Germany’s “mental wall”

20 years ago today, the iconic Berlin Wall dividing East and West Germans crumbled, launching a domino effect calling for reform and freedom within the Soviet bloc. Many East Germans could not believe the day had come that they could cross the border without being threatened or even killed. Parties raged on for days as East Germans got their first taste of many things they could only get in West Germany. Soon after, the two German states became one through ‘Wiedervereinigung’, or reunification. Berlin was once again made the capital of the new, reunified Germany.

However, although the physical wall is long gone, a mental wall still exists between East and West Germans. Referred to as ‘Die Mauer in den Kopf’, or ‘the wall in the head’, its foundations are largely due to economics. After the wall fell, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl imposed a 5.5% surcharge on German income taxes that was used towards rebuilding the infrastructure of the east. Under communist rule, many of the buildings and facilities were not up to the same level of quality and safety as the west. At the time, Kohl promised the tax would only exist for about 2 or 3 years. Yet it still exists today, and generates about 13 Billion Euros a year.

There is a sentiment among West Germans that East Germans do not possess a sense of entrepreneurial ability, and function better when told exactly what to do. As a result, many West Germans feel they have paid for many of the east’s problems. East Germans on the other hand, feel they are treated as second class citizens by those in the west. A study done by the University of Bielefeld showed that 64% of East Germans felt treated as second class, 77% felt they were treated less fairly, and 59% felt the two halves of Germany have yet to become a common, truly unified society.

It is an interesting consequence to ponder when looking at other divided states like North and South Korea. The example of German reunification is often talked about in discussions over a potential merger of the two Koreas. In the corresponding broadcast I speak a bit more at length on this mental wall, as well as show some archival footage of November 9th, 1989 from ABC News.