History - Berlin - page 528

To alleviate acute housing shortages, three new satellite cities - Marzahn, Hohenschön-
hausen and Hellersdorf - consisting of massive prefab housing blocks for 300,000
people were built in the 1970s and '80s on East Berlin's outskirts. Equipped with mod-
cons like central heating and indoor plumbing, these apartments were much coveted.
The Wall:...Must Come Down
Hearts and minds in Eastern Europe had long been restless for change, but German reunific-
ation came as a surprise to the world and ushered in a new and exciting era. The so-called
Wende (turning point, ie the fall of communism) came about as a gradual development that
ended in a big bang - the collapse of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 ( Click here ) .
The Germany of today, with 16 unified states, was hammered out after a volatile political
debate and a series of treaties to end post-WWII occupation zones. The newly united city of
Berlin became a separate city-state. Economic union took force in mid-1990, and in August
1990 the Unification Treaty was signed in the Kronprinzenpalais on Unter den Linden. A
common currency and economic union became realities in July 1990. In the same month,
Pink Floyd played live their 1979 album The Wall to a crowd of 200,000 (and a TV audien-
ce of millions worldwide) on Potsdamer Platz.
In September 1990, representatives of East and West Germany, the USSR, France, the
UK and the US met in Moscow to sign the Two-Plus-Four Treaty, ending postwar occupa-
tion zones and paving the way for formal German reunification. One month later, the East
German state was dissolved; in December Germany held its first unified post-WWII elec-
tions.
In 1991 a small majority (338 to 320) of members in the Bundestag (German parliament)
voted in favour of moving the government to Berlin and of making Berlin the German capit-
al once again. On 8 September 1994 the last Allied troops stationed in Berlin left the city
after a festive ceremony.
Daring Young Men: the Heroism and Triumph of the Berlin Airlift,by Richard Reeves, ex-
amines this 'first battle of the Cold War' by telling the stories of the American and British
pilots who risked their lives to save their former enemies.
The Postunification Years
With reunification, Berlin once again became the seat of government in 1999. Mega-sized
construction projects such as Potsdamer Platz and the government quarter eradicated the
physical scars of division but did little to improve the city's balance sheet or unemployment