Germany marks 25 years of reunification Saturday October 03,2015

 

Germany marked a quarter-century as a reunited nation on Saturday Oct 03,2015, with two leaders from the formerly communist east heading a country that increasingly asserts itself as Europe’s political heavyweight — and now faces a new challenge in a refugee influx that will demand deep reserves of resourcefulness and patience.

 The Reichstag building, home of the German Federal Parliament, Bundestag, is illuminated during a party to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Germany's reunification in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015

German President Joachim Gauck and Chancellor Angela Merkel, from left, walk through the city during celebrations marking the 25th anniversary of the German Unification in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015

 

  

German President Joachim Gauck, center and on screen, delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the German Unification in the 'Alte Oper' in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015.

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 German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Joachim Gauck and his partner Daniela Schadt, from left, attend a ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the German Unification in the 'Alte Oper' in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015

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West and East Germany united on Oct. 3, 1990, capping a process that started about a year earlier when the east’s communist leadership opened the Berlin Wall under pressure from massive demonstrations. Evening out the differences between east and west has been a far slower process, and some inequalities persist even now.

Since reunification, some €1.5 trillion to €2 trillion ($1.7 trillion to $2.2 trillion dollars) have been funnelled into the east to help bring the region up to speed after its outmoded industry collapsed. A steady post-1990 drain of people from east to west appears finally to have been stemmed, with more people moving east than the other way for the first time in 2013

Even though unemployment remains higher in the east than the west at 8.7 per cent (an enviable figure for many European countries) compared with 5.6 per cent the gap has narrowed. Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s promise to easterners that they would live in “blooming landscapes” no longer looks far-fetched.

Note

 

At 1 a.m. on August 13, 1961, East Germany sealed off the border between the Soviet-controlled eastern sector of Berlin and the western sectors controlled by the Allies

Over the following weeks, workers erected a 155-kilometer (96-mile) barrier encircling West Berlin. The Wall itself up to 3.6 meters (12 feet) high was merely the outermost part of a heavily fortified strip that variously included barbed wire, metal fences, guard towers, hidden alarms and dog walkways. 

When in August 1961, the Soviet Union erected a 13-foot-high wall through Berlin to halt the flow of millions of people from the eastern part to the western part, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) dubbed it a “barrier against fascism”. It kept Germany divided for the next 28 years

Despite the formidable obstacle and threat of stiff punishment if caught, thousands of people tried to escape by tunnelling under, swimming past, climbing or flying over the wall.

Many took advantage of Berlin’s extensive sewer and subway network. Others used fake passports made out to West Germans, who were allowed to visit East Berlin. 

Some dug their own tunnels, often with help from people on the other side. In one case, an entire family escaped using a home-made cable car.

When the wall finally came crumbling down on November 9, 1989, it was seen as symbolising the end of the Cold War

During its 28-year existence, the Wall served as a symbol for communist oppression

The photo shows the last page of the German unification treaty as it was signed in East Berlin, Germany. It bears the signatures of West German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and of East German chief negotiator Guenther Krause plus the seals of West and East Germany

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A huge German flag waves in front of the Reichstag building in Berlin after it was hoisted to celebrate the unification of Germany on Oct 03,1990

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German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, the chancellor's wife Hannelore Kohl, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and German president Richard von Weizsaecker stand in front of the German Reichtags building during re-unification celebrations in Berlin on Oct 03,1990

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German Chancellor Helmut Kohl is considered the architect of German reunification

Soviet leader Gorbachev, US President Bush and Germany's Kohl were the three heads of state behind German reunification. In November 2009 they met again to celebrate 20 years of the fall of the Wall