German reunification

The 1990 process by which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany, ending Germany’s postwar division.

Two Plus Four Agreement: The 1990 treaty between the two German states and the four Allied powers that settled external aspects of German unity. It secured the international settlement that allowed reunification to proceed.
Peaceful Revolution: The mass protest movement that dismantled East Germany’s authoritarian system in 1989. Its demonstrations weakened the government that had resisted political change.
Helmut Kohl: The West German chancellor from 1982 to 1998 who drove the political process toward reunification. His Ten-Point Plan and diplomacy made rapid unity the Federal Republic’s policy.
German Unity Day: Germany’s national holiday on 3 October, marking the formal reunification of 1990. The date commemorates the accession’s legal completion.
German question: The historical debate over Germany’s national borders, political unity, and place in Europe. Reunification resolved the postwar division but not every debate about Germany’s boundaries and role.
Unification Treaty: The 1990 treaty establishing the terms for the German Democratic Republic to join the Federal Republic of Germany. It specified how East German institutions and territory entered the Federal Republic.
Monday demonstrations in Leipzig: Weekly protests in Leipzig that became a major focus of East German dissent in 1989. Their growing crowds showed the regime could no longer contain public opposition.
Hans-Dietrich Genscher: The West German foreign minister from 1974 to 1992 and a leading negotiator of German unity. He helped secure acceptance of unity among the four Allied powers and neighboring states.
New states of Germany: The five federal states reestablished in eastern Germany during reunification. Their incorporation restored regional governments within the unified federal system.
German Confederation: A loose association of German-speaking states that existed from 1815 to 1866. Its confederal structure contrasts with the unified federal republic created in 1990.

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