Was It Beneficial? It was all so good in the beginning. In 1989, after40 years of separation, the two Germanys finallybecame one again. But as often, there were andstill are doubts about whether or not reunificationwas the right move to do. The hope that twodifferent social, political as well as two differenteconomical and educational systems would growtogether neatly without major problems was Fig. 1.1 Source: German Reunification and the Presentnothing but wishful thinking. East Germany [German Democratic Government-GDR] was acommunist, state-controlled country, whereas West Germany [Federal Republic of Germany-FRG] is a democratic, modern society.The speed at which reunification happened, took everyone by surprise. In little more than a year,East Germany disintegrated and its territory was absorbed into the FRG with no seriousopposition and amid widespread rejoicing, both at home and abroad [Mark Blacksell]. Therewas no transition period to allow the East to raise its economy closer to that of the standards ofthe West. This resulted in disaster. The people in the West are forced to absorb the enormousreunification bill, while the people in the East are made to feel inferior and like ?second-class?citizens. East GermanyBefore reunification, East Germany was a socialist state. The State ran every aspect ofthe daily lives of the people in East Germany. They were not brought-up and educated to thinkfor themselves and were therefore, ill prepared for the challenges and opportunities of a free-market economy. Within the old system many of them couldn?t afford Western luxuries, but atleast they were supported in every aspect from cradle to grave. East Germans had to face thenew challenges of dealing with a different political, economical and cultural situation.Before reunification the East was a one party state, where the people never got to vote on...
