20 Years in Germany - 1990 to 2010
Germany celebrates the 20th anniversary of its reunification and 20 years of convergence between East and West. A review of two moving decades.
1990 – Germany is one country again. The Treaty on German Unity comes into force on 3 October: the former GDR (East Germany) joins the territory covered by West Germany's constitution (Basic Law). Earlier, the Two-Plus-Four Treaty between the foreign ministers of the two German states and the victorious powers of the Second World War had paved the way for reunification.
1991 – New seat of government. The constitutive session of the first all-German parliament (Bundestag) is held in Berlin's Reichstag building in January. Subsequent sessions move back to Bonn. On 20 June, the Bundestag votes for Berlin as the new seat of parliament and government. Eight years later, the parliamentarians finally move into the Reichstag building.
1992 – Coming to terms with the past. Citizens gain access to the mountains of files compiled by the GDR's Ministry for State Security (“StasiStasi
die Stasi (nur Sg.): "Stasi" ist eine Kurzform für "Ministerium für Staatssicherheit" (MfS) und war der Geheimdienst der DDR. ”) after decades of spying on the population. Joachim Gauck, Federal Commissioner for the StasiStasi
die Stasi (nur Sg.): "Stasi" ist eine Kurzform für "Ministerium für Staatssicherheit" (MfS) und war der Geheimdienst der DDR. Archives, is inundated with applications to inspect files.
1993 – “Aufbau Ost”. The Solidarity Pact East (later Solidarity Pact I) becomes law on 13 March. It allocates a total of 94.5 billion euros up to the end of 2004 for “economic reconstruction in the east” (i.e. the former GDR, now five new federal states). From 2005 to 2019 the Solidarity Pact II pledges a further 156 billion euros to the new states.
1994 – Farewell to the Allies. To great applause from the population of Berlin, the troops of the Western Allies hold a final joint parade on 18 June; their presence in the capital ends officially on 8 September. The last Russian troops also leave Berlin – and take their leave by singing a marching song in German.
1995 – Spectacular art event. Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrap Berlin's Reichstag building for two weeks in the summer. The happening attracts about five million people: a cultural highlight for the reunited city.
1996 – “New Berlin”. The complete redesign of Berlin's Potsdamer Platz makes progress. But before star architects like Renzo Piano and Arata Isozaki complete their works of art, Daniel Barenboim conducts a Ballet of the Cranes on 26 October.
1997 – Berlin is jumping. The Love Parade on 12 July attracts over a million participants for the first time. Techno music fans from all over the world dance in the streets to the electronic beat.
1998 – Wall memorial. A monument to Germany's partition and the victims of the Berlin Wall is opened on 13 August as the first part of the Berlin Wall Memorial. Two steel walls enclose a section of the Wall. A documentation centre is added to the memorial in 1999, the Chapel of Reconciliation in 2000.
1999 – Capital of Culture. Weimar, city of those princes among poets Goethe and Schiller, is the European Capital of Culture. Its visitors are fascinated by this centre of German classicism and Bauhaus art. Seven million day tourists visit the city in 1999.
2000 – Expo in Germany. Germany's first world exhibition is held from 1 June to 31 October: EXPO 2000. The venue is Hanover, the motto: “People – Nature – Technology”. About 18 million people visit the Expo.
2001 – Bayern are number one. Bayern Munich, internationally Germany's most famous soccer club, wins the Champions League on 23 May. Six months after winning the crown of European club football, they also take home the Intercontinental Cup.
2002 – Solidarity. Germany suffers serious floods following torrential rains. The eastern states along the River Elbe are particularly hard hit. But the whole of the country helps: volunteers from all over Germany support the fire brigade, the THW (governmental disaster relief organization), the German Red Cross and the Bundeswehr (army) with donations totalling 500 million euros.
2003 – Summer of the century. A heat wave produces the hottest August since weather records began. The water level in the Rhine falls to a record low.
2004 – Building European bridges. EU enlargement – adding ten mostly central and eastern European countries – comes into force on 1 May. At the Frankfurt/Oder–Slubice border crossing, Germany celebrates with Poland, its neighbour and new EU partner. The German and Polish Foreign Ministers shake hands on the Oder bridge that links the two cities.
2005 – Frauenkirche as a symbol of peace. 60 years after its destruction during the Second World War, the rebuilt Dresden Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) shines in new splendour. It is consecrated on 30 October.
2006 – Carefree festival of football. The men's World Cup becomes a “summer fairytale” for the hosts Germany. Although the German team are beaten in the semi-final by the later champions Italy, the carefree and peaceful atmosphere throughout the country makes for a real festival of football.
2007 – Global summit. The heads of state and government of the seven leading industrial nations and Russia meet in the Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm. The G8 Summit's discussions focus on global strategies to protect the climate and measures to help Africa fight AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
2008 – Bonn fights biopiracy. The ninth UN Conference on Biological Diversity meets in Bonn in May. The member states pledge to fight biopiracy in particular. Germany will hold the presidency of the convention up to the follow-up conference in Japan in October 2010 – and aims to continue the fight against the exploitation of biological resources.
2009 – Celebrating the fall of the Berlin Wall. Germany is joined by guests from all over the world to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November. An impressive firework display lights up the sky above the BrandenburgBrandenburg
Brandenburg: Bundesland im Nordosten von Deutschland. Hauptstadt: Potsdam Gate. Earlier, 1000 massive dominoes had fallen along the Wall's former route.
2010 – Vision of the future. “Better City, Better Life” is the motto of the Expo in Shanghai, China. Germany presents “balancity”, an eco-friendly pavilion that stands for the balance between nature and the modern city.
2010 – Lena superstar. She is Germany’s young face, the face of the “unity generation”: Lena Meyer-Landrut, born six months after reunification in Hanover, has enchanted Germany and Europe. The 19-year-old won the Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo by a large margin with her song Satellite, watched by over 120 million people across the continent. Germany celebrated, Europe was astonished. Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle commented: “Whether intentionally or not, you are an ambassador for our country who in a single night has refuted many a long-established prejudice – in the nicest of ways.”
Yet just a few weeks ago Lena was just a normal high school student. When she won a talent show, rock poet Marius Müller-Westernhagen soon recognized: “People will love you!” What is Lena’s secret? She has wit and dry charm, doesn’t take herself too seriously. And she doesn’t just go with the flow, she has a mind of her own. In short, she is genuine and has charisma – and there’s no recipe for that.
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