Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0018/00184.txt

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$Unique_ID{bob00184}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Unified Germany
Focus on the German unification process}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{German Embassy, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{German Embassy, Washington DC}
$Subject{gdr
german
federal
republic
germany
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east
west
berlin
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see
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}
$Date{1990}
$Log{See Map of Germany*0018401.scf
See Flag of Germany*0018402.scf
}
Title:       Unified Germany
Book:        Focus on the German Unification Process
Author:      German Embassy, Washington DC
Affiliation: German Embassy, Washington DC
Date:        1990


[See Map of Germany]

[See Flag of Germany]

Focus on the German unification process

1. The Revolution in East Germany

     The images are familiar: the once-feared Berlin Wall, for 28 years the
most brutal symbol of Cold War division, swarms with laughing, dancing people
from East and West Berlin, while East German border guards watch. East
Berliners pour through the newly-opened Wall by car and on foot and are
greeted with showers of champagne and hugs on the Western side. Unreal scenes
and yet quite tangibly real.

     The joyous celebrations of November 9, 1989 were preceded by grimmer
scenes: the long swelling of discontent in the German Democratic Republic
culminated in mass emigration in early 1989, after Hungary had begun to
dismantle its borders to Austria. On September 11, Hungary allowed some
15,000 East Germans, who were massed at the Hungarian-Austrian border, to
leave for the Federal Republic. Large numbers of East Germans wishing to
emigrate also occupied the West German embassy in Prague, as well as smaller
numbers in Warsaw and in the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic in
East Berlin, and few could be persuaded to return to the GDR. By the beginning
of October, when an agreement was reached between the governments of the two
German states, Poland, and Czechoslovakia permitting emigres to leave the
CSSR, some 25,000 East Germans had entered the Federal Republic through
Hungary and Austria.

     The developments in the GDR must be seen in the context of general
upheaval in Eastern Europe, with the overthrow of communist governments in
Hungary, Poland and Czechoslovakia, and in view of the reform policies of
Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev explicitly supported the changes in Eastern
Europe, and his famous sentence "Life punishes those who come too late,"
spoken at the 40th anniversary of the founding of the GDR, sent a signal to
the forces of reform in the GDR.

     Meanwhile, many East Germans who chose to remain in the GDR demonstrated
for change openly and in increasing numbers. Instrumental in the articulation
of calls for change were such grassroots citizens' groups as New Forum and
Initiative for Peace and Human Rights. These groups had previously existed in
the shelter of the churches and this influence was evident in the commingling
of Green/alternative and Christian/socialist ideas and in the number of
pastors among the politically committed. They called for a government
responsive to their needs, independent parties, freedom of speech, freedom of
the press and freedom of travel. On October 18, 1989, only twelve days after
celebrating "40 years of the GDR," SED Politburo member Erich Honecker was
forced to resign after 18 years as head of state and party leader. His
successor, Egon Krenz, failed to inspire trust, however, and after a month of
mass demonstrations and a new wave of emigration through Czechoslovakia, this
GDR government also resigned on November 7.

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS:

1949:

     Founding of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG, West Germany) and the
German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany).

June 17, 1953:

     Strikes by construction workers expand to a full-scale revolt
in East Berlin and other cities in the GDR and is put down by Soviet troops.

August 13, 1961:

     The borders around West-Berlin are closed by the GDR to
prevent skilled workers and professionals from leaving; the "Berlin Wall" is
built.

September 11, 1989

     Hungary opens its borders to Austria; within days, some 15,000 GDR
citizens leave for the Federal Republic.

October 9, 1989

     The largest demonstration in the GDR since 1953 takes place; the
demonstrators call "Wir sind das Volk" ("We are the people").

October 18, 1989

     Erich Honecker resigns from all offices and is replaced by Egon Krenz.

November 8, 1989

     The Politburo and the GDR government resign. Krenz remains General
Secretary of the Central Committee of the SED.

November 9, 1989

     The GDR opens its borders to the Federal Republic and West Berlin.

