1. main content
  2. main navigation
  3. extra content
  4. head navigation
  5. search
  6. Choose form 30 Languages
 

20 years of a unified Germany

A peaceful revolution, the fall of the Berlin Wall, reunification: DW-WORLD traces Germany's ongoing path to unity 20 years after East and West became one country again.

The German flag is hoisted in front of the Reichstag in Berlin on the night of reunificationBildunterschrift:
DW-WORLD recalls the key events in Germany's history, portrays the protagonists of the peaceful revolution in the GDR, gives contemporary witnesses a voice and reports on the winners and losers on the path to German unity.

 
#moreWWWLinksText#
 
Merkel and others look at Unity Treaty at ceremony

Charges that unification was really an annexation stir up memories

Germany marked the 20th anniversary of the signing of the treaty that sealed German unity, even as some eastern politicians were questioning the deal, which they say was more like annexation than unification. »

 
 
Audios and videos on the topic
 
A group of former GDR diplomats engaged in a lively debate

Former GDR diplomats lost big after German unification

No other group of people has been left as disappointed by German reunification as East Germany's diplomats. Their hopes of continuing to work in the diplomatic service were dashed after 1990. »

 
 
Audios and videos on the topic

Dossier: The highs and lows of reunification

Soon after the Berlin Wall was opened, East and West Germany became one, unified country. But 20 years after the fall of the Wall, Germans are still coming to terms with their combined identity. Click here to read more.  »

 
 
DW-WORLD.DE
Audios and videos on the topic
A small piece of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin

November 9, 1989 - the day that changed European history

In a press conference on Nov. 9, 1989 GDR central committee spokesman Guenter Schabowski unintentionally announced that citizens could travel to West Germany immediately. It was the beginning of the end for East Germany. »

 
 
Audios and videos on the topic

Dossier: The events that led to the fall of communist Europe

Many were surprised when the border between East and West Germany was opened on the night of November 9, 1989. But there had been signs of increasing weakness in the Iron Curtain for the last year. For more, click here.  »

 
 
DW-WORLD.DE
Audios and videos on the topic

Eastern Europe

 
 

Peace prayers

 
 

Fighting for freedom

 
 
 

Dossier: What life was like in communist East Germany

East Germans worked, cooked dinner and spent time with family and friends just like West Germans did. But they were also spied on by the Stasi and kept from leaving by the inner-German border. Click here to learn more.  »

 
 
DW-WORLD.DE
Audios and videos on the topic

Multimedia Special

In pursuit of freedom: GDR escape stories

Explore Deutsche Welle's multimedia presentation of the dramatic stories of those who tried to escape from communist East Germany and the history of the Wall that was meant to keep them in.  »

 
An olive green Soviet-era Trabant is pictured near the Berlin Wall

Walled in! - The inner German border

For the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Deutsche Welle has developed a unique project in cooperation with the Berlin Wall Foundation: an animated depiction of the former German-German border.  »

 
 
Audios and videos on the topic