He became prime minister less than two weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and initially sought to preserve East Germany before accepting reunification.
Tag: Berlin Wall
Werner Franke, Who Exposed East German Doping Program, Dies at 82
In the 1990s, he and his wife unearthed documentary evidence of the illicit, state-sponsored drug program that propelled the country to Olympic glory.
Dmitri Vrubel, Who Planted a Kiss on the Berlin Wall, Dies at 62
A Russian-born painter, he created a mural of the Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev smooching the East German leader Erich Honecker — and with it a tourist attraction.
Three Decades After Reunification, Germans Wonder: How United Are We?
With Germany now an established, reunified democracy, it is taking stock of what is working and what still needs work, especially as the economy continues to lag in the former East.
30 Years After Reunification, Old German-German Border Is a Green Oasis
Crossing the militarized border that split Germany into east and west once meant risking death. Now? It’s a literal walk in the park.
The Fall of the Berlin Wall in Photos: An Accident of History That Changed The World
The Communist regime was prepared for everything “except candles and prayers.” East Germany’s peaceful 1989 revolution showed that societies that don’t reform, die.
President Reagan Returns to Berlin, This Time in Bronze
After a decade of lobbying to place a statue of Ronald Reagan in Berlin, the Gipper was given a place beside the Brandenburg Gate, atop the U.S. Embassy.
Germany Has Been Unified for 30 Years. Its Identity Still Is Not.
East Germans, bio-Germans, passport Germans: In an increasingly diverse country, the legacy of a divided history has left many feeling like strangers in their own land.
‘The New Berlin Wall’: Why Ukraine Is Central to the Scandal
Caught between East and West, it is a place that attracts adventurers and carpetbaggers, who return home with “legacies, memories and skeletons for their closets.”
Frederic Pryor, Player in ‘Bridge of Spies’ Case, Dies at 86
Arrested and jailed on an espionage charge in East Berlin in 1961, Mr. Pryor, an economics student, became part of a famous prisoner exchange.