Ten Years Of German Unification

In May 2000, scholars of history, law, politics, and economics gathered in London to compare their various methodological and empirical perspectives on the 1989-90 collapse of the Germanies into a unity, and the aftermath of the event from the perspective of a decade on. Their 14 studies cover histo

East Germans had passed their threshold of frustration about the gloom, restraint, and shortages in their country, and they had tired of looking at the television pictures of the thriving countryside and material plenty beyond their borders. East Germans demonstrated peacefully until—almost unexpectedly-the Berlin Wall burst open and they crossed the moat. From the other side, West Germans rushed to greet them with an enthusiastic, euphoric, unifying embrace. After the unification of East and West Germany had been accomplished, the differences between the two Germanies confronted the citizens. In the year 2000, the two Germanies will have been joined under one political umbrella for a decade. In their own words, members of three generations of West and East Germans, from all walks of life, present their personal perceptions and their perspectives on the decade. Antecedents and sequelae to unification, East-West relations, adjustment and adaptation, conditions and expectations at work, women in the society, youth, and current political attitudes are examined. East and West German interviewees weave many themes around a given topic. Kahn's commentary and explication provide a sociopsychological frame for this important piece of oral history. Lay readers interested in the human side of current events and those who are curious about the effects of rapid cultural change will find the work fascinating, as will scholars, students, and researchers of modern Germany.

Paul J. J. Welfens The editor is pleased to present a second edition of Economic Aspects of German Unification which includes new chapters and several postscripts. Almost five years after unification output in the ex-GDR is back to its 1989 level. Due to a massive intra-German resource transfer consumption per capita in eastern Germany has not fallen as much as output and employment which reduced by one-fifth within three years. Given high West German transfers which represented about 5% of West German GDP and more than 50% of East German GDP the fall of industrial output could have been much stronger than had politically been feasible. Hence structural change necessary for productivity growth was dramatic in the ex-GDR where the goods producing sector (manufacturing, mining, energy and construction) strongly changed its proportions; within four years construction almost doubled, and the share of investment goods production reduced by 10 percentage points between 1990 and 1994 and is· now down to 21. 1 %. Mining lost two-thirds of its share in the producing sector which itself was reduced relative to GDP. The share of the services industry increased by 5 percentage points between 1991 and 1994, but with a share of 27. 7% in East Germany's GDP it was still about 9 percentage points lower than in western Germany. By contrast, government accounted for 20. 9% of GDP in eastern Germany, but for only 13. 2% in western Germany.

Many accounts of German unification focus on war, diplomacy and Bismarck and on the crucial ten years up to 1871. John Breuilly, in addition to paying attention to those issues extends the analysis back to 1800. He also takes into account social, economic and cultural developments, bringing to the reader's attention recent research, much of it in German. In particular, the book argues that one should see unification as just one possible outcome of the German situation, the result of rapid shifts in the relative power of different European states and of underlying changes which made nationality a more vital force in politics.

Rather than a single political achievement fixed in time, German unification has proven to be a complex, multidimensional process. After four years, Germany continues to confront formidable economic, social, and cultural challenges resulting from the rushed marriage of disparate societies and political systems. This volume brings U.S. perspectives to bear on some of the economic, social, and legal aspects of unification in one of Europe's most closely watched democracies.

A decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the GDR and the end of the Cold War, Germany has begun to cope with the political, economic, social and nationalistic challenges unification has posed to its institutions and way of life in both the western and eastern part of the once divided nation. The books' eleven authors, all experts in their field, analyse the way united Germany has tackled the many unforeseen problems and highlighted the gradually emerging short- and long-term patterns in Germany's slow adjustment to the new realities. The country has not only become more populous and territorially bigger, but also burdened with much underestimated problems, particularly economic and social ones. The emergence of a new economic, political and perhaps military superstate as feared by many in 1990 has not materialised. Instead, Germany today is only just coping with the domestic and external challenges of unification. The economic and social integration of the former East Germany into the Federal Republic has still not been completed and may take yet another ten to fifteen years. The book is a timely and well-researched effort by a team of outstanding experts to evaluate Germany's performance to date. It gives the reader ample and well-analysed information to comprehend the many challenges facing Germany and its European neighbours in the post-Cold War world

Dimensions of German Unification examines some of economic, social, cultural, and legal aspects of the German unification process four years after political unification was achieved.