FULL REPORT

A Primer on German Reunification	December 22, 1989

Report Outline
Special Focus

Introduction

As East Germany rushes headlong toward democracy—and perhaps toward capitalism—the lip service paid for years to German reunification is now being put to the test of reality. But standing in the way are a host of difficulties: historical fears arising from Germany's Nazi past as well as its role in World War I; economic fears arising from the strength of both Germanys' economies; and geopolitical fears arising from the warming but still skittish relations between East and West.

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Overview

It all began last May, when Hungary removed the barbed-wire fences along its border with Austria. Almost Immediately, East German citizens, mostly young, productive workers and their families, began streaming across the opened border in droves. By early fall, the East German government was forced to open the doors to the West for successive groups of its citizens. In short time, the crisis proved too much for the leadership. On Oct. 18, Erich Honecker, the longtime East German Communist Party leader and head of state, stepped down.

His successor, former security police chief Egon Krenz, purged the party leadership and lifted travel restrictions, hopeful that reforms could save the regime that had governed East Germany for the past four decades. But it was not enough. On Nov. 4, a half-million East Berliners took to the streets to demand free elections and freedom of travel. Citizens in other cities followed suit. The government resigned.

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