EAST GERMANY
Before The Fall
The fall of Communism in East Germany happened relatively quickly. One major factor of this was the Hungarian government's decision in September 1989 to open up its borders to Austria. This resulted in thousands of east Germans moving into the west, looking to pass through Austria for asylum in Hungary. It was difficult for east Germans to enter Hungary so they attacked West German diplomatic missions in Warsaw and Prague. The West German government put pressure on East German General Secretary Honecker, resulting in East German citizens being sent to the West via sealed trains. Honecker was eventually replaced by Egon Krenz. On November 8, he called for the entire resignation of the politburo. On the next night, of course, the Berlin Wall was opened, strengthening the movement for political reform. In December, the Communist Party was renamed the Party of Democratic Socialism. (Crampton, 1997, 394-395).
After The Fall
The GDR held free elections with no guaranteed seats for Communists in March 1990. The election results showed a clear majority for parties advocating German reunification. The deutschmark, the currency of West Germany, was introduced in July. On October 3, 1990, the German state was formally reunified. (Crampton, 1997, 395).
