There were a few components that led to the unification of the GDR and the Federal Republic. Most of them began in 1989. In the summer of that year, thousands of East German "vacationers" in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and other eastern bloc states escaped through holes in the iron curtain or pushed into West German embassies to demand free entry into their country. On September 10th, Hungary opened it's borders to Austria and 50,000 East Germans fled to the west. In the next 5 months, over 100,000 more fled. Millions demonstrated in Leipzig, Dresden, and East Berlin. Gorbachov refused to involve the Soviet Union. Between October and December the SED party had lost nearly one million members and Honecker was forced to resign. On November 9th, East German police unlocked checkpoints along the Berlin Wall and lacking any other orders allowed anyone through. In May 1990, President Gorbachav announced that a united Germany would be free to join any alliance it wanted.

Official Unification took place on October 3, 1990. West and East approved a unification treaty along with their four allied. The GDR ceased to exist by acceding to the Federal Republic and splitting into 5 new states. West Germany had taken over the electoral process in the East before official unification in what was the east's first free election in March 1990. They defined the issues of unification and worked out strategies with their East German party allies. Civil Servants were sent to the east, once officials were elected, to help them build new governments and teach them how to govern democratically. East German teachers were also retrained . Many of them were fired or forced into early retirement because of their affiliation with the Communist party before unification. To merge the west and east economically the West German Deutsche Mark became the sole currency for both states.

The two major issues under debate with unification were deciding what to do with the Stasi files and choosing one abortion law for both states. In 1991, East Germans were allowed access to their own Stasi files. They were able to identify who was spying on them and prosecute them. In June 1992, a unified abortion law was passed that was similar to the East German pro-choice law. The law was declared unconstitutional in 1993. Finally in 1995, a new law was put in place. Abortion was allowed during the first trimester, but only if approved by a counselor after a woman had made an appointment to talk to them. With these major issues handled for the time being and the support of the Soviet Union the unification process was free to continue.

There were many problems when unification began and many still exist today. The psychological differences in East Germans and West Germans existed even before unification. The west always considered itself Germany and their neighbors East Germany. East Germany never felt a part of Germany. After unification, East Germans felt like they were being forced to conform to western ideas. West Germans took over businesses in the east and were not sympathetic to the employees there. For example, if they heard of a man who would not apply for a job far from home they would consider him lazy. But when the east was under Communist rule the people relied on the government to find them a job close to home. Also employees working at stores would seem to be rude towards customers in the eyes of the West Germans. This was because before unification when people heard there was a supply of a certain food item there would be crowds of people in the stores being rude to the employees, so they were not expected to be helpful or friendly. East Germans saw their bosses from the west as arrogant or inhumane. They could not understand the desire for productivity and competitiveness.

Another cause of the psychological differences is resentment. With unification of German government came the strong influences of western political policies being forced on the east. East Germans decline in party membership shows their dissatisfaction with West German dominated party organizations. Also under communism they had been forced to participate in politics. Now that they did not have to many chose not too. Most were too busy trying to adjust to the new Germany since unification that they had no time. But many felt there was no party that understood their problems. The PDS was the one party that East Germans could identify with from before unification. This party has the success it does in the east because they feel this is the one party they can support to show their protest against the West German policies.

There are also economic differences that persist between east and west. Unlike before unification, products in the east now needed hard currency to be purchased. Western products were preferred and once the East Germans converted their money to Duetchmarks they flooded the western markets. They bought all their products that those in the west had been enjoying, but many spent too much and with all the spending being done in the west sales in the east dropped. Rent was also something that was being raised in the east and adding to the economic burden.

There were also differences in wages and productivity between east and west. East Germans make only 80% of what their counterparts in the west do, yet their levels of productivity aren't any higher. So workers in the east are basically being paid more for doing less work. High production costs add to the biggest economic problem of unemployment in the east. Another cause of unemployment could be contributed to the shutting down of 60% of industrial plants in 1990 alone. Before unification, there were about 9.2 million jobs in the east, that number dropped to 6.2 million by 1992. That's a loss of 3 million jobs. 1.3 million of these employees are officially unemployed. 850,000 have taken early retirement. Another 550,000 commute to jobs in the west. The remaining 300,000 are in government-subsidized retraining programs, working part time jobs, or have moved to the West. Unemployment will continue to be a problem until eastern companies can run themselves without relying on aid from the west.

The east also suffers from ecological problems on top of everything. In 1991, only 3% of rivers and streams were ecologically in tact. Only 1% of lakes were free of pollution. 80% of streams, rivers, and lakes were biologically dead or heavily polluted. Environmentalists remain concerned about the amount of toxic materials present in river sediments.

It's not just the east that still suffers from the troubles of unification. The west faces it's own problems. They may not suffer the psychological burden but they do carry the financial burden of rebuilding the east. The "German Unity" transportation plan involving 17 railroads, Autubahn, and the waterway construction cost $40 billion. The telephone system cost $27 billion. To connect East Germany to the European Gas Supply cost $7 billion. By 2000, unification had cost over $700 billion. To pay for all this many added taxes were placed on West Germans. Between 1991-1995 taxes on insurance policies increased from 7-15%. Also during this time fuel oil and gasoline taxes increased by nearly 65%. In 1995, a 7.5% tax increase was reinstated on incomes. By 1999, the average West German household was paying $225 a month in added taxes.

While the west did make investments in rebuilding and restoration in the east it was mainly in the area of business and historic sections of cities where they could expect a better return on investments. They overlooked the rehabilitation of poorly built housing because they knew most easterners would not buy their own apartments and they would lose money. As a result the condition of many buildings remains poor in the east. Buildings barely 20 years old are already in need of great repair because of their poor quality when they were built. Westerners who bought state owned factories in the east ended up shutting them down to reduce competition with their own companies in the west. This only increased resentment of the easterners. Easterners who tried to start up their own businesses could not get a start up loan because they didn't have sufficient income or collateral.

It is obvious that the east continues to deal with most of the problems of unification. They must also struggle to rebuild their economy, many needing to find new jobs. They have an unhealthy environment due to years of neglect. Most importantly they are in a daily struggle to identify themselves while being forced to conform to the standards of the west. Their high expectations were let down. They feel left out and not represented in government. They have withdrawn to the private sector as a result. While in the west the main burden that still exists from unification is the great financial burden they must bear. Many believe that in time everything will work itself out. But unification will always leave a mark on Germans for generations to come.