Kirjahaku

Defeat and unconditional surrender: these were the foundations on which post-war Germany was built. The overall impact, however, was not apathy, but a mentality which was down to earth, pragmatic, and forward-looking. Democracy, economic liberalism, and European integration were the signposts to the future. Even though the old ruling elite with their power base in the agrarian East had been swept away by the end of the war, the social and industrial fabric of Germany society did not crumble altogether. Crucial structures survived and contributed to West Germany's phenomenal recovery, while the East was forced to submit to a ruthless Soviet leadership. Now, however, following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the aftermath of German reunification will be long and painful, for never have two economies and societies been fused together which had grown as far apart as West and East Germany. Lothar Kettenacker's book offers a fascinating survey of the fortunes and features of East and West Germany - how the two states drifted apart; the differences between their economies, politics, and cultures; and the problems and events surrounding their unification.

In autumn 1989 the world watched transfixed as East German citizens, demonstrating under the banner ‘We are the people!’, staged the only successful, totally peaceful revolution in German history. By October 1990, the process of reunification was formally concluded, bringing together a nation that had been divided for almost four decades. Now, nearly twenty years later, it is possible to judge the causes and consequences of the revolution more clearly. Was the fall of the Berlin Wall an unexpected fluke, or was it, in fact, the result of a long process of engagement between East and West? And did the momentous events of 1989 really signal the start of a bright new future for a united Germany? In this probing and wide-ranging account, Lothar Kettenacker considers the background behind the division of Germany and explains how the Berlin Wall and its death trap border proved to be the most horrendous manifestation of East-West antagonism. He also looks beyond 1990 to show how the confusion caused by the sudden collapse of the GDR and the fusion of two radically different economies is proving to be a challenge that will preoccupy Germany for generations to come.