“It was Gorbachev’s acceptance of German unification that made reunification between the FRG and GDR inevitable in 1990” How far do you agree with this statement.

Question 1

What four factors need to be discussed?

Answer 1

Gorbachev’s acceptance
Other reasons for unity
Other examples of inevitability
Evidence that unification was not inevitable

Question 2

What are the two categories of Gorbachev’s acceptance?

Answer 2

before and after the wall had fallen

Question 3

When did Gorbachev become leader of the USSR and how old was he when he did?

Answer 3

1985 54

Question 4

What two policies did Gorbachev pursue?

Answer 4

Glasnost and Perestroika

Question 5

Glasnost and Perestroika means what?

Answer 5

Openness to ideas of the west and restructuring of the political institutions within the country

Question 6

Gorbachev’s economic changes did what?

Answer 6

paved the way for greater freedom of speech and political participation in the USSR

Question 7

What were the implications of Glasnost and Perestroika for the Eastern European soviet satellite states?

Answer 7

declining economic and military support for their East European satellite states

Question 8

What did Gorbachev abandon in 1986?

Answer 8

Brezhnev Doctrine

Question 9

What did the Brezhnev Doctrine do for the Eastern European states?

Answer 9

limited the sovereignty of Eastern Satellite states

Question 10

What was the Brezhnev Doctrine replaced with?

Answer 10

Sinatra Doctrine

Question 11

What did the Sinatra Doctrine do for the Eastern European states?

Answer 11

gave the USSR’s communist Eastern European satellite states a greater degree of autonomy sovereignty and freedom

Question 12

Between when was Honecker the dictator of the GDR?

Answer 12

1971-89

Question 13

Describe Honecker’s 1971-89 regime?

Answer 13

A bastion of old-style communism

Question 14

When did Gorbachev visit the East Germany?

Answer 14

On the 7th October 1989 celebrations of the 40-year anniversary of the creation

Question 15

When Gorbachev visited East Germany for the 7th October 1989 celebrations of the 40-year anniversary of the creation of the GDR, what did he urge Honecker to do?

Answer 15

Adopt a similar policy of reform to what he was doing in the USSR, yet he was not successful in persuading him

Question 16

When did Honecker leave the GDR leadership and who was he replaced by?

Answer 16

18th october Egon Krenz

Question 17

When did the Leipzig demonstrations start, and what was the reaction of Honecker?

Answer 17

9th October, 70 000 protesters defied the Stasi to gather in Leipzig, however Honecker wanted to crush the demonstrations

Question 18

Why did Honecker not crush the Leipzig demonstrations?

Answer 18

It was only thanks to Krenz, then the deputy chairman of the council of state backed by the Soviet ambassador to Berlin, that this was blocked.

Question 19

In his inaugural public address, what did Krenz announce support for?

Answer 19

Perestroika

Question 20

Krenz’s support of Perestroika meant that he lifted what?

Answer 20

restrictions on travel to other states

Question 21

What fact shows Krenz’s support of Perestroika by lifting restrictions on travel to other states?

Answer 21

Between the 1st and 3rd of November 10 000 people travelled to West Germany via Czechoslovakia.

Question 22

How did Gorbachev’s promise that he would not use military force to defend unpopular communist states manifest itself?

Answer 22

1.5 million Soviet troops in the GDR remained in their barracks when the wall fell at Bornholmer bridge

Question 23

What action of Gorbachev perhaps signalled a thaw in relations between East and West?

Answer 23

Gorbachev successfully visited Bonn in June 1989 perhaps signalling a thaw in relations between east and west.

Question 24

What willingness by the FRG under Kohl perhaps signalled a thaw in relations between East and West?

Answer 24

Throughout the 1980s, the FRG under Kohl since 1982 had shown its willingness to work with reforming Communist countries such as Poland and Hungary

Question 25

When did Kohl go to Moscow?

Answer 25

February 1990

Question 26

When Kohl visited Moscow in February 1990, what landmark statement did Gorbachev make that suggests that he had accepted the unity of Germany?

Answer 26

The German People must decide for themselves which path they choose to follow”.

Question 27

If Gorbachev's actions were to make unity inevitable, it was his acceptance of what that truly did?

Answer 27

the GDR being a member of NATO

Question 28

What did Bush announce in december 1989?

Answer 28

the USA would only support unity if they new German state was a member of NATO

Question 29

For Gorbachev in 1989, what was evident about the GDR and how willing was he to pursue this?

Answer 29

For Gorbachev it was clear only a massive loan could prop up the GDR and he was unwilling to pursue this given Moscow’s own economic problems.

