Citizens of Germany – once physically separated into East and West by the Berlin Wall – remain divided even today, 36 years after the Wall fell and the country reunited.
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The fall of the Wall marked the symbolic beginning of the end for the German Democratic Republic – the socialist, Soviet-controlled East German state – and opened the path toward the official reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990, when the two sides formally became one country.
“Now what belongs together is growing together,” said former West German Chancellor Willy Brandt the day after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989. His words carried the hope of a country beginning to heal – a vision of unity after decades of division.
Thirty-six years later, that vision remains only partly fulfilled.
Surveys of Germans show that at least 30 percent are unhappy with life since the two sides reunified.
According to a study commissioned by the German public broadcasting service ARD, six out of 10 Germans are satisfied with the level of German unity achieved, while about a third are less satisfied or not satisfied at all.
While the majority of Germany is still supportive of reunification, taking a closer look at the former East German part of the country tells another story.
In the eastern part of the country, satisfaction is split in half. One in two East Germans is not satisfied with the situation since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the survey said.
After peaceful, pro-democracy protests pressured the government into tearing down the wall in 1989 and unifying the country, East Germans suddenly had the freedom to travel anywhere. The Wall was finally gone, and families separated for decades were able to see each other again – something every third German today still cites as one of the greatest achievements of reunification.
After more than 40 years of division, East and West became one nation again – something praised by more than 20 percent of Germans.
Seventeen percent highlight the introduction of democracy and political freedoms — a value cited more often by East Germans than by West Germans — while 11 percent mention economic modernization as one of reunification’s biggest achievements.
While the political border disappeared overnight, the economic gap between East and West has proven much harder to close.
According to Germany’s Federal Agency for Civic Education, the average household in the Eastern states today owns €151,000 in assets – less than half of the €360,000 average in western Germany.
This inequality is the result of the rapid economic and monetary union in July 1990, which was followed by a deep economic crisis.
Economic recovery never fully caught up.
Population shifts mirror this imbalance. Younger people from the more rural East continue moving westward for better education and job prospects, leaving behind an aging population and shrinking towns.
Comparable prosperity remains one of the top concerns for citizens in the East – 38 percent name it as the main unfinished goal of reunification.
For many in the East, reunification brought freedom, but also the feeling that their experiences, culture, and biographies were undervalued in the newly united country.
Nationwide, 17% of respondents say they wish for better recognition of East German life stories, while 8% lament the imbalance of economic power and a lack of equal opportunities.
According to a Forsa Institute survey, only 35 percent of Germans believe East and West have “largely grown together” – far below the 51% recorded in 2019. Of Germans surveyed, only 23% in the East share this belief, compared to 37% in the West.
Yet amid these divides, there are signs of cautious optimism. Nearly half of Germans under 30 believe the country has grown together – twice as many as among older generations.
It’s unclear whether succeeding generations will continue that trend.
Whether that optimism will last depends on how successfully the country addresses the remaining economic and social inequalities between East and West.
Looking at the current economic growth in the East, there might be hope for a united Germany, not only on paper, but also in the hearts and minds of its citizens.
Lina Marie Schulenkorf is a Correspondent with Youth Journalism International.
