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The Reasons of the German Reunification Essay

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The division of Germany into West Germany and East Germany emerged as a stopgap solution for the woeful state of the nation following its defeat in the Second World War. With the United States (US) ultimately gaining full control over West Germany, East Germany increasingly became alienated towards it, as it went under the influence of the Soviet Union (USSR). West Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), rapidly grew into one of the most politically and economically influential nations in Europe representing the democratic interests of the US in the region, while East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR), went seemingly the other way. East Germans became increasingly disillusioned by the way their …show more content…

To formalize German reunification, parties to the “two plus four” negotiations considered two options from the Basic Law of the FRG – Articles 23 and 146. Article 23 provided for the incorporation of new states via majority voting, while Article 146 stipulated formal reunification of the FRG and GDR through the creation of an entirely new constitution. Considering that Article 146 requires a longer period for formally reunifying the FRG and GDR, the “two plus four” negotiations opted to use Article 23 instead to facilitate German reunification quickly via incorporation. Whereas Article 23 emerged as a practical choice for German reunification, in that it enabled the FRG to take over the five former GDR states under its Basic Law (as amended) and effectively retain its membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), United Nations (UN) and the European Community (later known as the European Union), several political and economic problems continue to plague Germany following reunification (Fulbrook 243-257; Turner 225-255).
Reunification Sentiments throughout Germany The reunification of the FRG and GDR did not translate to the complete resolution of political and economic problems that alienated the Western and Eastern parts of Germany from one another. Given that the FRG and GDR

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