmourned.

At the final session of Parliament, Jens Reich, a leader of the citizens' movements that led demonstrations a year earlier to bring down the Communists, assailed the first and only democratic legislature of East Germany for having done nothing but surrender the state to the West. ''Unity must not become a memory of a stab in the back,'' he said. 'Farewell Without Tears' But a more prevalent note was struck by the East German Prime Minister, Lothar de Maiziere, at the final ''state act'' of the East German Government in the grand Schauspielhaus concert hall, attended by the political and cultural elite of the nation. There, the first and last democratically elected leader of East Germany committed his state to history with the words: ''In a few moments the German Democratic Republic accedes to the Federal Republic of Germany. With that, we Germans achieve unity in freedom. It is an hour of great joy. It is the end of many illusions.

It is a farewell without tears.'' Then Kurt Mazur, the conductor from Leipzig and a hero of the peaceful revolution last fall, rose to conduct Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, with the grand ''Ode to Joy'' in the final movement that for Germans stands as a spiritual hymn to hope. Address by Kohl Mr. Kohl, capping a year of political successes, addressed the nation on television several hours before unity. ''In a few hours a dream will become reality,'' Mr. Kohl said, his eyes turning misty. ''After 40 bitter years of division, Germany, our fatherland, will be reunited. This is one of the happiest moments of my life. From the many letters and conversations I have had, I know the great joy also felt by the vast majority of you.'' Many Germans, in fact, had spent the last several weeks complaining of the cost and dislocation of unity. But at the moment of unity, Mr. Kohl seemed correct in finding that it was a moment to celebrate. 'It Is Really Moving' The Chancellor also made a point of thanking and reassuring Germany's allies and neighbors. ''In particular,'' he said, ''we thank the United States of America and above all President George Bush.'' Mr.

Bush was among the first world leaders to abandon reservations about German unity and endorse Mr. Kohl's efforts. In recent weeks, the process of unity had drawn growing grumbles from both East and West as Germans came to realize the huge cost of the undertaking. But for the hundreds of thousands who had gathered from across Germany and abroad, this was a night not to moan, but simply to celebrate. ''It is really moving,'' said Heinz Schober, a Berlin shopkeeper who had come with his wife. ''We were here when the wall went up and we were here when it came down, and now we see something children will read about in history books.'' Hundreds of stands along the Unter den Linden peddled everything from bratwurst and beer to ''Day of Unity'' T-shirts and chunks of the Berlin wall. Musicians ranging from rock bands to a Soviet military band to Wolf Biermann, a onetime East German dissident, blared from 16 stages set up among the beer and sausage stands, and all along the mile-long avenue the mood was festive and joyous.

At one point, revelers before the Reichstag pressed hard against the steps, where Chancellor Kohl and other political leaders were gathered, but no problems developed. The most serious trouble was reported in Gottingen, a West German city near the former border, where about 1,000 radical youths went on a rampage, smashing windows and denouncing unity. Year of Rapid Change Unity came to the Germans barely a year after streams of East Germans began pouring out through newly porous borders in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, forcing the East German leader, Erich Honecker, to confront a crisis just as he prepared to preside over the celebrations of his state's 40th anniversary. A year before unity came, on Oct. 3, 1989, a flood of East German refugees had all but overwhelmed the West German Embassy in Czechoslovakia, and the East German Government finally gave permission for the refugees to go west. It also closed its borders, touching off new discontent and disorders. The celebration of East Germany's anniversary four days later marked the beginning of the state's undoing. The Soviet leader, Mikhail S.

Gorbachev, gave the first indications that he was not prepared to prop up the East German Government, and waves of demonstrators clashed with the police in East Berlin and other cities. The demonstrations rapidly grew, driving the Government into disarray until it took the fateful action on Nov. 9 of opening the Berlin wall a crack, touching off a rush to unity. By March 18 East Germany held its first democratic elections, and by July 1 its economy was merged into West Germany's. The pace accelerated through the summer, bringing formal unity up to Oct. 3 and setting the scene for the celebration. The pace of events also required a rapid termination of the vestigial occupation under which both the Germanys and the Berlins existed, and the moment of unity was preceded by a flurry of final arrangements and actions to end the Allied controls. The commanders of the Western Allied forces, the United States, Britain and France, which merged their occupation zones of the city after the war to form West Berlin and defended it against Communist encirclement in ensuing years, met for the last time and ceded authority over the city. ''I now close this final meeting of the Allied Kommandatura with a good, solid bang,'' said the British commander, Maj.

