Some thoughts on German unification

By Detlef Garz

Some 25 years ago, on Nov. 9, 1989, the day “the wall” came down, I was at a conference at Newport Beach, a lovely town near Los Angeles.

I had left Germany about a week before and the political developments so far, the peaceful protests and the decidedness of the people in East Germany, the then the German Democratic Republic, had made quite an impact on me. But never, ever would I have imagined an imminent unification of both countries.

So, when colleagues at the conference told me that the wall was open and people from East Germany could freely move to the West, without any restrictions, even without a passport, I could not believe it. I was thinking something like, "Well, these Americans, they just don’t understand what is going on in Germany. We are close to Hollywood, so they are used to exaggeration.” But ``these’’ Americans proved to be right. The political landscape had changed overnight.

What is the message involved in this observation? Tremendous changes can come (almost) out of the blue. No expert, no politician, no political analyst, predicted something like that would happen. Twenty-five years later and viewed at distance, we should be in a position to ask and to answer the question: What came out of this rapid and unexpected incidence? But even today there is no easy answer.

First of all, were "we,’’ the people in West Germany, prepared for this "once-in-a-hundred-years’’ event? The one and only answer has to be, definitely not. Even if we had the imperative to reunite written into the preamble of the West German Constitution, most of the people ― and also probably a large number of the people in charge ― would have paid only lip service to this commandment.

For adolescents and emerging adults, there was simply a disinterest in the East. It was not "cool,” just some old guys who tried to preserve some form of orthodox communism. For others, it was quite simply that the price to pay seemed too high. The economy in the East was done, which meant that people in the West would have to pay and tighten their belts. Only some elderly, most of them having relatives in the East, were willing to do this. They had their heart set on the course of unification. But because they were allowed to travel to East Germany and East German retirees could go to the West for some time, even their longing was eased.

But on Nov. 9 and the days to follow, the atmosphere changed rapidly and the catchphrase authored by former German Chancellor and Nobel Prize laureate Willy Brandt ― “Now what belongs together will grow together” ― had an enormous power of attraction for people both from East and West. Hence, not only the older, but also the younger people felt the euphoric stimulation of the outcry heralded by the East German Citizens Movement that changed from, "We are the people” to ``We are one people.’’ At this time, almost all people seemed to be happy.

What is the state of affairs, today, some 25 years later? Most people, both in the East and the West, have come to terms with each other and with the situation in general. Of course, there still are different mentalities, ideologies and habits. These long-term convictions die hard, if ever.

So it is no surprise that in many ways, we find a mixed picture. For example, in terms of money, all German citizens, i.e. in East and West alike, have to pay a solidarity tax contribution which was implemented in 1990, immediately after official unification took place on Oct. 3, 1990. What was supposed to be a short-term measure is still in effect ― as is often the case with tax affairs (I cannot resist giving you this example: the so-called sparkling wine tax was introduced in Germany in 1902 in order to finance the naval fleet of his majesty, Kaiser Wilhelm II. We still have to pay it.).

Let me at least mention some other topics:

― We should not forget that the impetus for unification came from the East, from the Soviet Union. It was Mikhail Gorbachev with his policy of Glasnost and Perestroika who provided the starting point for all these things to happen ― either deliberately or inadvertently. Under this umbrella it was first of all possible for the people in the East, and this is another very important aspect to remember, to engage in public protests.

― It also should be stressed that the unification stands for the accession of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). That means those persons with an affinity to the state were after 1989 on the losing side.

― One example is the liquidation of many former East German institutions linked with the payoff of many, especially high-ranking officers. This holds true also for members of the Stasi (secret police) of the former GDR. This has remained an especially hot topic, including the question if a retirement pension should be paid, and if yes to what amount.

― What also came to the fore and is still influential was a right-wing nationalism leading often to extremisms related to the idea of being one nation again.

― And there is still some form of nostalgia, even going stronger in recent years, for the alleged warmth and the down-to-earth lifestyle of an East German era unspoiled by the rough waters of capitalism.

― Last, but not least, it is also true that Angela Merkel, the German chancellor since 2005, who was reelected in 2009 and 2013, as well as the current German President Joachim Gauck are politicians who came from East Germany. This seems to indicate that citizens both from the East and the West have found their peace with the current situation.

I think these are some of the issues one should know when talking about German unification and, even more, when one wants to make comparisons in terms of a possible accordance with the situation in South and North Korea. For Germany, a quarter-century has passed and the process of unification is still in the making.

The writer is professor at the Department for Social Sciences at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany, and a member of the Study Group on "Reconstructive Social Research’’ with the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg, Institute for Advanced Study. He is currently a field research fellow at the Korea Foundation.