Question 30

When did the 4+2 negations commence?

Answer 30

March 1990

Question 31

What was the key issue of the 4+2 conference?

Answer 31

NATO

Question 32

The success of what in January 1990 put renewed pressure on Gorbachev?

Answer 32

The CDU led Alliance for Germany

Question 33

What did the success of the CDU led Alliance for Germany mean for Parliament?

Answer 33

It was now firmly in favour of unity

Question 34

How did the Alliance for Germany request membership of Germany?

Answer 34

The Alliance for Germany requested membership of the FRG under Article 23

Question 35

What did Article 23 combine with to put extreme pressure on the USSR?

Answer 35

Economic unity in july

Question 36

What suggests that Gorbachev did not want to accept unity, but was forced to accept it was the reality?

Answer 36

The USSR was in its own financial crisis and required foreign loans, a request rejected by both the USA and UK which meant that Gorbachev had to turn to the FRG for help.

Question 37

When did Gorbachev tell Bush that he would accept a unified Germany within NATO?

Answer 37

May

Question 38

When did the 4+2 powers sign the treaty that unified Germany?

Answer 38

12th September 1990

Question 39

After Gorbachev told Bush that he would accept a unified Germany as a member of NATO, what discussions remained?

Answer 39

Further negotiations regarding the withdrawal of the Soviet Troops from East Germany and the Eastern border of Germany were also concluded with Kohl.

Question 40

What are the three 'other reasons for unity that need to be discussed'?

Answer 40

Collapse of the GDR Migration Crisis Kohl's 10 point plan November 1989

Question 41

An option poll when showed what percentage of East Germans favoured unity?

Answer 41

Late November 1989

Question 42

What was flooding into the GDR leading to economic chaos?

Answer 42

Western Consumer goods

Question 43

By what percentage did productivity fall in GDR factories due to the exodus?

Answer 43

50%

Question 44

What were the environmental conditions in the GDR?

Answer 44

The GDR had the worst environmental conditions in the world, with the highest levels of CO2 and SO2 in the world. Forests were threatened with acid rain and respiratory illnesses were twice the European Average.

Question 45

compare the GDR life expectancy with the FRG?

Answer 45

1989 the life expectancy of a GDR citizen was 2 1/2 years lower for men and 7 years lower for women compared to the FRG.

Question 46

When did Kohl visit the east, when was this and what was his reception?

Answer 46

Kohl visited Dresden in the East on the 19th December and he received a huge welcome with 100 000 people gathering to hear him talk.

Question 47

When were the mass protests in Leipzig following the wall of the wall calling for unity?

Answer 47

11th December 1989, mass demonstrations of 300 000 people took place in Leipzig with protestors carrying german flags and calling for unification.

Question 48

When was the Stasi HQ stormed, a pillar of the communist state?

Answer 48

Stasi Headquarters, the bastion of the socialist state’s oppression and pillars of the communist regime, stormed by protesters on the 15th January 1990.

Question 49

Even before the wall fell, how many left the GDR in 1987?

Answer 49

1.2 million

Question 50

In November 1989, how many GDRs left for the FRG?

Answer 50

133 000

Question 51

In January 1990, how many GDRs left for the FRG?

Answer 51

60 000

Question 52

When the wall fell, how many left the GDR every day?

Answer 52

2 000

Question 53

The 2000 people who left the GDR everyday when the wall fell created unity in what way?

Answer 53

This led to unification not only because of the integration that it provided but also because that it was fundamentally unsustainable to be losing so many people from the country.

Question 54

When did Hungary open its border with Austria?

Answer 54

2nd May 1989

Question 55

What happened thanks to Hungary opening its border with Austria in October 1989?

Answer 55

By 7th October, 40 000 East Germans had crossed into Austria via the Hungarian border

Question 56

When in november were people camped outside the German embassy in Prague and how many were camped there?

Answer 56

By 3rd November, 45 000 Germans were camped in or around the German embassy in Prague. Every time a new agreement was reached this would empty and then fill up again.

Question 57

Between August and November 1989 alone, how many people left the country at a peak rate of how many a day?

Answer 57

200 000 9 000

Question 58

How many more were estimated to want to join the 200 000 who left the GDR between August and November 1989?

Answer 58

1.3 million more Germans

Question 59

Those who left were?

Answer 59

mostly middle class, skilled workers whose loss was great for the economy and structure of the state

Question 60

What was the aim of the 10 point plan?

Answer 60

Aimed to stabilise the migrant situation by moving Germany towards a confederate state.

Question 61

When was the 10 point plan?

