#长文创作激励计划#
At the end of the eighties, when the world was turbulent and the balance of power between Eastern and Western Europe had changed dramatically, the leader of West Germany, Kohl, intended to take advantage of this opportunity to achieve the reunification of the two Germanys.
That night, countless people were partying
Although the two Germans have only been divided for more than 40 years, after all, there is a gap between two generations, and there are already great differences between the two sides, whether it is economic or ideological, so if you want to be reunified, it is not a simple piece of paper that can be decided, and there are too many interests and contradictions involved behind it.
The United States, the Soviet Union, Britain and France will be dealt with, and there will be no external forces obstructing reunification
And what is in front of Cole is how to deal with the Soviet Union, the United States, Britain and France, after all, without their nod, Cole's road to unification is destined to be unrealized, Cole thinks about it, and is ready to start with the leaders of the Eastern and Western camps, the United States and the Soviet Union, as long as they are leveled, it will be much easier to deal with Britain and France.
West Germany and East Germany
The first thing to do was the Soviet Union, and to be honest, the Soviet Union at this time was already in decline, and it was helpless in the face of dramatic changes in Eastern Europe, and at most it verbally opposed.
For this reason, Kohl expressed his willingness to provide 12 billion marks of aid to the Soviet Union free of charge, and at the same time provide a low-interest loan of 9 billion marks, which was 13 billion dollars at that time, which can be said to be quite generous.
In addition to providing financial assistance, Kohl also promised to spend $10 billion to cover the evacuation and resettlement costs of the 150,000 East German garrisons, and to provide another $130 million for training, although the Soviet Union could continue to garrison troops in Germany, but only for 15 years.
Soviet garrison
Kohl then joined the EC and provided $6.5 billion in loans and $1 billion in food aid in the name of the EC.
With 30 billion dollars in various financial aids, it succeeded in getting the nod of the Soviet Union.
The next one is the United States, which has always wanted to rely on NATO to meddle in European affairs, but it did not expect that France and Germany actually created the European Community, with the European Community leading European affairs, and for this reason France also withdrew from NATO, which caused the United States to be very dissatisfied.
Kohl said that a unified Germany will remain firmly within the NATO system and continue to support the United States as a leader.
So what else can the United States say? He nodded happily.
The United States and the Soviet Union have done it, the following is Britain and France, to be honest, they are quite opposed to the reunification of Germany, Britain has never liked the emergence of unified continental countries in Europe, many checks and balances, and a divided Germany is in line with Britain's interests, as for France, France and Germany are feuds, not to mention in modern times, and France prides itself on being the big brother of the European continent, and does not like to have a unified Germany next to it to obstruct itself.
But Cole said that this is not a problem, France's appeal is to be the boss of the European continent, no problem, just support him, Cole actively helped France to run for the European Community, and expressed support for France's right to speak in the European Community, what can France say? Unify, brother.
The Soviet Union, the United States, and France all got it, and it was useless for Britain to oppose it, but Kohl still promised Britain that a unified Germany would give up any territorial claims, and Kohl gave up territories other than Germany, and Britain also made concessions.
The site of the signing of the Treaty on the Final Settlement of the German Question in Moscow
In this way, after Kohl's diplomatic mediation, there were no more external obstructions, and all that remained was the interior of East Germany.
West Germany promised to spend its money on aid to give the people of East Germany a good life
At this time, life in East Germany was not easy, various opposition voices rose one after another, and even many people fled to West Germany, just as Kohl put forward a plan for reunification, which was supported by the East German people, who believed that as long as the two Germany were reunified, East Germany would live the same good life as West Germany.
Kohl and Bargochev
In fact, Cole also promised this and came up with a specific plan:
1. West Germany did not annex East Germany, but East Germany joined West Germany in the form of autonomy and was equal;
2. After reunification, East German marks within 4,000 can be exchanged for West German marks on a one-to-one basis, and more than 4,000 on a one-to-two exchange, you know, on the black market, 1,000 West German marks can be exchanged for 5,000 East German marks, and Kohl's move is to ensure the wealth of the East German people as much as possible;
3. All of East Germany's foreign debts will be repaid by Germany after reunification;
4. The pension and medical system of East Germany were borne by Germany after reunification;
5. In order to support the people of East Germany, after reunification, the West German region will pay a sum of money to the people of East Germany, that is, the "solidarity surcharge", and continue to transfuse blood for East Germany (which still exists today, about 14 billion euros per year);
6. After reunification, Germany will continue to improve infrastructure for East Germany, etc.
Such favorable conditions for reunification, coupled with the already abundant materials in West Germany, were welcomed by the East German people, and they also fantasized about a better life after reunification.
East Germany in the eighties
On July 1, 1990, the West German Mark entered East Germany, which was actually controlled by West Germany and was gradually being dismembered by West Germany, but the people at the bottom did not know it, and were still waiting for the day of reunification, but the former East German officials, who saw the change in the situation, began to prepare.
