History of Germany since 1990
Encyclopedia
The history of Germany
since 1990 spans the period following the Reunification of Germany, when West Germany
and East Germany were reunited after being divided during the Cold War
. Germany after 1990 is sometimes referred to as the Berlin Republic. This time-period is also determined by the ongoing process of the "inner reunification" of the formerly divided country.
On October 3, 1990, the German Democratic Republic
was dissolved, five states were recreated (Brandenburg
, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony
, Saxony-Anhalt
and Thuringia
) and the new states became part of the Federal Republic of Germany, an event known as the German Reunification
.
Elections for new state parliaments were held in the five states on October 14, and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany became the largest party in all states except Brandenburg, where the Social Democratic Party of Germany
became the largest party.
The reunified Berlin
became the capital of Germany on October 3, although the government continued to have its seat in Bonn until 1999. The first elections for the city parliament after reunification were held on December 2.
, took place on December 2 in that year. The CDU became the largest party with 43,8 %, followed by the SPD (33,5 %) and the Free Democratic Party of Germany (11 %).
On June 20, 1991, the Bundestag
decided that the parliament and parts of the government and central administration would be relocated from Bonn
to the capital, Berlin. At this time, the term "Berlin Republic" (alluding to the Cold War-era "Bonn Republic" and the interwar "Weimar Republic
") emerged.
Roman Herzog
, a former Judge at the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
, was elected President of Germany
in 1994, succeeding Richard von Weizsäcker
.
, Helmut Kohl was reelected as Chancellor for his fifth and last term.
and the FDP
, lost the German federal election, 1998
, and Gerhard Schröder
was elected as Chancellor, the head of a coalition government consisting of his own SPD
party and the The Greens. Joschka Fischer, a leading Green politician, became Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister.
Shortly after the formation of the government, Minister of Finance Oskar Lafontaine
, a former SPD chairman and rival of Schröder, resigned from the cabinet. He was succeeded as Minister of Finance by Hans Eichel
.
In 1998, it became known that the CDU/CSU had received anonymous funding. Helmut Kohl subsequently resigned as honorary party chairman, and in 2000, Wolfgang Schäuble
resigned as party chairman. Angela Merkel
, the Secretary General of the CDU since 1998, emerged as a leading figure in the party and was elected chairwoman in 2000.
In 1999, Johannes Rau
was elected President of Germany. Rau had tried to be elected President for several years.
A large tax reform was implemented in 2000. After 2003, the federal government implemented a number of reforms in social and health policy, known as Agenda 2010
. The Schröder government also stressed ecological issues and promoted the reduction greenhouse gas
.
Germany took part in the NATO war against Yugoslavia
in 1999, when German forces saw combat for the first time since WWII. Chancellor Schröder supported the war on terror
following the September 11 attacks against the United States, and Germany sent forces to Afghanistan
. Germany also sent forces to Kosovo
and other parts of the world.
In 1999, Germany partially adopted the Euro
, which completely replaced the Deutsche Mark as the currency of Germany in 2002.
Several German cities, notably Dresden
and Magdeburg
, experienced severe flooding during the 2002 European floods
.
was the candidate for Chancellor for the CDU/CSU
, the first time a CSU politician was chancellor candidate since the candidacy of Franz Josef Strauss in 1980. Both CDU/CSU and the SPD polled 38,5 % in the German federal election, 2002
. Since the Greens became larger than the liberals, Gerhard Schröder's government was reelected.
Germany and France vehemently opposed the 2003 Iraq War, leading the administration of George W. Bush
to label Germany and France as the Old Europe
, as opposed to the countries (mainly former east bloc countries) that supported the war. However, Germany supported the United States militarily in other parts of the world, notably in the Horn of Africa
and Kuwait
.
The early 2000s saw increased unemployment and an aging population. The government instituted further reforms to meet these challenges, known as the Hartz reforms
. However, as the Bundesrat of Germany
had a CDU/CSU majority, the government of Gerhard Schröder was dependant on support from the conservatives in order to pass legislation.
On May 23, 2004, Horst Köhler
, the former head of the International Monetary Fund
and a CDU politician, was elected President of Germany
. Köhler, who was previously relatively unknown in Germany, quickly became one of the country's most popular politicians.
