Reunification Flashcards
What role did Gorbachev play in reunification?
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev loosened the USSR’s grip over its satellite states after 1987 acted as the initial turning point for German reunification
What economic reasons were behind reunification?
East German economic difficulties acted as another long term factor for reunification as reunification provided the only opportunity to save the East’s economy
What happened with Austria and how did it impact reunification?
The opening of the border with Austria by the Hungarian reform Communists triggered a mass flight of East Germans via Hungary to the West, this gradual bleeding proved to a more long term factor, slowly applying pressure on the East German governments.
What societal factor impacted reunification?
Growing opposition throughout East Germany proved to act as a long term factor adding to the already growing pressure as reflected by the “Forty Years GDR” celebrations in early October ended in farce, with ordinary citizens in the streets of East Berlin begging the visiting Gorbachev for help
What happened on 9th November 1989?
The fall of the Berlin Wall - a turning point, leading to people taking the opportunity to walk into West Berlin. The Wall had been the prime symbol of the iron curtain and the East-West divide had gone
What happened on 28th November 1989?
Kohl presented his 10 point programme acting as a further catalyst for a rapid reunification - this was developed by the following elections in East Germany being won decisively by West Germany.
What were the positives of reunification?
It was achieved peacefully. Germany was now a smooth-functioning, transparent parliamentary democracy with a sense of legitimacy and economic prosperity. A stable and self-confident state; an assured democracy capable of self-criticism and social debate over its inner tensions, yet also profoundly European and internationalist in outlook.
What fears were there with reunification?
Fears of a nationalistic far-right resurgence proved unfounded. The Germany of Bismarck, Kaiser Wilhelm II and National Socialism was long gone.
What negative impacts did reunification have on society?
The economic difficulties of the former DDR proved intractable with unemployment in the East remaining much more of a problem than in the former FRG. There was much bitterness, especially among the academics in the former DDR who lost their jobs in the name of democratising education.
What was the economic cost of reunification?
The cost was not helped by the 1:1 currency conversion rate. A new temporary reunification tax, the Soli, was introduced in March 1991 at a rate of 5.5-7.5% on income and business tax. It was abolished for 90% of the population in November 2019.
What happened to real income in the Eastern Lander?
Rose by 28% from 1989 to 1991
What happened to the Eastern GNP?
Declined by 13.4% in 1990 and another 20% in 1991
What happened to industrial production in the East?
Fell by 2/3 within two years
What happened to the Gastarbeiter?
Increasing racism in the West directed particularly at the Gastarbeiter and growing number of asylum seekers. Some neo-Nazi groups emerged but had limited influence.
What helped the poor in the East?
Western safety-net of unemployment insurance and retraining schemes assisted poorer East Germans.