Answer 61

28th November 1989

Question 62

Other than the migrant crisis, what was the motivation for the passage of the 10 point plan?

Answer 62

It had selfish motivation with the CDU polling low and believing that by announcing the plan, he would win the next election.

Question 63

When Kohl made his speech to the Bundestag, what did he call for?

Answer 63

“regain Germany’s national unity”

Question 64

Kohl was the first chancellor in how many years to call for reunification?

Answer 64

20

Question 65

What are the three other examples of inevitability that need to be known?

Answer 65

1) Currency Union 2) Domestic policies 3) fall of the berlin wall

Question 66

When did the currency union take effect?

Answer 66

1st July 1990

Question 67

What did the currency union do to the currencies?

Answer 67

The Deutschmark replaced the almost worthless East German mark as the official currency of East Germany.

Question 68

How were wages and pensions paid?

Answer 68

In German marks at par with the East German currency

Question 69

Under the currency union, what would the FRG continue to do that they had been doing since 1983?

Answer 69

the FRG would provide massive loans to cover the GRR pensions and unemployment benefits

Question 70

As well as fiscal laws, what also came into force in the GDR from the FRG?

Answer 70

Other laws too, which created a strong framework for unity because it diminished the huge gap between the two existing political, social and economic systems.

Question 71

In November 1989, how many had taken to the streets in East Germany?

Answer 71

750 000

Question 72

When was there a mass protest in Berlin calling for political freedom, legalisation of the opposition groups and unrestricted travel?

Answer 72

4th November

Question 73

Who annoucned the new travel policy for the GDR, what was the policy and hone did he announce it?

Answer 73

At a press conference on the 9th November, Gunter Schabowski of the SED announced a new policy whereby anyone with a passport would have greater travel rights, starting ‘immediately’.

Question 74

When did the wall fall?

Answer 74

23:20 at Bornholmer bridge the wall fell

Question 75

in the March 1990 elections, how well did the alliance for Germany do?

Answer 75

192 out of 400 seats in the March 1990

Question 76

What does the success of FRG parties in the March 1990 GDR elections show?

Answer 76

The success of the CDU and other FRG parties and the fall of the East German SED signalled a desperation amongst GDR citizens to unify with West Germany.

Question 77

Following the March 1990 elections, who formed a coalition between the PSD and the League of Free Democrats?

Answer 77

Mazière

Question 78

Who led france?

Answer 78

Mitterand

Question 79

Who told Bush, despite their large domestic support for the issue, that they opposed unity?

Answer 79

Thatcher and Mitterand

Question 80

What did Thatcher tell Gorbachev?

Answer 80

That they did not want a untied Germany

Question 81

Until 1990, what were Britain and France determined was the best way forward?

Answer 81

still believed it was possible to save the GDR through loans, despite its dire economic condition

Question 82

Thatcher and Mitterand's willingness to prop up the GDR with loans despite the extent of its economic collapse is indicative of what?

Answer 82

The sheer extent of their resistance to the unification

Question 83

How did Miterrand brand the Germans?

Answer 83

Bad Germans

Question 84

Who was the President of the EU commission and what did he suggest?

Answer 84

Jack Delors, President of the European Commission, suggested that the GDR could even become a members of the EU as a second German state and so avoiding unity.

Question 85

Who was the polish PM and why was he concerned about a unified Germany?

Answer 85

Jaruzelski in Poland was also gravely concerned about the revival of an expansionist European power.

Question 86

What did the European foreign powers concerned about a united Germany all have in common?

Answer 86

Occupied by Germany

Question 87

Why was left wing opposition across germany united against unity?

Answer 87

It was capitalism taking over communism

Question 88

Who replaced Krenz as PM and how long did this last?

Answer 88

13th November a new leadership assumed power in East Germany which lasted until April 1990, with Hans Modrow, a moderate SED reformer, replacing Egon Krenz as PM

Question 89

What did Modrow hope to find?

Answer 89

The new leaders opposed a Western take-over. They hoped to find a ‘third way’ which would ensure the survival of a separate, model-socialist East German State.

Question 90

How did Modrow attempt to save the country that actually destroyed it?

Answer 90

In a desperate attempt to save the country, SED Modrow announced elections for March 18th 1990, however this ushered in the ‘alliance for Germany’.

Question 91

Who was the FRG's SPD leader and what did he urge East Germans to do?

Answer 91

Oscar Lafontaine encouraged GDR citizens to vote for the SPD in order to slow down the unification process so that it would be carried out in an orderly way

Question 92

Complete the sentence: So poor was the USSR’s situation that by 1989, their ability to give resistance to..

Answer 92

...the passage of unity was almost negligible.