Gen. Robert Corbert, pounding the gavel at the Allied headquarters with a solid thump. Reunification of Germany | World History Project Oct 3 1990 Reunification of Germany On 28 November 1989—two weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall—West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl announced a 10-point program calling for the two Germanies to expand their cooperation with the view toward eventual reunification. Initially, no timetable was proposed. However, events rapidly came to a head in early 1990. First, in March, the Party of Democratic Socialism—the former Socialist Unity Party of Germany—was heavily defeated in East Germany's first free elections. A grand coalition was formed under Lothar de Maizière, leader of the East German wing of Kohl's Christian Democratic Union, on a platform of speedy reunification. Second, East Germany's economy and infrastructure underwent a swift and near-total collapse. While East Germany had long been reckoned as having the most robust economy in the Soviet bloc, the removal of Communist discipline revealed the ramshackle foundations of that system.

The East German mark had been practically worthless outside of East Germany for some time before the events of 1989–90, further magnifying the problem. Discussions immediately began for an emergency merger of the Germanies' economies. On 18 May 1990, the two German states signed a treaty agreeing on monetary, economic and social union. This came into force on 1 July 1990, with the Deutsche Mark replacing the East German mark as the official currency of East Germany. The Deutsche Mark had a very high reputation among the East Germans and was considered stable. While the GDR transferred its financial policy sovereignty to West Germany, the West started granting subsidies for the GDR budget and social security system. At the same time many West German laws came into force in the GDR. This created a suitable framework for a political union by diminishing the huge gap between the two existing political, social, and economic systems. A reunification treaty between West Germany and the GDR was negotiated in mid-1990, signed on 31 August of that year and finally approved by large majorities in the legislative chambers of both countries on 20 September 1990.

The amendments to the Federal Republic's Basic Law that were foreseen in the Unification Treaty or necessary for its implementation were adopted by the Federal Statute of 23 September 1990. After that last step Germany was officially united at 00:00 CET on 3 October 1990. East Germany joined the Federal Republic as the five states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. These states had been the five original states of East Germany, but had been abolished in 1952 in favour of a centralised system. As part of the 18 May treaty, the five East German states had been reconstituted on 23 August. At the same time, East and West Berlin reunited into one city, which became a city-state along the lines of the existing city-states of Bremen and Hamburg. The process chosen was one of two options implemented in the West German constitution (Basic Law) of 1949. Via that document's (then-existing) Article 23, any new Länder (German federative states), could adhere to the Basic Law by a simple majority vote.

Thus the states' parliaments would vote in for their adhesion. The initial eleven joining states of 1949 comprised the Trizone and West Berlin. However the latter was legally inhibited by Allied objection due to the status of the city as a quadripartite allied occupation area. In 1957 the Saar Protectorate joined West Germany under the Article 23 procedure as Saarland. As the five refounded eastern German states formally joined the Federal Republic using the Article 23 procedure, the area in which the Basic Law was in force simply extended to include them. The alternative would have been for East Germany to join as a whole along the lines of a formal union between two German states that then would have had to, amongst other things, create a new constitution for the newly established country. Under the model that was chosen, however, the territory of the former German Democratic Republic was simply incorporated into the Federal Republic of Germany, and accordingly the Federal Republic of Germany, now enlarged to include the Eastern States, continued legally to exist under the same legal personality that was founded in May 1949.