November 13, 1989

     Hans Modrow becomes the Prime Minister of an interim government until
elections are held.

December 3, 1989

     The Central Committee under Egon Krenz resigns. Demonstrators call for
quick unification of the two German states.

December 7, 1989

     At the suggestion of the churches, "round table" talks begin.

January 15, 1990

     150,000 people demonstrate in Leipzig for unification.

February 13, 1990

     Chancellor Kohl and Prime Minister Modrow meet in Bonn and announce the
establishment of a commission to draw up a treaty for a currency and economic
union.

March 3, 1990

     The "round table" draws up a "social charter," which calls for a
constitutionally-guaranteed right to work, right to housing and gender
equality in the constitution of a united Germany.

March 18, 1990

     Elections to the Volkskammer are held; the conservative alliance is
victorious.

May 6, 1990

     Regional elections are held.

May 18, 1990

     The finance ministers of the two German states sign an agreement on a
currency, economic and social union, to go into effect on July 1, 1990.

     Two days later, during a period when no government was actually in
office, the Wall was suddenly opened. Hans Modrow, who had been the party
leader in the district of Dresden for the Socialist Unity Party (SED), became
the new prime minister and leader of the "caretaker government" until
elections could be held. Although this transitional government at first
followed the traditional pattern, consisting of SED and the so-called "bloc
parties," Modrow then agreed, on January 28, to allow representatives of
opposition groups into the cabinet. Thus, for example, Tatiana Bohm of the
feminist group Independent Women's League became a minister without portfolio.
The elections, originally planned for May, were moved up to March 18, 1990.

     The period between Modrow's assumption of office on November 13 and the
elections on March 18 was one of continued rapid change. On November 22, the
Politburo offered the opposition parties and groups the chance for discussion
at a "round table"; these frequently impassioned discussions between five
former bloc parties, the opposition groups and the union federation continued
until the elections. The Social Democratic Party, which had merged with the
Communist Party in 1946 to form the Socialist Unity Party (SED), was founded
again as an independent party, DDR/SDP, on October 7, 1989; in January 1990
it renamed itself SPD. Ibrahim Bohme was elected the first chairperson. Many
other groups constituted themselves as parties and registered for the GDR
elections; some thirty were found by the election commission, which was headed
by a twenty-five-year old student, to have satisfied the requirements and were
placed on the ballot. All travel restrictions for East Germans were dropped.
The Volkskammer (People's Chamber) deleted the passage in the GDR constitution
giving a leading role to the Socialist Unity Party. Egon Krenz lost his last
post, that of party leader. The party changed its name to "Party of Democratic
Socialism" and elected the 41-year-old Gregor Gysi party leader.

     Despite all turbulence, it appeared during the months of October and
November 1989 that there was a strong feeling among GDR citizens, perhaps
among a majority, that a politically reformed, but socialist East German state
should continue to exist. This mood reflected the position of the opposition
groups, but also to some extent the traditional parties and particularly the
PDS (SED). They pleaded for a socialist, democratically reformed GDR and
against fusion with the Federal Republic, arguing that the "revolutionary
movement" of the Germans in the GDR had been the first step toward the
creation of a positive GDR identity which encompassed the vision of a humane
socialism. Whether they spoke out in favor of an ecologically-oriented social
market economy (as did the SPD) or for a mixed economy, it seemed that all
held fast to the principle of the welfare state, constitutional guarantees of
work and housing, and social equality.

     However, neither the many changes nor the chance to re-shape their
country were able to staunch the flow of East Germans to the West. During
1989, 343,854 GDR citizens moved to the Federal Republic, and between January
1st and the end of February, 1990, some 88,000 resettlers moved across the
now-opened border to the Federal Republic and West Berlin. In the face of
serious difficulties in accommodating such a large and constant influx, West
German political leaders called repeatedly for East Germans to remain in the
GDR, saying that the Federal Republic would aid in improving conditions there.
Some West German cities were forced to stop accepting resettlers for a time,
when they ran out of accommodations for the newcomers.

