The Open-Air-Library

Abstract

The Berlin wall that divided Germany from 1961 to 1989 provided a physical manifestation of the ideological differences between the allied forces in Europe in the aftermath of World War II. The eventual demise of the ‘iron curtain’ resulted in the re-unification of Germany. This momentous political event in 1989 was not entirely welcomed by all of Germany’s European neighbours who were still traumatised by the war visited upon them by the previous German super state. The task of uniting Germany was immense, as East Germany (GDR) had to adapt to a free market western economy following half a century of state control imposed by the communist ethos of the U.S.S.R.