Thus, the reunification was not a merger that created a third state out of the two, but an incorporation, by which West Germany absorbed East Germany. Thus, on Unification Day, 3 October 1990, the German Democratic Republic ceased to exist, giving way to five new Federal States, and East and West Berlin were also unified as a single city-state, forming a sixth new Federal State. The new Federal States immediately became parts of the Federal Republic of Germany, so that it was enlarged to include the whole territory of the former East Germany and Berlin. The practical result of that model is that the now expanded Federal Republic of Germany continued to be a party to all the treaties it had signed prior to the moment of reunification, and thus continued the same membership of the U.N., NATO, the European Communities, etc.; also, the same Basic Law and the same laws that were in force in the Federal Republic continued automatically in force, but now applied to the expanded territory. To facilitate this process and to reassure other countries, some changes were made to the "Basic Law" (constitution). Article 146 was amended so that Article 23 of the current constitution could be used for reunification.

After the five "New Länder" of East Germany had joined, the constitution was amended again to indicate that all parts of Germany are now unified. Article 23 was rewritten and it can still be understood as an invitation to others (e.g. Austria) to join, although the main idea of the change was to calm fears in (for example) Poland, that Germany would later try to rejoin with former eastern territories of Germany that were now Polish or parts of other countries in the East. The changes effectively formalised the Oder-Neisse line as Germany's permanent eastern border. These amendments to the Basic Law were mandated by Article I, section 4 of the Two Plus Four Treaty. While the Basic Law was modified rather than replaced by a constitution as such, it still permits the adoption of a formal constitution by the German people at some time in the future. To commemorate the day that marks the official unification of the former East and West Germany in 1990, 3 October has since then been the official German national holiday, the Day of German Unity (Tag der deutschen Einheit).

It replaced the previous national holiday held in West Germany on 17 June commemorating the Uprising of 1953 in East Germany and the national holiday on 7 October in the GDR. Germany reunited - History of the Berlin Wall and its fall Germany reunited locations information On 3rd October 1990, just 329 days after the Wall fell, the GDR officially becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany. The country has been reunited and Berlin is once again Berlin. The GDR actually began assuming large parts of West Germany’s economic and legal systems on 1 July 1990. When the Deutsche mark became the sole currency in the GDR, East Germany was as good as part of the Federal Republic. On 23 August, a special meeting of the People’s Chamber (the GDR’s parliament) agreed to the GDR joining West Germany under Article 23 of the Basic Law. locations October 02, 1990 Allied control ends Allied control in Berlin has been governing relations between the occupying powers and West Germany since 1949.

This control, along with Berlin’s special status, comes to an end in early October 1990, when the GDR becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Two plus Four treaty is signed on 12 September 1990. It returns full sovereignty to Germany, giving the country sole control over its domestic and foreign affairs. Politics, West July 01, 1990 Monetary union: Western marks for all The economic, monetary and social union of West Germany and the GDR comes into force on 1 July 1990. The changes spell the end of the Eastern mark. GDR citizens finally have access to the Western mark, a long-time symbol of West German prosperity. Adults can change up to 4,000 Eastern marks at a rate of 1:1. For pensioners the maximum is 6,000. Savings in excess of those limits will be changed at a rate of 2:1. Wages and pensions are converted 1:1, and debts are halved.

Brigitte Wnuck von Lipinski, landlady of Gittis Bierbar in Mitte, talks about the night before GDR money went out of circulation. Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, West, East 01:53 March 18, 1990 The GDR holds its first free election The GDR holds its first free and democratic parliamentary elections on 18 March 1990. Alliance for Germany, which supports Germany being reunified within the scope of the Basic Law, wins the most votes (48 percent). The alliance was a coalition of opposition parties: the CDU (a former bloc party whose leading candidate was Lothar de Maizière), the German Social Union and the Democratic Awakening. The newly founded Social Democratic Party in the GDR (SDP, though it has changed its abbreviation to SPD by the time of the election) wins 21.9 percent of the vote. Lothar de Maizière becomes prime minister of the GDR. Politics, East February 1990 Evictions trigger riots On 13 February 1990 a group of squatters occupy a former department store to save it from being demolished.

