11 Kollegiaten suchen englischsprachige Diskussionspartner

Hello, I'd like to discuss with you, and maybe also some of my students - depends on what it is you want to discuss. Go ahead.
Kathrin

What's your view on German Reunification?
1. What did Germans/foreigners/you expect /hope for when Germany was united?
2. What were they/you afraid of?
3. Has the political situation changed over the years?
4. What about the economic situation?

Hello Group 13, hello Kathrin,

here some reflections upon the german reunification.

I think that many people were afraid of a Germany which they feared could become too powerful concerning the military as well as political influence. In Britain the Iron Lady strongly critisized any form of reunification which might harm the UK. But the point is: Was the German Reunification a danger for Europe? I think it wasn't. Looking at what happend over the last years one can see, that the reunification was rather an example how a divided country could become a whole again. But it is clear that ten years of Unity cannot make people forget fourty years of seperation and fear. The whole thing should be given more time to develope. It is not right, to condemn the Reunification only because politicians cannot benefit from its effects. It was the right decision and people should never forget, what could have happend if the GDR had existed much longer.

Hello everybody,
some reflections from me as well.
What we hoped for when Germany was united seems to depend a lot on which side of the curtain we were living on. For me, as a Berliner at that time, living 300 metres from the wall on the Western side, it was enthusiasm, the incredible feeling to sit right in the middle of gigantic historical developments. I remember East Berliners coming over to the West side and just standing there weeping - totally confused and overwhelmed by their great emotions. It felt like a big party - nobody thought about political, financial or personal consequences at that time.

Of course this has changed over the years and we all have to cope with our changed daily lives and with the far-reaching sociological implications.

About german reunification:
there are still some prejudices between west and east living german people. People who donīt want to think about the advantages the reunification brought with it and thatīs why they just looking about the enormous financial problems the state gots.
You can say that people in the west have to pay for 30 years of less communistic economy.And so there is still a minority of people from both areas who wants the wall back. Even today the salaries are not the same in the west and east for the same work.Curious for example is that the old Stasi-base became the employment office, today.

We think that after a decade there are still differences between eastern and western Germany. There is no feeling of unification between the people. In the east people are disappointed because the economy is weak and there is a high rate of unemployment. And also the wages are lower in East Germany. Many people thought that they would have the same living standard one day after the reunification. West Germany has spent a lot of taxes to improve the eastern economy but the people there are not patient enough. We think that both sides have to work harder for the unification. At any rate, prejudices have to be reduced, then it is not only a geographical unification, but we can really become one nation.

We think the German reunification was a good thing for the German population because a divided nation got together after a long time. And we think that is the best thing that could happen to the Germans after a very hard time of rebuilding a country and a time of pressure and control. Especially for the people in the east the reunification has been a good thing, they got their freedom and democracy back. But there is also another side: The western part was very successful with its economy, so when the 2 parts were united it was quite a challenge to build up the eastern economy and make it reach the western standard. And that has been a very difficult job to do, it has taken a very long time. It's not easy to achieve in 11 years what the west did in 40 years. In Corea they are also trying to unite their countries and we think they are doing it in a better way. They give their country much more time and this is the most important thing a reunification needs. The German reunification was too fast. We wish them the very best.
This is only a short statement, there is much more to say. The reunification will go on.

We think the German Reunification has been a good thing for the German population because a divided nation got together after a long time. And we think that is the best thing that could happen to the Germans after a very hard time of rebuilding a country and a time of pressure and control. Especially for the people in the east the reunification was a good thing, they got freedom and democracy. But there is also another side: The western part of Germany was very successful with its economy, so when the two parts were reunited, it was quite a challenge to build up the eastern economy and make it match the western standard. And that has been a very hard job to do, it has taken a very long time. In fact it's not easy to achieve in 11 years what the west did in 40 years. In Corea they are also trying to unite their countries and we think they are doing it in a better way than the Germans did. They give their country much more time and this is the most important thing a reunification needs. The German reunification was too fast. We wish them the very best.
This is only a short statement and there is much more to say. The reunification will go on.