The GDR had already disbanded the army and parliament, and the GDR was in fact anarchy, and all kinds of bulls, horses, ghosts and gods began to break the law and discipline, and officials wantonly resold East Germany's state-owned assets, such as a large amount of public funds mysteriously disappeared, to raise funds for their exile abroad.
On October 3, 1991, the East German region was officially incorporated into West Germany as five states at the request of West Germany, thus reunifying Germany, and East Germany, which had existed for 41 years, also became a historical term.
It's just that after reunification, did East Germany really live a good life?
The good times of the GDR were only in vain after all
Political reckoning
The joy of reunification was short-lived, and then the East German people felt a huge gap, and the first to feel the chill were the former East German officials.
After reunification, former GDR Chancellor Jean-Pierre Mezier served as Minister of Special Tasks of Germany, while 144 members of the former East German parliamentarians joined the West German Bundestag and promised to hold an all-German general election the following year, but in the subsequent general election, the former East German political forces were completely suppressed.
Cole
The former East German officials disappeared from politics one after another, and even Mezier received accusations and was forced to resign, and it was also from this time that after the reunification of Germany, except for Merkel in the future, there was no more influential politician from East Germany.
After the election, Germany set up the "Former German Government Crime Investigation Group", and a large number of former East German leaders were arrested and put on trial.
The worst of all was the former East German Chancellor Honecker, who was forced to step down, fell seriously ill after his resignation, and only the hospital of the Soviet garrison was willing to take him in, but even so, he still received charges of ordering the shooting of those who fled to West Berlin who crossed the wall.
Honecker
In addition to Honecker, other East German leaders also lived a very miserable old age, living on pensions, and even so, meager pensions continued to be deducted, such as Honecker's pension was cut from the original 2,210 marks to 510 marks.
In his later years, Honecker was forced to live in Chile because he was not tolerated by Germany, and died of liver cancer in Chile in 1994.
Of course, with the exception of Honecker, as long as he worked in the East German Ministry of State Security before his death, he was liquidated and suppressed in all directions.
In addition to the officials, that is, the former social education and scientific research personnel of East Germany, after all, East Germany and West Germany had different ideologies, and they were not tolerated by West Germany, as long as they were teachers and professors who carried out socialist education, all were dismissed, half of the army was dismantled, and the rest were ideologically transformed.
Such large-scale layoffs directly caused the unemployment of hundreds of thousands of civil servants in East Germany.
Economic plunder
After reunification, due to the destruction of the original production and life mechanism of East German industry, but the new mechanism has not yet been established, it directly led to the forced production of a large number of factories to stop, for example, in the year of reunification, East Germany's industrial output fell by 44%, trade fell by 41%, and the operating rate of the whole enterprise was only 30%, so it was first entrusted by the West German Trusteeship.
A busy scene at the port of Rostock in East Germany on July 14, 1965
But the so-called trusteeship is just convenient to be plundered by some oligarchs.
The West German region claims that East Germany's industries are heavy industrial products such as chemicals, metallurgy, and machinery, and that they are all low-profit and polluting enterprises. And most of them are losing money, and they are in a state of making ends meet.
To tell the truth, can you make ends meet, the currency exchange rates of East Germany and West Germany are originally different, and now they are forcibly exchanged one to one, which is beneficial to the people of East Germany on the surface, but in fact, the wages of East Germany will be increased several times in an instant, what company can bear it? Therefore, the West German Trusteeship could only be responsible for valuation, and it was either discontinued or sold to West German entrepreneurs.
At that time, East Germany was so moved by Kohl's promise that it did not consider the supply and demand, prices, costs and labor costs of a company, all of which were completely forgotten in the impact of unification.
However, West German enterprises were unscathed in this wave of shock, and even took the opportunity to plunder the wealth of East Germany, after all, it was pure meat, and it was a bite to eat, and all means were used.
For example, there is a potash mine in Thuringenharz in East Germany, which is a key industrial sector in East Germany, but there is also such an enterprise in West Germany, that is, the potash mine produced by Chemical Kangzeen, and the West German Trusteeship Bureau said that the products in East Germany are not competitive, the products are not marketable, and they are non-viable enterprises, and then they are forcibly closed, which directly leads to the unemployment of 12,000 workers.
Was it true that potash mines in East Germany were inferior to those in West Germany? Perhaps it was just to protect West German industry.
Another example is the Fortschritt East German Advance Machinery Factory, which is the second largest enterprise in the East Germany, before reunification, the Advance Agricultural Machinery Complex has 57,000 employees, and its agricultural machinery has been sold well in more than 60 countries around the world, and the mainland has also imported a lot, with an annual output value of up to 7.5 billion East German marks.
