"The negative attitude of many former East Germans in the 1990's to the new unified Germany can be attributed solely to economic factors". For what reasons would you agree or disagree with this statement?

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“The negative attitude of many former East Germans in the 1990’s to the new unified Germany can be attributed solely to economic factors”.  For what reasons would you agree or disagree with this statement?

The fall of the Berlin Wall on 9th November 1989 came as a result of Erich Honecker being replaced by Egon Krenz after his resignation on the 18th October 1989.  Krenz attempted to win the support of the East German population by allowing them to travel into the West.  The opening of the wall however had major impacts on the economy of both Eastern and Western Germany.  Prior to the opening of the wall, Western Germany was one of the world’s major economic powers.  At that time, only Japan and the United States of America (USA) possessed a larger economy.  An example of the strength of the West Germany Economy at this time is the fact that in 1988, West Germans exported goods to the value of 568 Billion DM.  Furthermore, the rate of unemployment was virtually zero and well below the average of the EU (EU).  It is important to note that Germany is the most populous member of the EU, with some 81 million inhabitants and it is the third largest country in the EU, covering an area of approximately 357,000 Km².

On the other hand, the East German Economy was in an extremely unstable position in 1989.  The quality of produce had taken a sharp fall and there were many consumer shortages in cars, certain meats, fruits and vegetables.  Also, goods such as personal computers became excessively expensive.  As well as these problems, there were some positive features of the Communist economy for the East German people.  One of the most positive was the fact that unemployment was not even officially recognised.

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On July 1, 1990, the economies of the two Germanys became one. It was the first time in history that a capitalist and a socialist economy had suddenly become one, and there were no precise guidelines on how it could be done. Instead, a number of problems came to the surface and the most severe was the comparatively poor productivity of the former East German economy and its links to the collapsing socialist economies of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. 

In general, Unification caused many disastrous effects on the East German Economy.  The manufacturing output fell sharply ...

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