The building stands on Oranienburger Strasse and dates back to the early 20th century. The new residents rename it Kunsthaus Tacheles and turn it into an art centre that becomes a popular tourist attraction. Members of the alternative scene occupy other buildings throughout the city. A lot of squatters from Kreuzberg move East after reunification. When police clear a number of squats in Mainzer Strasse, riots break out and last for days. The clearance is one of the largest police operations in Berlin’s post-war history. Politics, Culture, East January 15, 1990 Dissolving the Stasi The GDR’s secret service (Stasi) is being dissolved. Protestors storm its headquarters in East Berlin. For decades the Stasi spied on its own citizens and hounded political opponents. Its staff included numerous full-time spies as well as so-called “unofficial collaborators”. After the Wall fell, the GDR government initially had no plans to dissolve the Stasi. It is largely thanks to the Central Round Table and the citizens’ committees that the Stasi (which by then had been renamed the Office for National Security) was eventually abolished. Carlo Jordan represented the Greens at the Round Table.

Contemporary Witnesses, Politics, Opposition, East 01:44 1990 Chipping away at the Wall The Eastern Block is gradually disintegrating. One of the most obvious signs of the change is the roaring trade going on at the Wall. People are chipping away at the concrete and selling the chunks, often with a certificate of authenticity. The Berlin Wall has become one big souvenir. Alwin Nachtweh was one of the entrepreneurs keeping souvenir hunters supplied with pieces of the Wall. He talks about how illegal traders avoided the authorities, and how East Berliners would try to sell him their old uniforms. Some of them, he says, had their whole lives in a plastic bag. Everyday Life, West, East 1990 West Berliners head East In 1990, West Berliners surprise everyone by queuing up to change their money into Eastern marks. They’re using them to go bargain hunting in East Berlin. The most popular destination is the department store on Alexanderplatz. Everyday Life, West, East December 31, 1989 New Year at the Brandenburg Gate By the time 1989 draws to a close, Berlin has changed beyond all recognition.

The Wall is no longer the fearful thing it once was. The Brandenburg Gate, once a symbol of the divided city, opens up to pedestrians. After 28 years of separation, Berliners from both sides of the city see in the New Year together at the Brandenburg Gate. Everyday Life, West, East November 10, 1989 Helmut Kohl at Schöneberg town hall On 10 November 1989, the day after the border opens, Chancellor Kohl gives a speech at a rally in West Berlin in front of Schöneberg town hall. The building was the seat of the Mayor of Berlin from 1949 to 1991. Also present at Schöneberg town hall are Walter Momper (Mayor of Berlin), Hans-Dietrich Genscher (West Germany’s foreign minister) and Willy Brandt (former chancellor). Chancellor Kohl has to try and make himself heard above the noise of the crowd. In his speech, he underlines the importance of German unity, talks about a united Germany in Europe and takes time to remember all those who lost their lives at the Wall.

He calls for the country to reject radical ideas and voices, and to remain calm and act wisely in the days and weeks to come. Politics, West, East November 1989 East Germans go West In November 1989, East Berliners pour over the border in their Trabants, or Trabis as they are affectionately known. West Berlin has never seen anything like it. Every GDR citizen gets 100 Deutsche marks as a welcome gift. After queuing up at the bank, the new arrivals take their money and crowd into shopping centres around West Berlin. Some West Berliners are quick to complain about the shops being so full, but most people are very understanding. Everyday Life, West, East January 01, 1961 Berlin before the Wall Berlin is divided into four sectors: the Americans, Russians, British and French are in charge of the city. The Cold War has become a part of everyday life – for both East and West. Border, Everyday Life, Politics, West, East 00:35 1961 Commuting between East and West West Berlin 1961: political freedom, modest prosperity.

In East Berlin: SED Socialism is working hand-in-hand with the Soviet occupation. Two systems – two currencies – one city. Wolfgang Hermann commuted from East to West every day. Contemporary Witnesses, Everyday Life, Politics, West, East 01:02 June 15, 1961 „Nobody has any intention of building a wall“ "West Berlin is hosting the first German-American Festival. However, rumours are circulating that East Berlin is planning to close its borders. The Western world watches nervously to see what fate awaits the city. People have been leaving the GDR in their thousands and continue to flee. Cross-border commuters – Berliners who work in the West of the city, but live in the East – are being subjected to ever-tighter controls. At the same time, GDR head of state Walter Ulbricht faces journalists from all over the world asking about the status of West Berlin at an international press conference. Annemarie Doherr from the Frankfurter Rundschau asks Ulbricht if he believes that creating a free city will involve building a state border at the Brandenburg Gate.