After a bitter defeat for the SPD in state elections in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
(22 May 2005), Chancellor Schröder asked the German Bundestag
(lower house of parliament) for a vote of no-confidence
. Schröder argued that it had become increasingly difficult to push for the necessary socio-economic reforms because of the opposition majority in the upper house of the parliament, the Bundesrat, as well as the tensions within his own party. After losing this vote, as intended, on July 1, Chancellor Schröder was able to ask President
Horst Köhler
to call new federal elections. On 21 July 2005 the President agreed to Chancellor's request and dissolved the parliament, scheduling early parliamentary elections for 18 September.
resulted in a stalemate for both major parties, SPD and CDU/CSU, as they won almost the same number of seats, but not enough to form a majority without the support of several smaller parties. This was resolved on November 11, 2005, when both parties agreed to form a grand coalition led by Angela Merkel
who became the first female Chancellor of Germany
.
and the FDP
won a majority and Angela Merkel could form a coalition with the liberals, the Cabinet Merkel II
. Guido Westerwelle
became the new Vice Chancellor. The Social Democrats did especially poorly in the election..
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
since 1990 spans the period following the Reunification of Germany, when West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
and East Germany were reunited after being divided during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
. Germany after 1990 is sometimes referred to as the Berlin Republic. This time-period is also determined by the ongoing process of the "inner reunification" of the formerly divided country.
Five new states
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
was dissolved, five states were recreated (Brandenburg
Brandenburg
Brandenburg is one of the sixteen federal-states of Germany. It lies in the east of the country and is one of the new federal states that were re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. The capital is Potsdam...
, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt
Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...
and Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
) and the new states became part of the Federal Republic of Germany, an event known as the German Reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
.
Elections for new state parliaments were held in the five states on October 14, and the Christian Democratic Union of Germany became the largest party in all states except Brandenburg, where the Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
became the largest party.
The reunified Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
became the capital of Germany on October 3, although the government continued to have its seat in Bonn until 1999. The first elections for the city parliament after reunification were held on December 2.
Kohl's fourth term
The first federal election after reunification, the German federal election, 1990German federal election, 1990
The 12th German federal election, 1990 was conducted on December 2, 1990, to elect members to the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany...
, took place on December 2 in that year. The CDU became the largest party with 43,8 %, followed by the SPD (33,5 %) and the Free Democratic Party of Germany (11 %).
On June 20, 1991, the Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
decided that the parliament and parts of the government and central administration would be relocated from Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
to the capital, Berlin. At this time, the term "Berlin Republic" (alluding to the Cold War-era "Bonn Republic" and the interwar "Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
") emerged.
Roman Herzog
Roman Herzog
Roman Herzog is a German politician as a member of the Christian Democratic Union, and served as President of Germany from 1994 to 1999...
, a former Judge at the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
Federal Constitutional Court of Germany
The Federal Constitutional Court is a special court established by the Grundgesetz, the German basic law...
, was elected President of Germany
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
in 1994, succeeding Richard von Weizsäcker
Richard von Weizsäcker
Richard Karl Freiherr von Weizsäcker , known as Richard von Weizsäcker, is a German politician . He served as Governing Mayor of West Berlin from 1981 to 1984, and as President of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1984 to 1994...
.
Kohl's fifth term
Following the German federal election, 1994German federal election, 1994
The 13th German federal election, 1994 was conducted on October 16, 1994, to elect members to the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany.-Issues and Campaign:The SPD let its members elect a candidate for Chancellor against Helmut Kohl...
, Helmut Kohl was reelected as Chancellor for his fifth and last term.
First term
The ruling liberal-conservative coalition government, consisting of the CDU/CSUCDU/CSU
CDU/CSU, unofficially also referred to as the Union parties or the Union, is the name of the Bundestag parliamentary faction comprising the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria , considered to be sister parties...
and the FDP
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
, lost the German federal election, 1998
German federal election, 1998
A German federal election was conducted on September 27, 1998, to elect members to the 14th Bundestag, the parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany.- Issues and campaign :...
, and Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder is a German politician, and was Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. A member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , he led a coalition government of the SPD and the Greens. Before becoming a full-time politician, he was a lawyer, and before becoming Chancellor...
was elected as Chancellor, the head of a coalition government consisting of his own SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
party and the The Greens. Joschka Fischer, a leading Green politician, became Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister.
Shortly after the formation of the government, Minister of Finance Oskar Lafontaine
Oskar Lafontaine
Oskar Lafontaine is a German politician, former German finance minister, former chairman of the Social Democratic Party and former Minister-President of the state of Saarland. Since 2007 he was co-chairman of The Left...
