The map above shows the division of Germany. For many decades, the country was divided into two: East and West Germany. The two were separated through an impassable border named the Iron Curtain.
East Germany, known officially as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was formed in 1949 under the rule of the communist Soviet Union. The rest of the country became West Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, and had much more sovereign rights for the people and a more independent society than the East. Despite this division, residents of the GDR can easily transit to the western side and back, prominently for work purposes.
The city of Berlin is located inside East Germany. It is shown on the map by the small orange land within the green vast green-colored area that is the GDR. It, too, became separated by the infamous Berlin Wall, which was built in August 1961. The wall also had the same purpose of separating the city ideologically: the communist-controlled eastern side was more restricted, and the western side had more liberties.
The wall’s formation separated families and friends who live on opposite sides of the city. It has also made it more difficult for people to move around the two sides of the city, and effectively, the two German nations. These restrictions were eased in 1989 when talks of German reunification began.
The reunion of the two German nations occurred in October 1990, when both the Berlin Wall and, eventually, the Iron Curtain fell down. But even after the two countries reunited, their distinction in some aspects remains evident. The area that was once East Germany is finding it difficult to catch up with the former West Germany in terms of economic progress.
The difference also shows in the population of both former countries, even today. Data from Statista, published in 2017, show that West Germany had a significantly larger population than the East. By the time the Berlin Wall fell in 1990, the West had a population of over 63.7 million people, while the East only had about 16 million people residing in it.
As of 2016, the former western side has more than 66 million residents, and the former eastern side houses over 16.1 million people, totaling roughly 80 million people for all of Germany.
Here are some books that talk about the rather turbulent history of post-war Germany:
- Passageway West: My Escape from East Germany
- The Berlin Wall: The History and Legacy of the World’s Most Notorious Wall
- Undeclared Wars with Israel: East Germany and the West German Far Left, 1963-1989
- Burned Bridge: How East and West Germans Made the Iron Curtain
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