Ulbricht gives the following reply: ""I understand your question in this way: that there are people in West Germany who want us to mobilise the construction workers of the GDR capital to build a wall. Am I right? I am not aware of any such plans. Most of the capital's construction workers are busy building flats and their manpower is being put to full use in these projects. Nobody has any intention of building a wall." A few weeks later, events in Berlin reveal his statement to be a lie. On 13 August 1961 the GDR starts building a wall that will divide East and West for the next 28 years. Politics, West, East August 13, 1961 The Wall goes up On 13 August 1961 work begins to construct the Wall. The division of East and West shocks Berliners and the Western world. They are left stunned as barbed wire and barricades carve the city in half and tear families apart. The mayor of Berlin is also shaken by events and makes the following statement: "The wall to a concentration camp is now cutting through the heart of Berlin." The number of refugees soared in the week before the Wall went up.

In July 1961, 30,415 people applied for emergency accommodation. Over Easter alone, 4,000 people entered the transit camp – the first port of call for those who have no relatives in the West. The powers-that-be in the GDR have decided to put a stop to the mass exodus of its citizens. At first, the Western allies do not react to the closing of the border, as the barricades do not infringe their rights. Border, Escaping, Politics, West, East 01:48 October 1961 Stand-off at Checkpoint Charlie "The world holds its breath: at the end of October, American and Soviet tanks stand face-to-face at the US Checkpoint Charlie on Berlin Friedrichstrasse. The GDR authorities are trying to restrict the allies' freedom of movement. For several months, the young US president John F. Kennedy has been negotiating with USSR First Secretary Khrushchev, the strongman of the Soviet Union. Khrushchev wants to make Berlin a free city and release it from the joint responsibility of the Second World War's victorious powers, but Kennedy takes a stand.

The Berlin Wall goes up and a few months later the situation escalates even further when the GDR tries to impose border controls on foreign diplomats and the military at Checkpoint Charlie. US Special Emissary Lucius D. Clay responds by sending in tanks. Khrushchev then orders Soviet tanks to drive to the border, leading to a stand-off between the two superpowers that lasts 16 hours. " Border, Politics, West, East August 13, 1961 A secret mission to guard the border When the Wall goes up, Heinz Kube is 35 years old and works in foreign trade in the GDR. He is in the workers' militia, known as combat groups, and is called up to report to his company on the morning of Sunday, 13 August 1961. The combat groups are given weapons and uniforms and ordered to guard the border. It is a top secret mission and they must not reveal their whereabouts to their families. In 2011, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Wall going up, the rbb interviewed Berliners to find out what the division of the city meant to them.

The Wall had a profound impact on the way each person went about their daily lives - no matter what side they found themselves on. Overnight people were cut off from their friends and relatives, from their offices, factories and schools, and from places where they enjoyed spending their leisure time. The division of the city tore families apart, ruptured biographies and claimed many lives. Border, Contemporary Witnesses, East 1990 Chipping away at the Wall The Eastern Block is gradually disintegrating. One of the most obvious signs of the change is the roaring trade going on at the Wall. People are chipping away at the concrete and selling the chunks, often with a certificate of authenticity. The Berlin Wall has become one big souvenir. Alwin Nachtweh was one of the entrepreneurs keeping souvenir hunters supplied with pieces of the Wall. He talks about how illegal traders avoided the authorities, and how East Berliners would try to sell him their old uniforms. Some of them, he says, had their whole lives in a plastic bag. Everyday Life, West, East August 13, 1961 The Wall goes up On 13 August 1961 work begins to construct the Wall.