, a former SPD chairman and rival of Schröder, resigned from the cabinet. He was succeeded as Minister of Finance by Hans Eichel
Hans Eichel
Hans Eichel , German politician , was Minister of Finance from 1999-2005.-Background:He was brought up in Kassel where he did his Abitur in 1961. He then completed a degree in German, philosophy, political science, history and education at the universities of Marburg and Berlin, graduating in 1970...
.
In 1998, it became known that the CDU/CSU had received anonymous funding. Helmut Kohl subsequently resigned as honorary party chairman, and in 2000, Wolfgang Schäuble
Wolfgang Schäuble
Wolfgang Schäuble is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union , currently serving as the Federal Minister of Finance in the Second Cabinet Merkel....
resigned as party chairman. Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
, the Secretary General of the CDU since 1998, emerged as a leading figure in the party and was elected chairwoman in 2000.
In 1999, Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau
Johannes Rau was a German politician of the SPD. He was President of Germany from 1 July 1999 until 30 June 2004, and Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia from 1978 to 1998.-Education and work:...
was elected President of Germany. Rau had tried to be elected President for several years.
A large tax reform was implemented in 2000. After 2003, the federal government implemented a number of reforms in social and health policy, known as Agenda 2010
Agenda 2010
The Agenda 2010 is a series of reforms planned and executed by the German government which are aimed at reforming the German social system and labour market. The declared aim of Agenda 2010 is to improve economic growth and thus reduce unemployment....
. The Schröder government also stressed ecological issues and promoted the reduction greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
.
Germany took part in the NATO war against Yugoslavia
1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia
The NATO bombing of Yugoslavia was NATO's military operation against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999...
in 1999, when German forces saw combat for the first time since WWII. Chancellor Schröder supported the war on terror
War on Terror
The War on Terror is a term commonly applied to an international military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom with the support of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation as well as non-NATO countries...
following the September 11 attacks against the United States, and Germany sent forces to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Germany also sent forces to Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and other parts of the world.
In 1999, Germany partially adopted the Euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
, which completely replaced the Deutsche Mark as the currency of Germany in 2002.
Several German cities, notably Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
and Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
, experienced severe flooding during the 2002 European floods
2002 European floods
In August 2002 a 100-year flood caused by over a week of continuous heavy rains ravaged Europe, killing dozens, dispossessing thousands, and causing damage of billions of euros in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Croatia....
.
Second term
In 2002, Edmund StoiberEdmund Stoiber
Edmund Rüdiger Stoiber is a German politician, former minister-president of the state of Bavaria and former chairman of the Christian Social Union...
was the candidate for Chancellor for the CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU
CDU/CSU, unofficially also referred to as the Union parties or the Union, is the name of the Bundestag parliamentary faction comprising the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria , considered to be sister parties...
, the first time a CSU politician was chancellor candidate since the candidacy of Franz Josef Strauss in 1980. Both CDU/CSU and the SPD polled 38,5 % in the German federal election, 2002
German federal election, 2002
The 15th German federal election, 2002 was conducted on 22 September 2002, to elect members to the Bundestag of Germany.-Issues and campaign:...
. Since the Greens became larger than the liberals, Gerhard Schröder's government was reelected.
Germany and France vehemently opposed the 2003 Iraq War, leading the administration of George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
to label Germany and France as the Old Europe
Old Europe
Old Europe is a term that was first used by then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in January 2003 to refer to European countries that did not support the 2003 invasion of Iraq, specifically France and Germany...
, as opposed to the countries (mainly former east bloc countries) that supported the war. However, Germany supported the United States militarily in other parts of the world, notably in the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
and Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
.
The early 2000s saw increased unemployment and an aging population. The government instituted further reforms to meet these challenges, known as the Hartz reforms
Hartz concept
The Hartz concept is a set of recommendations that resulted from a commission on reforms to the German labour market in 2002. Named after the head of the commission, Peter Hartz, it went on to become part of the German government's Agenda 2010 series of reforms, known as Hartz I - Hartz IV...
. However, as the Bundesrat of Germany
Bundesrat of Germany
The German Bundesrat is a legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder of Germany at the federal level...
had a CDU/CSU majority, the government of Gerhard Schröder was dependant on support from the conservatives in order to pass legislation.
Horst Köhler
Horst Köhler is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the CDU and the CSU, and the liberal FDP, Köhler was elected to his first five-year term by the Federal Assembly on...