     For any number of possible reasons, the mood shifted during the winter of
1989. Disillusionment with the possibility of real changes in power may have
played a role in this, as well as the revelations of a lifestyle enjoyed by
the SED elite far above that of the ordinary GDR citizen. The new freedom to
travel and to see the riches of the West also may have made the shortages and
shabby goods in the GDR appear that much poorer in comparison. At any rate, a
movement became apparent away from the wish to "renew" the GDR and toward an
embracing of the idea of unity as quickly as possible. The call became "Wir
sind ein Volk" ("We are one people") and the flag of the Federal Republic
began to appear during a new wave of demonstrations. At the same time,
nationalist, strongly anti-socialist sentiment became apparent, so that
finally those who had begun the entire process of change could not appear at
demonstrations because of the "anti-Red" mood and found themselves back where
they had begun: in the opposition.

     West German parties figured prominently in election campaigning.
Chancellor Kohl made a total of six campaign appearances in the GDR on behalf
of the conservative Alliance for Germany, a coalition of the Christian
Democratic Union, the Democratic Social Union, and Democratic Awakening. In
his campaign speeches, Kohl held out the possibility of quick unification and
the introduction of the D-mark in the GDR in the event of a conservative
victory. Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher campaigned on behalf of the
GDR Federation of Free Democrats and Willy Brandt on behalf of the GDR Social
Democrats. The Federal Republic spent DM 7.5 million on the GDR election,
channeling the funds through foundations affiliated with West German parties.

     On Sunday, March 18, GDR voters chose among 19 competing parties and five
joint slates representing an additional 14 parties. The joint slates ranged
from the conservatives to a coalition of Greens and feminists. The results
showed a strong vote of confidence in the conservative agenda: the Alliance
for Germany won 48.2 percent of the vote, thus gaining 193 seats in the 400-
seat Volkskammer. The GDR's Social Democrats, led by Ibrahim Bohme, who had
been the favorites in pre-election polls, received 21.8 percent and 87 seats,
while the Party of Democratic Socialism, the former SED, received 16.3 percent
and 65 seats. The Federation of Free Democrats received 5.3 percent and the
Greens 1.96. Regional differences were apparent: while the Alliance for
Germany received 60 percent of the vote in Saxony, it dropped to 35 percent in
Berlin. Regional elections in the GDR were held on May 6, with the results
much like those of March 6. The CDU received 34.7 percent of the vote, the SPD
20.9, the Liberals 6.7 and the PDS 14.2.

     However, even after the successful election of a new government, East
Germans continued to stream to the West, albeit in reduced numbers. This
"voting with their feet" imparted urgency to the search for answers to the
many questions surrounding the establishment of a united Germany.

II. The path to unity

     The opening of the German Democratic Republic and indeed of Eastern
Europe as a whole, and the expressed wish of the Germans in the GDR for unity
threw up a great many difficult and complicated questions of both an external
and an internal nature.

     The external questions surrounding the process of unification will only
be named briefly here, as their explication would exceed the scope of this
paper. In February 1990 the parties concerned, i.e. the two German states and
the four powers with special responsibilities and rights concerning Germany as
a whole and Berlin ("two plus four"), agreed to set up a series of meetings to
jointly work out external aspects of the establishment of German unity. Four
such meetings were agreed upon between May and September 1990. The agenda of
the "two plus four" meetings includes border questions, politico-military
questions regarding the development of suitable security structures in Europe,
questions regarding the status of Berlin and the termination of the
four-power-responsibilities. It was also agreed to invite the Polish
government to attend the talks, when the Polish-German border along the Oder
and NeiBe rivers is discussed.

     Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher have
stressed repeatedly that the process of German unification is and will remain
embedded in the process of European unification, and that the creation of a
united Germany will not pose a threat of Europe or the world, now or in the
future. The shifts in East-West relations, they say, call as well for changes
in the strategy, structure and armaments of the alliance systems, making it
necessary to reduce the military role of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) and strengthen its political role. West German leaders
have also called for an institutionalization of the 35-member-nation
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), with the
establishment of a European court of human rights and of centers for conflict
prevention and resolution, as well as a center for the verification of
disarmament accords.

     In the question of alliance membership, the federal government has from
the beginning expressed firm commitment to continued membership in a (changed)
NATO. The Soviet Union strongly advocated neutrality, but has moved from this
position to the suggestion that Germany belong to both alliances during a
transitional period or that the question of alliance be temporarily
"de-coupled" from internal questions surrounding unification.

     Internal questions pertain to such issues as the form unity should take
in legal, economic and social terms, the way in which unity should be brought
about, questions of how to integrate two very dissimilar systems, the
question of the future capital city of a united Germany, and the like.

     The first suggestion made by Chancellor Kohl pertained to the idea of,
in the short run, establishing a confederation of the two German states as the
first step toward unity. In a speech before the Bundestag on November 29,
1989, Kohl made a ten-point proposal for the development of "confederative
structures" between the Federal Republic and the GDR, with the goal of
creating a "federation, a federal state order in Germany." A confederation is
defined as the voluntary union of at least two sovereign states based on
joint interests. Kohl also said that the Federal Republic was prepared to
pursue the idea of a "contractual community" between the two states, with
joint institutions and he proposed the setting up of joint government
committees for political coordination after the March 18 elections.

     However, the election results of March 18 seemed to make clear the wish
of the Germans in the GDR toward a more radical solution than a confederation,
which would have meant two partially sovereign states with some, but not all,
joint institutions, with separate constitutions, but a common organizational
roof, and the debate thus shifted to the achievement of unity.

     In the spring of 1990, debate took place particularly on one of the most
difficult questions facing policymakers in both German states: the manner in
which the two states should be merged. The Federal Republic's "Basic Law" of
1949 (the constitution), makes the following provisions for unification. In
the preamble it is stated that "the German people have also acted on behalf
of those Germans to whom participation was denied. The entire German people
are called upon to achieve in free self-determination the unity and freedom of
Germany." Additionally two separate articles provide for possible unification.
Article 23 states: "For the time being, this Basic Law shall apply to (all
West German states plus Greater Berlin). In other parts of Germany, the Basic
Law shall be put into force upon their accession." It thus allows for the
possibility of accession of the states of the GDR (Lander) to the Federal
Republic, thus subjecting themselves to the Basic Law. Article 146 reads: "The
Basic Law shall cease to be in force on the day on which a constitution
adopted by a free decision of the German people comes into force." This means
that the two sovereign German states may choose to unite, whereupon the Basic
Law would become invalid. The newly-created state would then convene a
national assembly and draw up a new constitution.

     The federal government has strongly advocated the achievement of unity
through Article 23, arguing that accession under this article would have
strong advantages for the GDR. In particular, it is argued that Article 23
would be the quickest way to achieve unity. It asserts that speed is of the
essence, because Germans in the GDR are in need of rapid help, and because it
is necessary to staunch the flow of East Germans to the West by, in effect,
giving them a reason to stay home. The federal government maintains that a
national assembly, as called for under Article 146, would be too
time-consuming. Secondly, proponents of Article 23 argue that the Basic Law
has stood the test of time and ought to be preserved. Making the Basic Law
invalid would also mean that the rulings of the Federal Constitutional Court
over the past forty years would become invalid as well. Another argument is
that accession is not the same thing as annexation, i.e., that the GDR would
not "capitulate," but rather choose to join the Federal Republic. Finally,
they make the point that accession through Article 23 would provide a
guarantee of stability during the period of change to the allies and neighbors
of the Federal Republic; the element of uncertainty regarding the future of
the united Germany would be smaller.

