Germany

30 YEARS OF GERMAN UNITY

October 3, 2020 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Day of German Unity. In a few years Germany, which was reunited in 1990, will have existed longer than its divided predecessor.

People in Germany have experienced a lot together over the past 30 years: the first participation of the Bundeswehr in NATO's Kosovo mission, the attacks on the World Trade Center, the introduction of the Euro, the world financial crisis and the Corona crisis are only symbolic of the many challenges that had to be overcome in both East and West Germany.

These experiences have allowed Germans to further grow together. The terms "East" and "West" are becoming increasingly blurred. But that this would happen was not a given. Both parts of Germany had to bridge a divide before they could grow together again. Not only dealing with the political realities of unification proved to be a big challenge. Putting the underlying basics of German unity - the Einheitsvertrag - on a sound legal footing and reviving the East German economy were tremendous achievements.

Without the great willingness of the people in the East to change, without the East German "can-do" attitude,  without the courage of many entrepreneurs to get involved and invest, this would not have been possible. Without overcoming prejudice and a constantly developing sense of community, this great success would have been unthinkable.

Time to take stock: In our publication "30 Facts about 30 years of German Unity" we take a look at East Germany before unification and the current state of affairs. On the one hand, this involves major economic and social questions: How high is unemployment? How many people move from the West to the East and vice versa? What about the differences in innovative strength?

At the same time we want to deal with smaller issues: Which products from the East have prevailed? What about eating habits? How do we spend our Christmas?

It is these small differences and peculiarities that make life in Germany so interesting. These differences will (and should) also exist in the future, just as there are differences between the people in Bavaria and North Rhine- Westphalia or between the people in Saxony and Thuringia.

It is important that everyone - in East and West, North and South - has the same opportunities to become happy and live well.

DOWNLOAD below the special publication '30 FACTS ON 30 YEARS OF GERMAN UNITY