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Brandenburg Gate decked out in German flags

Reunified Germany is a nation of many faces and variable success

Two decades after the Cold War, Germany has made great progress in overcoming social divisions. But whether true unity has been achieved depends on whom you ask. We examine what reunification does and could mean. »

 
 
Man carries rainbow flag and torch at Gay Games

Gay rights movement in Germany follows path of reunification

Twenty years after reunification, there is close cooperation between gay activists in eastern and western Germany. But important differences in gay life still remain.  »

 
 
 

Videos

What's left

 
 

The last 20 years

 
 

Germany finds its stride

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at the United Nations

 
 
 
Smoke stacks at a Gelsenkirchen coal factory

In the West, resentment simmers over reunification payments

On the eve of the 20th anniversary of German reunification, many in western German towns like Gelsenkirchen are asking how much longer they'll have to keep paying for the reconstruction of the formerly communist East. »

 
 
 

giving up

A row of shining motorbikes

Enough is enough

Andre Hunger in Zschopau has tried to shape a new career. And failed.»

 
 

true unification

Wedding rings lying on a red rose blossom

Happily ever after

The Farthmanns are one of the few couples from East and West.»

 
 

success story

A cell in Hohenschoenhausen prison

Stasi past

A former Stasi prisoner has made a film about the jail where he was held.»

 
 
 
A black and white photo of East Germans demonstrating in 1989

GDR dissidents made history - then disappeared into it

Twenty years after reunification, few of the East German dissidents who first got the ball rolling are left in the Bundestag. Is it because they're difficult characters? East German? Or is it just how history played out? »

 
 
DW-WORLD.DE

Development

Erich Honecker and Fidel Castro

Communist aid

Twenty years after reunification, little is left of East Germany's development programs.»

 
 

Research

The Leibniz Institute for Plant Biochemistry was one of East Germany's premiere scientific laboratories

GDR scientists

Like in other fields, East German science struggled to find its place in a unified Germany»

 
 

Computers

A screenshot from '1378 km'

Border terror

A new video game, which simulates the deadly former East German border, stirs emotions.»

 
 
 
German fans celebrate during the 2006 soccer World Cup in Germany

European neighbors warm to unified Germany

Europeans were initially wary of the unification of divided Germany. Now, 20 years on, Germany has been fully accepted by its European neighbors. »

 
 
DW-WORLD.DE

How German cities fared

Berlin

Artists spraying graffiti on a wall

Capital culture

Berlin's cultural scene is booming as creative minds are drawn there from all over the world.»

 
 

Torgau

A palace in Torgau

New challenges

Reunification brought restoration projects to east German cities, but new problems came, too.»

 
 

Bonn

The Post Tower in Bonn

Bonn unseated

The seat of government has moved to Berlin, but Bonn has retained its international flair.»

 
 
 

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.  »

 
Feature

DW-TV presents a unique animated depiction of the former German-German border.

Videos

Meet people whose lives have changed dramatically.

Radio special
Two children with German flags painted on their faces

DW-RADIO presents a special show on Germany 20 years after reunification.

Videos

Take a look at Germany today by the numbers.

Picture Gallery
Pictures of stereotypes in East and West Germany

Take a closer look at cliches, beloved products and traditions in East and West Germany.

Picture Gallery

Tour the remains of the Berlin Wall.

Picture gallery
A view through the window of the Palace of the Republic, with the East German emblem