     The preamble of the coalition agreement between the conservative parties
in the "Alliance for Germany," the liberal parties and the SPD, drawn up after
the March 18 elections, states that it is the goal of the coalition "to
realize the unity of Germany quickly and responsibly through negotiations with
the FRG on the basis of Article 23 of the Basic Law ...and thus to contribute
to a peaceful order in Europe."

     Proponents of the creation of German unity through Article 146, on the
other hand, say that the use of Article 23 constitutes an "annexation" of the
GDR and call for a public debate and a referendum on the constitution of the
united Germany. Critics of Article 23 suggest that Article 146 would mean
true self-determination for all Germans in the new Germany. The
understandable wish of Germans in the GDR for alleviation of economic misery
has been used to force an overly-hasty program of unification, it is said.
Critics also say that while Article 23 views unification as the simple
correction of an abnormality, the removal of a temporary division of Germany,
Article 146 more accurately reflects the reality of two German states, which
share a common language and early history, but have over forty years developed
into two societies with separate recent histories and disparate political
orders. The issue, however, appears to have been settled with the signing of
the treaty on a currency, economic and social union by the finance ministers
of the two German states, Theo Waigel (Federal Republic) and Walter Romberg
(GDR) on May 18 in Bonn, after months of negotiations.

     There was criticism of some aspects of the treaty in both states - in
the GDR by the opposition groups, in the Federal Republic by the Greens, the
unions, and by the SPD's candidate for chancellor, Oskar Lafontaine, who
called for the treaty to give greater social security to GDR citizens and to
provide subsidies for GDR firms. However, the treaty was approved by the
parliaments of both states on June 21 and will go into effect on July 1, 1990.

     The core of the treaty is the establishment of the social market economy
in the GDR and the conversion of East German marks to the D-mark on July 1.
The Federal Republic and the GDR declare in the preamble of the agreement that
they will "introduce the social market economy into the GDR as the basis for
the further economic and social development with social balances and
safeguards and responsibility toward the environment, and thus to lastingly
improve the living and working conditions of the population." The treaty
states that unification of the two German states should occur "forthwith" and
that the GDR should join the Federal Republic in accordance with Article 23 of
the Basic Law.

     In the agreement, the GDR guarantees the right of private property, the
free establishment of prices and the dismantling of state monopolies. The
agreement also calls for the GDR to adopt the Federal Republic's model for
retirement, health, accident insurance and welfare system. The GDR will lose
its sovereignty in money matters to the central bank once the D-mark becomes
the official currency.

     The currency union provides for wages, salaries, pensions, and rents to
be converted at a rate of one GDR mark to one Deutsche Mark. All else will
be converted at a rate of two to one, with the exception of 4,000 marks in
personal savings per person (2,000 for children, 6,000 for retirees), which
may be converted at one to one.

     The plan foresees the financing of union between now and 1994 through
the establishment of a "German Unity fund" of DM 115 billion, from which the
GDR will receive DM 22 billion in the second half of 1990 and DM 35 billion in
1991. During the following three years, the GDR will receive DM 28 billion,
DM 20 billion and DM 10 billion respectively. Bonn is expected to contribute a
total of DM 67.5 billion to the fund, of which DM 20 billion are expected to
come from funds released when certain costs of German division are eliminated,
such as aid for West Berlin and subsidies for intra-German border regions. The
remaining DM 95 million are to be obtained on capital markets, with the
federal government and states sharing repayment of principal and interest
costs.

     The fund will be used to help finance GDR budget deficits. The agreement
stipulates that the GDR will cover one-third of the deficits annually by
borrowing. The deficit for the GDR for the second half of 1990 was estimated
to be DM 31 billion and for 1991 DM 52 billion.

     In the economic sector, the signing of the currency and economic union
treaty only formalizes a process of cooperation which began some time ago.
Even before the fall of the old system, there had been a gradual warming of
relations and a number of smaller agreements between the two German states
had been signed. One of the most significant was the signing on an agreement
in July 1989 between the environment ministers of the two states concerning
cooperation on six environmental projects in the GDR. After the opening of
the border there was an rush by Western companies to set up joint ventures in
the GDR, establish subsidiaries with East German combines or found their own
subsidiaries. East Germany's vehicle manufacturer, for example, will be
building small cars jointly with Volkswagen, mid-sized ones with Adam Opel
and utility vehicles with Daimler-Benz. In the retail industry, the West
German market leader Karstadt will establish a joint venture with the East
German department store VEB Centrum and the supermarket chains Asko and Aldi
are opening stores in the GDR.

