German Unification - 9780367009069

Taylor & Francis

One of the first major efforts in English to analyze the process of unification and to assess some of the problems facing a united Germany, this book offers a synthesis of opinions. > The East European revolutions of 1989 led to momentous changes throughout the region. Nowhere were they felt more dramatically than in Germany, where unification unexpectedly became reality, unfolding with breathtaking speed, unhindered by major obstacles. However, joy over the fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening of the borders was soon dampene > Preface -- Introduction -- Background and Impetus -- The Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and the GDR: Evolution, Revolution, and Diffusion -- West German Policy Toward East Germany: A Motor of Unification? -- Process and Outcomes -- Delegitimation of the Old Regime: Reforming and Transforming Ideas in the Last Years of the GDR -- Steps Toward Union: The Collapse of the GDR and the Unification of Germany -- Exiting the GDR: Political Move.