The division of East and West shocks Berliners and the Western world. They are left stunned as barbed wire and barricades carve the city in half and tear families apart. The mayor of Berlin is also shaken by events and makes the following statement: "The wall to a concentration camp is now cutting through the heart of Berlin." The number of refugees soared in the week before the Wall went up. In July 1961, 30,415 people applied for emergency accommodation. Over Easter alone, 4,000 people entered the transit camp – the first port of call for those who have no relatives in the West. The powers-that-be in the GDR have decided to put a stop to the mass exodus of its citizens. At first, the Western allies do not react to the closing of the border, as the barricades do not infringe their rights. Border, Escaping, Politics, West, East 01:48 August 13, 1971 Ten years of living with the Wall On 13 August 1971 Berlin has been divided for ten years.

The Wall has become a tourist attraction and popular backdrop for films, with its freshly raked death strip, signal fences, guard dogs, carpets of spikes and watchtowers. Almost 100 people have perished trying to get over to the other side. East Germans try to adjust to life with the Wall. Gert Roth talks about life in the GDR. A huge propaganda campaign is launched to mark the Wall's 10th anniversary and justify its existence. Border, Escaping, Contemporary Witnesses, West, East 01:25 German Reunification | 20 Years Later After the Collapse of East Germany German Reunification -20 Years Later In 1989 mass demonstrations led to a collapse of the Berlin Wall . A year later, on October 3, 1990, East and West Germany were reunited, after being separate states for forty years. 20 years ago German Chancellor Helmut Kohl pushed unification forward and served as the architect of a united Germany. He promised East Germans blooming landscapes and a new western-style life. Not everyone in the western world wanted a united Germany. Great Britain and France were opposed because they thought Germany would become too powerful.

On the whole , German reunification has been a success. Much progress has been made in the eastern part of Germany in the last 20 years. City and towns have been modernized. Most East Germans are better off than they were 20 years ago. Eastern Germany has become a home to new industries, especially in the fields of biotechnology and renewable energy. Productivity is about 80% of the West German level, higher than any of the former Communist countries in Eastern Europe . Berlin, a divided city for forty years, has won new importance and become the capital of a reunified Germany. Since 1990 the city has been expanding. The Reichstag building has been newly designed and the open Brandenburg Gate has become the symbol of unity. Brandenburg Gate in Berlin - Symbol of German Reunification - Thomas Wolf, However , many problems remain. Income is still lower than in the western part of Germany. Workers earn 20% less than their western colleagues. Unemployment in the eastern states is almost double the rate of western Germany.

Since 1990 almost 1.5 million “Ossis” as the Eastern Germans are called, mostly higher educated and younger people, have moved from east to west in search of better jobs and more opportunities. Such a brain drain leaves an aging population behind. Many easterners are disappointed because change and a better life have not come fast enough. They long for the good old days when the state cared for them. Today, most of them are supporters the Left Party, a successor to the Communist party of eastern Germany. Many East Germans still feel they are not accepted as equal citizens. Although about half the Germans in the west say life before 1990 was better for them the majority think reunification was a good idea. The price they had to pay was very high. Since 1991 a 5.5% solidarity tax has been collected from the population. It has generated almost 200 billion Euros, most of which has gone into improving roads and building new infrastructure. German reunification has also helped change the face and future of Europe. Without it new countries in the east and southeast of Europe would not have emerged so quickly. When Eastern Germany became a part of NATO the Warsaw Pact fell apart.

The Euro zone would probably not exist today without a strong Germany. The new states of Germany biotechnology =to use living things to make drugs or medicine bloom = to become better, healthier brain drain = when educated or skilled people move away from their own country to a country where they can earn more chancellor = leader of a government collapse = break down importance = the quality of being important improve = to make better income = what you earn for the work you do long = wish majority = most of the people or things in a group on the whole = over all opportunity = chance to do something oppose = to be against productivity =how fast goods and products are produced progress = advancement , step forward renewable = something that can be used over and over again reunite = to join together again successor = someone who comes after supporter = a person who is a follower of a group, organization or party unemployment = being out of work; people who have no job unity = union, being together

Question: Who became the first Chancellor of the reunited Germany in 1990?
Answer: Helmut Kohl