There were a few components that led to the unification of the GDR and the Federal Republic. Most of them began in 1989. In the summer of that year, thousands of East German "vacationers" in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and other eastern bloc states escaped through holes in the iron curtain or pushed into West German embassies to demand free entry into their country. On September 10th, Hungary opened it's borders to Austria and 50,000 East Germans fled to …showed first 75 words of 1472 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1472 total…conform to the standards of the west. Their high expectations were let down. They feel left out and not represented in government. They have withdrawn to the private sector as a result. While in the west the main burden that still exists from unification is the great financial burden they must bear. Many believe that in time everything will work itself out. But unification will always leave a mark on Germans for generations to come.