Combine harvester at the Advance Maschinenbaulik in East Germany (presented at the Leipzig Autumn Fair 1978)
But it is such a high-quality enterprise, but it has become uncompetitive in the impact, various costs have increased sharply, and in the end it cannot sell anything, and it is forced to finally go bankrupt and acquire.
Another example is the refrigerator manufactured by VEB DKK Scharfenstein, which is a best-selling refrigerator in West Germany, and its first freon-free refrigeration technology is also an international standard. Eventually, they pressured the Trusteeship Bureau, shut down the business, and then handed over the technology.
And they made a good excuse and declared to the public that the freon-free refrigeration technology could spontaneously combust and was a dangerous technology, but after they got the technology, they never said that there was a problem with the technology.
Another example is a heating facility construction plant in East Germany, which did not receive an initial impact due to its advanced technology and professional technicians, and has 38 million marks of real estate and 160 million real funds, and will have a profit of more than 100 million in the next few years.
However, it was assessed as a non-performing asset by the Trusteeship Bureau, and was finally bought by a person named Rodman in West Germany for 2 million, and immediately after getting it, he lent it to some unknown company, so that the company had no cash flow, and then declared bankruptcy, directly causing 12,000 workers to lose their jobs, and then justifiably sold the original fixed assets.
The former East German flag
There are countless examples of this, and it can be said that in the early days of reunification, almost all East German enterprises went bankrupt in this way, and then they were bought by various capitalists at the price of cabbage, and then the former workers were fired, which eventually led to the mass unemployment of millions of East German workers, who had never had to worry about unemployment until now.
Of course, there is also debt, yes, West Germany originally estimated that East German enterprises would be worth 600 billion marks, but in the rapid privatization and various low-price estimates, the East German people did not get a cent of this money, but also saddled with 350 billion debts, after all, many enterprises were "insolvent" and went bankrupt, and naturally went into debt again.
Agriculture is in recession and prices are skyrocketing
Before reunification, East Germany had an abundant supply of meat, milk and eggs, and its consumption was among the highest in the world.
However, after reunification, the European Community's agricultural products, which were cheaper in cost and price, came in, and the original East German commercial system joined forces with the West German commercial system to monopolize the market and only buy from West Germany, completely suppressing East German agriculture.
In 1990, the agricultural output of East Germany hit a new high, but even if the price was reduced, it could not be sold, and the commercial system did not buy it, so it could only be piled up in warehouses and rotted in the ground, and the farmers who cultivated the land were equivalent to a year's work.
After reunification, the new national flag was raised
And the corresponding is the soaring prices, don't look at the East Germany and West Germany currency one-to-one exchange, but the commodity at this time to take the opportunity to rise in price, the reputation of the same price and West Germany, in fact, is to jointly harvest the wealth of the East German people.
In the spring of 1991, the number of unemployed and semi-unemployed people in East Germany was as high as 3 million, and excessive unemployment gave rise to serious security problems, not to mention that all the rules of East Germany used to be now subject to West Germany's, so nominally East Germany joined West Germany, but in essence it was annexed.
From this, it can be seen that West Germany has limited the clever move to deal with the leaders of East Germany, after all, no one has taken the lead for East Germany, and the East Germans can only be incompetent and furious.
In 1991, Kohl, who single-handedly led the reunification of Germany, visited East Germany, but was thrown rotten eggs by an angry crowd claiming that Kohl was a liar, and the head of the Trusteeship Agency, Loweeder, was shot dead on April 1 of that year.
Cole who was smashed with an egg
It can be said that the good life that the East Germans once enjoyed was shattered in reality, and not only did they not live a prosperous life for the West Germans, but all the original social security in the East Germans disappeared in situ.
As a result, East Germany lost all its pillar industries and self-sufficiency, and was barely able to survive on subsidies from West Germany, as well as labor, land, and agricultural products.
And the West Germans are also complaining, because they need to pay taxes to the East Germans, thinking that the East Germans are taking advantage, but who is actually taking advantage of them? Naturally, it is the capitalists who eat a lot of money in the process of privatization.
In 2019, the five German states ranked in the bottom five in terms of GDP per capita
Now more than 30 years have passed since the reunification of Germany, but the gap still exists, and all kinds of visible and invisible gaps are an insurmountable gap between East Germany and West Germany, and East Germans have been discriminated against and suppressed in a series of aspects such as employment.
Moreover, East Germans also found that not all West German institutions were better than those of East Germany, and in the huge gap, many East Germans felt lost, and even began to miss the simple but stable life of the original East Germany, and even made them think that they were the losers of German reunification.
In other words, Germany is just the Germany of the West Germans.
Resources:
Chen Feng, The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, No. 3, 1991
Lin Jihong, A Review of the Economic Reform and Transformation Process in East Germany, 1998
China Youth Daily: "25 Years After the Fall of the Berlin Wall: "West Germans" are complaining, "East Germans" are nostalgic", 2014