Reacting to German Reunification

On October 3, 1990, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) were reunified as one single state, recreating a country that had not existed since the end of World War II. The divide between East Germany and West Germany had been both a political event and also a symbolic one, between Western democracies and Eastern Communist countries. The Berlin Wall may have been the most famous symbol of this divide, splitting the capital city in half. As such an important site of Cold War conflict, tearing down the Berlin Wall to reconnect the city in November 1989 was one of the most important moments that year. Less than one year later, the two Germanies reunified, beginning the process of reintegrating Eastern Europe into the West. On such an important day, U.S. President George Bush called the German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, to add his congratulations to the festivities.