The journey to Germany's reunification
Learn about the introduction of the deutsche mark as the official currency of East Germany in 1990, a vital step toward German reunification.
Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz
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Transcript
NARRATOR: Midnight on the 3rd of October, 1990, four decades of German separation come to an end.
CROWD MEMBER: "One Berlin without border, without wall, without anything."
NARRATOR: It is an event that was unimaginable only a year before. Then the wall came down on the Nov. 9, 1989. The East German government could no longer withstand the pressure. It was the climax of the peaceful revolution in the German Democratic Republic.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE: "I thought that German reunification was really still unlikely to happen. How could the Soviet Union allow Germany to unify?"
NARRATOR: German hopes are pinned on the Soviet Head of State Michail Gorbachev. He wants people to freely decide about their future in a common Europe.
MICHAIL GORBACHEV: "The German question was a sore point. Without a solution for this problem we could never have ended the Cold War."
NARRATOR: The two German states are in talks with the four victorious powers to decide about the path to unification. They are under pressure. Gorbachev has opponents in Moscow, who want to bring him down. The USA, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union give their approval. But the decision lies with the first freely elected People’s Parliament of the GDR. On the evening of the Aug. 22, 1990, Prime Minister de Maiziere calls an extraordinary meeting.
RICHARD SCHRÖDER: "Everyone wanted to get rid of everything connected to the GDR. And that’s why this argument that we find odd today, was crucial. We do not want to witness the 41st anniversary of the GDR."
NARRATOR: There is heated debate in Parliament. It is midnight before the delegates are ready to vote.
SPEAKER: "294 delegates voted yes."
NARRATOR: It’s a yes for unification with only 62 opposed. On the Oct. 3 1990, the divided country is united again, less than one year after the fall of the Berlin wall.
LOTHAR DE MAIZIÈRE: "I think there are rarely hours or moments in which a people are as happy as it was then."
NARRATOR: But the future remains uncertain for many.
SYLVIA BIEßMANN: "There were incredibly many people who were frightened of getting caught up in the whirlwind of history."
BERND-LUTZ LANGE: "Nobody thought of the consequences. Warning voices were ignored."
HELMUT KOHL: "Throughout this century, the Germans probably never had as much sympathy from across the world as they had on that night."
NARRATOR: On the 3rd of October, 1990, German reunification becomes reality. But internal unification has only just begun.
CROWD MEMBER: "One Berlin without border, without wall, without anything."
NARRATOR: It is an event that was unimaginable only a year before. Then the wall came down on the Nov. 9, 1989. The East German government could no longer withstand the pressure. It was the climax of the peaceful revolution in the German Democratic Republic.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE: "I thought that German reunification was really still unlikely to happen. How could the Soviet Union allow Germany to unify?"
NARRATOR: German hopes are pinned on the Soviet Head of State Michail Gorbachev. He wants people to freely decide about their future in a common Europe.
MICHAIL GORBACHEV: "The German question was a sore point. Without a solution for this problem we could never have ended the Cold War."
NARRATOR: The two German states are in talks with the four victorious powers to decide about the path to unification. They are under pressure. Gorbachev has opponents in Moscow, who want to bring him down. The USA, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union give their approval. But the decision lies with the first freely elected People’s Parliament of the GDR. On the evening of the Aug. 22, 1990, Prime Minister de Maiziere calls an extraordinary meeting.
RICHARD SCHRÖDER: "Everyone wanted to get rid of everything connected to the GDR. And that’s why this argument that we find odd today, was crucial. We do not want to witness the 41st anniversary of the GDR."
NARRATOR: There is heated debate in Parliament. It is midnight before the delegates are ready to vote.
SPEAKER: "294 delegates voted yes."
NARRATOR: It’s a yes for unification with only 62 opposed. On the Oct. 3 1990, the divided country is united again, less than one year after the fall of the Berlin wall.
LOTHAR DE MAIZIÈRE: "I think there are rarely hours or moments in which a people are as happy as it was then."
NARRATOR: But the future remains uncertain for many.
SYLVIA BIEßMANN: "There were incredibly many people who were frightened of getting caught up in the whirlwind of history."
BERND-LUTZ LANGE: "Nobody thought of the consequences. Warning voices were ignored."
HELMUT KOHL: "Throughout this century, the Germans probably never had as much sympathy from across the world as they had on that night."
NARRATOR: On the 3rd of October, 1990, German reunification becomes reality. But internal unification has only just begun.