, the former head of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
and a CDU politician, was elected President of Germany
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
. Köhler, who was previously relatively unknown in Germany, quickly became one of the country's most popular politicians.
After a bitter defeat for the SPD in state elections in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...
(22 May 2005), Chancellor Schröder asked the German Bundestag
Bundestag
The Bundestag is a federal legislative body in Germany. In practice Germany is governed by a bicameral legislature, of which the Bundestag serves as the lower house and the Bundesrat the upper house. The Bundestag is established by the German Basic Law of 1949, as the successor to the earlier...
(lower house of parliament) for a vote of no-confidence
Constructive vote of no confidence
The constructive vote of no confidence is a variation on the motion of no confidence which allows a parliament to withdraw confidence from a head of government only if there is a positive majority for a prospective successor...
. Schröder argued that it had become increasingly difficult to push for the necessary socio-economic reforms because of the opposition majority in the upper house of the parliament, the Bundesrat, as well as the tensions within his own party. After losing this vote, as intended, on July 1, Chancellor Schröder was able to ask President
President of Germany
The President of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country's head of state. His official title in German is Bundespräsident . Germany has a parliamentary system of government and so the position of President is largely ceremonial...
Horst Köhler
Horst Köhler
Horst Köhler is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union. He was President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the CDU and the CSU, and the liberal FDP, Köhler was elected to his first five-year term by the Federal Assembly on...
to call new federal elections. On 21 July 2005 the President agreed to Chancellor's request and dissolved the parliament, scheduling early parliamentary elections for 18 September.
First term
The German federal election, 2005German federal election, 2005
German federal elections took place on 18 September 2005 to elect the members of the 16th German Bundestag, the federal parliament of Germany. They became necessary after a motion of confidence in Chancellor Gerhard Schröder failed on 1 July...
resulted in a stalemate for both major parties, SPD and CDU/CSU, as they won almost the same number of seats, but not enough to form a majority without the support of several smaller parties. This was resolved on November 11, 2005, when both parties agreed to form a grand coalition led by Angela Merkel
Angela Merkel
Angela Dorothea Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany . Merkel, elected to the Bundestag from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, has been the chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union since 2000, and chairwoman of the CDU-CSU parliamentary coalition from 2002 to 2005.From 2005 to 2009 she led a...
who became the first female Chancellor of Germany
Chancellor of Germany
The Chancellor of Germany is, under the German 1949 constitution, the head of government of Germany...
.
Second term
In the German federal election, 2009, the CDU/CSUCDU/CSU
CDU/CSU, unofficially also referred to as the Union parties or the Union, is the name of the Bundestag parliamentary faction comprising the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria , considered to be sister parties...
and the FDP
Free Democratic Party (Germany)
The Free Democratic Party , abbreviated to FDP, is a centre-right classical liberal political party in Germany. It is led by Philipp Rösler and currently serves as the junior coalition partner to the Union in the German federal government...
won a majority and Angela Merkel could form a coalition with the liberals, the Cabinet Merkel II
Cabinet Merkel II
The Merkel Cabinet II is the current government of Germany since October 28, 2009, during the 17th legislature of the Bundestag. Led by the Christian Democrat Angela Merkel , it is supported by a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union , Christian Social Union of Bavaria and the Free...
. Guido Westerwelle
Guido Westerwelle
Guido Westerwelle [] is a German liberal politician, who, since 28 October 2009, has been serving as the Foreign Minister in the second cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel, and who was Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2009 to 2011. He is the first openly gay person to hold either of those positions...
became the new Vice Chancellor. The Social Democrats did especially poorly in the election..
Further reading
- Ash, Timothy Garton. In Europe's Name: Germany and the Divided Continent (1997), 700pp
- Bolgherini, Silvia. and Florian Grotz, eds. Germany After the Grand Coalition: Governance and Politics in a Turbulent Environment (Palgrave Macmillan; 2011) 231 pages; studies of the "Grand Coalition" of 2005-09 and the first Merkel government.
- Epstein, Catherine. "East Germany and Its History since 1989," Journal of Modern History Vol. 75, No. 3 (September 2003), pp. 634-661 in JSTOR
- Jarausch, Konrad H. The Rush to German Unity (1994), 304pp
Primary sources
- Jarausch, Konrad H., and Volker Gransow, eds. Uniting Germany: Documents and Debates, 1944-1993 (1994)