The major problems that emerged from the fall of the wall for the newly united Germany - Essay Example

Reflecting upon and referring to the events outlined in the lesson, this paper will give the writer’s opinion on what the major problems emerging from the fall of the wall were, and if and how they could have been avoided. The problems Germany faced after reunification arose from the initial causes of the division. Although it was clear by 1990 that both East and West Germany intended strongly to reunite into a common German federal republic, the most notable problems were political, economical and social.

In East Germany, not only did the Party of Democratic Socialism undergo heavy defeat in the first free elections, but East Germany’s infrastructure and economy almost collapsed (Muller, Judd & Yzerbyt 2005). East Germany may have been considered the most vigorous economy in the Soviet bloc, but I think it’s economic near-collapse was a manifestation of its shaky and ill-planned communist foundations. Rather than gaining stability from its relative wealth, East Germany’s relative poverty destabilized it.

There continued to be different mentalities between those from the East and those from the West. East Germans had been guaranteed the right to work, with 80 percent of its women employed, and outstanding childcare had been provided by the state. In contrast, the West, whose systems were driven by the markets, social services were continuously being cut and getting jobs was difficult. The reunion made it even more difficult for workers from East Germany to get jobs (although those who got them benefited greatly) because they had to adapt to new systems that rendered them insufficiently trained (Muller, Judd & Yzerbyt 2005).

My opinion is that this was a consequence of the conception of two new identities which had no roots in the history of the country prior to 1949. Four decades of division had created a social problem in which West Germans (Wessis) were perceived by foreigners as well as most West