GERMAN REUNIFICATION

Megan Dattani and Ashley Underkofler

Start of Reunification 1989 communist

government had fallen Patriotic Enthusiasm

E. Germans crossed to W. Germany in large numbers Government services in E.

sector nearly disappeared Dismantling of Berlin

Wall

Berlin Wall fall

Reunification: Dealing with Corruption East Germans

furious with the party Politburo and

Central Committee resigned

Honecker and other leaders were arrested

New constitutional regime

Reunification Helmut Kohl-

chancellor of West Germany

Allies did not like reunificationBritain and France

hesitantUnited States on

board Germany pledged

the invioability of German-Polish border

October 3, 1990 enlarged Federal Republic of Germany formedChancellor Kohl won

in first nationwide elections

Costs of German Reunification

Complicated by the reunification of Germany

On July 1, 1990, the economies of the two Germanys became one

Inflation German bundesbank kept

interest rates high Tight money chocked off

credit and investment downturns occurred as in the

early 1990s Delayed economic recovery

Costs of German Unification: Unemployment Unemployment

remained high Unemployment

recognized as long term

European Immigrants & Refugees 15 million new

immigrants from 1980-1992

From Eastern Europe & war-torn YugoslaviaSeeking political

asylum Wanted wider

economic opportunitiesTook low-paying jobs

Impact of Immigration Changed ethnic

composition Turkish Muslims in

Germany Algerians & Vietnamese

in France Asian, African, &

Caribbean immigrants in Britain

Racial tensions Anti-immigration laws

No automatic peace after Cold War

Sigmund Freud Background Austrian psychiatrist Founder of

psychoanalysis Ideas called West’s

faith in reason and progress into question

Freud's Impact Germany as

“economic nation” Suppressing

problems that are bound with post-fascist syndrome

Cast light on reunification process hinges on relationship between multinational and the national idea.

Existentialism (…yes, another “ism”…) In the early years

after WWII, a loosely organized body of ideas called “existentialism” wondered about the human situation

No one school of thought or coherent body of ideas

Beliefs of Existentialists Humans exist first and then

each individual spends a lifetime changing their nature

Concerned with finding self and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility

Derived thought from others who emphasized the tragic element in human existence and limitations on power of human reason Jean-Paul Sartre

Beliefs of Existentialism Human free will Human nature is chosen

through life choices A person is best when

struggling against their individual nature, fighting for life

Decisions are not without stress and consequences

Personal responsibility and discipline is crucial

Society is unnatural and its traditional religious and secular rules are arbitrary

Worldly desire is futile

Society

Impact of Existentialism Sense of despair Negative outlook

Human life is not satisfying

Objection to societies that impose or demand that their beliefs, values, or rules be faithfully accepted and obeyed

Never completely disappeared from contemporary philosophy or religion

Space Exploration Overview USA vs. USSR Among the most dramatic

developments in science and technology in the second half of the 20th century

USSR & USA competed in 1950s; each made important advances in rocket research

Germans introduced rocket warfare at end of WWII

USA & USSR mastered multistage rocket launching

Space Exploration: USA Unmanned spaceships

probe & explore moon/planets

Kennedy’s pledge Project Apollo 3 Soft-landed instrument

packages send back rich harvest of data, providing more knowledge than ever before about nature of planets

Voyager 2 Hubble

Space Exploration: USSR Soviets launched Sputnik

artificial satellite in 1959 Sent first human to space in

1961 Unmanned spaceships

probe & explore moon/planets

Sent probes to the moon, Mars, and Halley’s comet

Built permanent space station and set records in testing human endurance in weightless space

Space Exploration: Outcome Cold War rivalries played less of a

role in space exploration as time went on, but military objectives were never completely absent

US & USSR launched spy satellites for information gathering

In 1980s US launched research on Strategic Defense Initiative that would deploy laser like weapons into outer space (hence called “Star Wars”); project abandoned in 1990

Space exploration showed signs of international cooperation in 1980s

Works CitedExistentialism Definition." All About Philosophy. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://www.allaboutphilosophy.org/existentialism-definition-faq.htm>.

"Impact of Unification on German Economy." German Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.

<http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/facts/ bl_unification_impact.htm>.

Palmer, R.R., Joel Colton, and Lloyd Kramer. A History of the Modern World. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2002.

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