     The changeover from a planned economy to a free market economy, and the
harmonization of two such dissimilar systems has meant and will continue to
mean painful changes for the GDR. It has been estimated that whole industry
branches will not survive the requirement to prove themselves better than the
competition. The producers of East German goods will stand no chance, it has
been said, against the influx of Western goods. The East German Economics
Minister, Gerhard Pohl, has estimated that 30 percent of GDR firms will be
able to survive the changeover and another 50 percent will be able to "get
back on their feet" quickly with financial aid from the Federal Republic.
Economists at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) have predicted
high initial unemployment in the GDR as a consequence of the economic union
and conversely, new growth and employment in the Federal Republic.

     West German Labor Minister Norbert Blum has responded to the threat of
mass unemployment in the GDR by announcing his intent to develop such
"cushioning" measures as reduced working hours and job training and further
training programs.

     Given the complex and sensitive character of some crucial aspects of
unification, a number of issues were not included in the treaty. One of these
concerned the question of determining ownership of private property left
behind by those who fled to the West. After months of negotiations, the two
governments announced in mid-June that agreement had been reached. Private
property confiscated between 1945 and 1949 under Soviet occupation will not
be returned to former owners. As a general rule, property confiscated by the
SED during the existence of the GDR will be returned to the original owners
or their heirs. However, there are important restrictions: if the GDR allowed
its citizens to build houses on the property, or if the property passed to
third parties, or if the property was put to public use in the GDR, it will
not be given back and the original owners will receive financial compensation.

     Another extremely sensitive question not covered in the treaty in its
present form concerns the regulation of abortion. While conservative forces in
the Federal Republic call for the GDR to take over the regulations of the
Federal Republic, the GDR is unwilling to give up its considerably more
liberal ruling. Such conservative women in the GDR as Sabine Bergmann-Pohl
(CDU), the President of the Volkskammer and Women and Family Minister Christa
Schmidt (CDU) have said that they do not want to "regress" on this point, and
they have received support from women from all parties in the Federal Republic
as well as such organizations as the (West) German Association of Women
Physicians. In the GDR a women may obtain an abortion on demand during the
first trimester of pregnancy. The Federal Republic, on the other hand,
restricts abortion by requiring the women to prove that an emergency situation
exists. The emergency may be of either a medical or a social nature and the
definition of such a situation may vary from state to state. The issue is
undecided as of this writing.

     Another open question concerns the capital city of the future united
Germany. A (West German) government declaration of the year 1956 says that
the federal government "remains committed to Berlin as the capital city of a
free and reunited Germany." Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher has said
that, "for me Berlin is and was the city in which the heart of the Germans
beats, for which the heart of the Germans beats. And I can hardly imagine that
the majority of Germans see that differently." Walter Momper, the present
mayor of West Berlin, has repeatedly argued for a transfer of the capital from
Bonn to Berlin, saying that Berlin "would be best suited as the future capital
of Germany, because there is no other German metropolis with a similar
cultural and scientific renown which has such cultural variety or a European
vision."

     Although the federal government has never renounced the idea of one day
establishing the capital in Berlin, Bonn has over the years assumed more than
a provisional character. Before the developments in Eastern Europe,
construction had begun in Bonn to expand the area of government buildings on
the Adenauerallee. This construction work, due to last five years and cost
some DM 81 million, will be completed as planned, according to the Minister
of Planning and Urban Development, Gerda Hasselfeldt. Also under discussion
is the possibility of moving some offices and ministries to Berlin, thus
creating a decentralized federal government.

New York, June 1990