The Fall of the Berlin Wall: What it Meant for Germany
When the West and East Germany reunited 28 years ago, the country was in sense of increased optimism. Connolly in her 2015 news article for the Guardian notes that the then reigning Chancellor Helmut Kohl promised his subjects “flourishing landscapes.” But then how has a reunified Germany faired on 28 years after the collapse of the Berlin wall?
The Berlin wall was first constructed overnight on August 12, 1962, following a decision by Walter Ulbricht, the leader of the then East Germany ordered a barricade to be erected to stop East German’s defecting into the West. Dearden (2014) notes that about 2.5 million people had defected West from 1949 following the end of World war II and that Ulbricht felt …show more content…
At the time the two regions were using different currency. The West German currency (Deutsche Mark) was stronger than that of the East (East German mark) for obvious economic reasons. As a result, the East Germans succumbed to the lure of the West German and the rest of the Western Europe.
On November 9, 1989 (almost 30 years later), thousands of West Germans marched to the wall and demanded the gates to be opened (Mauk, 2014). Due to overwhelming crowds, the soldiers lost control. East and West Germans alike celebrated by singing and dancing throughout the night with heightened expectations of unified German.
True to the expectations, following the collapse of the wall and thereby unification of German, money influx into the East from the West helped improve the standards of living of those in the eastern bloc. A common currency was used (Deutsche Mark). Note that both sides of the former divide benefited from the unification as it resulted in increased labor supply and a market for products. The combined GDP of significantly improved following the
When the West and East Germany reunited 28 years ago, the country was in sense of increased optimism. Connolly in her 2015 news article for the Guardian notes that the then reigning Chancellor Helmut Kohl promised his subjects “flourishing landscapes.” But then how has a reunified Germany faired on 28 years after the collapse of the Berlin wall?
The Berlin wall was first constructed overnight on August 12, 1962, following a decision by Walter Ulbricht, the leader of the then East Germany ordered a barricade to be erected to stop East German’s defecting into the West. Dearden (2014) notes that about 2.5 million people had defected West from 1949 following the end of World war II and that Ulbricht felt …show more content…
At the time the two regions were using different currency. The West German currency (Deutsche Mark) was stronger than that of the East (East German mark) for obvious economic reasons. As a result, the East Germans succumbed to the lure of the West German and the rest of the Western Europe.
On November 9, 1989 (almost 30 years later), thousands of West Germans marched to the wall and demanded the gates to be opened (Mauk, 2014). Due to overwhelming crowds, the soldiers lost control. East and West Germans alike celebrated by singing and dancing throughout the night with heightened expectations of unified German.
True to the expectations, following the collapse of the wall and thereby unification of German, money influx into the East from the West helped improve the standards of living of those in the eastern bloc. A common currency was used (Deutsche Mark). Note that both sides of the former divide benefited from the unification as it resulted in increased labor supply and a market for products. The combined GDP of significantly improved following the