When was germany separated

One of the first memories I have from my dad is from when I was about to turn four. Back then, in , he decided it was a good idea to buy me a poster of the world's countries and their flags, and teach them to me one by one, including the names of each country's capital.

One of my favorite flags was the German one — not because I was particularly impressed by its colors — but because the capital's name was the easiest for me to pronounce as an Israeli: Bonn. Little did I know that almost three decades later, in , I would set foot in this very city — no longer the political capital of what is known today simply as "Germany. Many years have passed, but as I have quickly found out upon moving here, the geographical division parting East and West until may have vanished from world maps — but not so much from people's minds.

The area occupied by former East Germany has a much smaller population than the former West about 16 million people, compared with about 67 million , but its productivity is lower even when adjusted to the population difference, according to a Pew Research Center survey. The average unemployment rate there in late was 6. Apparently, this is more than just dry figures for some, as I have come to realize during dinner at a close friend's place in Berlin.

People in the former East earn less than those in the former West, but some see more to that than just figures. But many from the former East — and West — beg to differ. Like the other interviewees he did not want to read his full name in this article. To him, the former East could possibly be poorer "due to a vicious circle," in which skilled workers leave in search for better salaries, leading major companies to locate their headquarters in the former West, leading to even more people leaving the former East.

A few months into living in Germany, a German friend of mine told me about a date she went on, saying that the guy was genuinely nice, but she could " never date someone with a Saxonian accent. I was new to the country, and could hardly distinguish between different accents and dialects, but living here for six years I can confirm that this is not the first time I've heard such a statement — specifically about people from Saxony, and less so about dialects from other regions.

According to him, the East's communist past has actually led people from there to be more critical of the government and "significantly less religious" than those from the former West. Indeed, according to a different Pew Research Center poll, six-in-ten adults in the former West said religion is very or somewhat important in their lives, whereas an identical share of those in the former East said religion is not too or not at all important.

The sense of division between former East and West also remains when it comes to politics. Attitudes toward the EU, for example, are different, and although Germans are generally pro-European Union, the share of adults who have a favorable view of the EU is higher in the former West. Take a look at the beta version of dw. We're not done yet! Your opinion can help us make it better. We use cookies to improve our service for you. You can find more information in our data protection declaration.

Germany was divided between and Exactly 70 years after the foundation of East Germany, and 30 years after the peaceful revolution that spelled its demise, that division remains palpable. The partitioning of Germany was a reflection of the claims laid down by the victorious Allied forces in They had joined forces to defeat fascist Germany, but went their separate ways after that.

The Western Allies established a parliamentary democracy in West Germany, while Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's territorial dominion spread across almost all of Eastern Europe. The most clearly recognizable characteristics of Eastern European states: Planned economies, no rule of law, no freedom of the press, no freedom of movement. Ideologically, they saw themselves as people's democracies, but were, in fact, dictatorships.

East Germany occupied a special geographic and political role within the Eastern Bloc, for free Europe was situated at its western border. Moreover, the similarly divided city of Berlin — the former capital of Nazi Germany — was situated in the heart of its territory. The city had been a symbol of Nazi Germany and all of the Allies wanted a piece of it. Thus, West Berlin also became an island of freedom in communist East Germany. In divided Berlin, the clash between the competing systems of capitalism and socialism could not have been more stark.

The city, with a total of 3. But that hole was plugged with the construction of the Berlin Wall in Until that point, more than one million people, fed up with the economy of lack and the intellectual climate of an unfree society, had turned their backs on the GDR.

After the Wall went up, people across Germany became ever more estranged. Still, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt's policy of detente with the East led to diplomatic rapprochement in the s. In , both German states became full members of the United Nations UN , cementing their existence. Despite that, relative stability in the GDR was short-lived, lasting only a few years. The regime was simply not economically viable. He says another contributing factor was the dissatisfaction of the citizenry, "which manifested itself in an incredible desire to leave.

Yet, East German leader Erich Honecker remained steadfast. The people expressed their anger not only through mass demonstrations in the streets, but also by filing in ever more applications for permission to travel outside the GDR. Within two years, the number of applications for travel documents doubled from 53, to more than , That said, only a fraction of applicants were in fact allowed to travel outside the country.

Read more: A dangerous escape from East Germany. In the Soviet occupying forces turned the former commercial kitchen compound into an internment camp. The cellar was converted by the prisoners into a remand center.

Victims reported that they were tormented by sleep deprivation, beatings, kickings, being forced to stand for hours or subjected to water torture. Food, clothing, and hygiene standards were terrible. Some 1, people died. In the newly-formed East German secret state police, the Stasi, took over the prison. During the 50s most inmates were those opposed to the communist dictatorship, such as reformers and strike leaders involved in the 17 June uprising.

As there was never any daylight in the damp cells, the inmates nick-named the prison 'U-Boot," German for submarine. At the end of the 50s a new building with more than cells and interrogation rooms replaced the old cellar jail. Physical violence was replaced by psychological torture. After the Berlin Wall was built in most inmates were those who had attempted to escape or leave East Germany, but also writers and civil rights activists. Made to appear outwardly as fish or vegetable delivery vans, these vehicles had five tiny windowless cells, which meant inmates had no idea where they had been taken.

The Stasi succeeded in pressuring 90 percent of inmates to make damning statements in their first interrogation. In prison every inmate was addressed not by name but by their cell number. Roosevelt wanted Soviet participation in the newly formed United Nations and immediate support from the Soviets in fighting the ongoing war in the Pacific against Japan.

Churchill argued for free and fair elections leading to democratic regimes in Central and Eastern Europe, especially Poland. Clearly there were some key conflicting interests that needed to be addressed. After much negotiation, the following outcomes of the Yalta Conference emerged :.

Soon after the conference it became clear that Stalin had no intension of holding up his end of negotiations. He eventually allowed for elections in Poland, but not before sending in Soviet troops to eliminate any and all opposition to the communist party in control of the provisional government. A second conference was held from July 17 to August 2, , in Potsdam, Germany.

Churchill returned to represent Great Britain, but his government was defeated midway through the conference and newly elected Prime Minister Clement Attlee took over. Stalin returned as well. In light of this, the new representatives from the United States and Great Britain were much more careful with their negotiations with Stalin.

The final agreements at Potsdam concerned:.