Semester II, Year 1

Subject: Sociology

Exploring the socio-economical developments in Germany after the fall of the

Berlin Wall.

Abstract
Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how
economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general, it analyzes how modern
societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their local or regional economy, or the global
economy. Societies are divided into three groups: social, cultural, and economic. It also refers to
the ways that social and economic factors influence the economy. “Socioeconomics” is sometimes
used as an umbrella term for various areas of inquiry. The term “social economics” may refer broadly to
the "use of economics in the study of society". More narrowly, contemporary practice considers
behavioral interactions of individuals and groups through social capital and social "markets" (not
excluding, for example, sorting by marriage) and the formation of social norms. In the relation of
economics to social values.

A distinct supplemental usage describes social economics as "a discipline studying the reciprocal
relationship between economic science on the one hand and social philosophy, ethics, and human
dignity on the other" toward social reconstruction and improvement or as also emphasizing
multidisciplinary methods from such fields as sociology, history, and political science. In
criticizing mainstream economics for its alleged faulty philosophical premises (for example the
pursuit of self-interest) and neglect of dysfunctional economic relationships, such advocates tend
to classify social economics as heterodox.

Backdrop of the Project: World War II

World War II, also called Second World War, conflict that involved virtually every part of the
world during the years 1939–45. The principal belligerents were the Axis powers—Germany,
Italy, and Japan—and the Allies—France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union,
and, to a lesser extent, China. The war was in many respects a continuation, after an uneasy 20-
year hiatus of the disputes left unsettled by World War I. East and West Germany was a
consequence of the Second World War was the division of Germany. The two German states of
West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) and East Germany (GDR) received two
completely different political systems. After all, the East and West Germans were still able to
travel across the border. East German soldiers rolled out barbed wire and built a wall against
West Berlin and then along the entire border with West Germany. The government locked up the
East Germans their own country. East German families could no longer visit relatives and friends
in West Germany. When people still tried to cross the wall, East German border soldiers shot to
them to death. The Berlin Wall, part of the so-called Iron Curtain, became the most tangible
example of the frozen conflict between communist Eastern Europe and the democracies of the
West.
Berlin Wall: The dividing layer
The Berlin Wall stood as a symbol of oppression for almost three decades. Creating a nation of
divided citizens, the imposing wall is one of the most iconic structures of the 21st century and its
reach could be felt all around the world. Delving into the history of the Berlin Wall is a step back
into the past of a world struggling to recover from the Second World War. As World War II
came to an end in 1945, a pair of Allied peace conferences at Yalta and Potsdam determined the
fate of Germany’s territories. They split the defeated nation into four “allied occupation zones”:
The eastern part of the country went to the Soviet Union, while the western part went to the
United States, Great Britain and (eventually) France. This agreement was later known as the
Yalta and Potsdam Agreement.

Even though Berlin (Capital Region) was located entirely within the Soviet part of the country (it
sat about 100 miles from the border between the eastern and western occupation zones), the
Yalta and Potsdam agreements split the city into similar sectors. The Soviets took the eastern
half, while the other Allies took the western. This four-way occupation of Berlin began in June
1945.

Societies Divided
For a young kid today, there is only Germany, a powerful country in Europe. He may have heard
about east and West Germany, but that only through history books as the two parts of Germany
existed separately for 45 years from 1945 till 1990, when the Berlin wall, the physical border of
the two Germanys, was brought down, and the two united again. However, despite being the
same with same people on the two sides of the Berlin Wall, there were differences in East
Germany and West Germany

East Germany

After the surrender of Axis powers and the victory of the allies in World War II, Germany was
invaded by the allies. While the Americans, the British, and the French moved ahead and
captured the western parts of Germany, Soviet allies came from the east and invaded the eastern
part of the country. Though it was proposed to control Germany through mutual cooperation, the
tensions between American and Soviet forces led to the creation of the Berlin wall inside the
capital city in 1949 to create an independent socialist state called East Germany or German
Democratic Republic (GDR). The creation of East Germany added to the number of satellite
states for the communist Soviet Union in Europe, particularly Eastern Europe.

West Germany

West Germany was a new state created with the merger of the zones occupied by the US, British,
and French forces in May 1949. Soon after the end of the World War II, tensions started to rise
between the USSR and the US. This led to the creation of two separate states inside Germany
with USSR controlling the eastern part comprising 6 states while the allied forces of Britain, US,
and France agreed to merge 11 states under their control to form Federal republic of German or
FRG that was simply called the West Germany. While Bonn was the provisional capital of this
part of Germany, eventually Berlin was divided into East Berlin and West Berlin though it was
situated deep inside the area of Soviet occupation.
Bullet Differences between East and West Germany

• East Germany was comprised of 6 states of erstwhile Germany that were under the control of
Soviet forces and was formed as German Democratic Republic, a socialist state.

• West Germany was comprised of 11 states that were under the control of allied forces of
Britain, US, and France. It was christened as Federal Republic of Germany and claimed a
mandate for the whole of Germany.

• East Germany renounced its Nazi past while West Germany shouldered the responsibility of its
Nazi past.

• West Germany was recognized by the rest of the world as the legal successor of Germany
whereas East Germany was considered an illegitimate communist state.

• East Germany refused there was anything referred to as anti-Semitism thereby not paying any
reimbursement to the victims of the Holocaust, and it became the responsibility of West
Germany to pay compensation to the victims.

• The success of West Germany on the economic front led to a revolution in East Germany
where people protested communist policies.

• The pressure of the public became intense in 1989 that led to the fall of the Berlin wall and
finally the two Germanys united again after 45 years.
Socio-Economical Differences before Unification
The contrast between the two Berlins cannot miss the attention of a school child. West Berlin,
though an island within East Germany, is an integral part of West German economy and shares
the latter’s prosperity. Destruction through bombing was impartial to the two parts of the city.
Rebuilding is virtually complete in West Berlin. Vacant plots are often used to raise crops.
Buildings still in damaged condition are rare. The residential areas including flats for workers–of
varying floor space, they are not shawls–and the shopping centers radiate boom conditions. In
East Berlin a good part of the destruction still remains; twisted iron, broken walls and heaped up
rubble are common enough sights. The new structures, especially the prefabricated workers’
tenements, look drab.

East Germany

Eastern Germany has benefitted immensely from the unification, but still trails the Western part
of the country in terms of income and GDP per capita, while the unemployment rate remains
significantly higher than it is in the West. While the situation certainly has improved compared
to the early 1990s, when the gap was much wider, a lot of work is still necessary to erase the
structural deficiencies that have now persisted for nearly 30 years.
Post-Unification- Berlin Wall Falls
The Berlin wall had a highly significant impact on the economic, social and political relations
between West and East Europe. It stood from 1961-1989 as a physical reminder of that divide, a
daily reminder of the divide that still influences the nation today, and a physical barrier in which
138 East Germans died trying to cross. So dire was the Berlin Wall that Heinrich Albertz, an aide
to West Berlin Mayor, compared it to as if; “They are cutting up a city, cutting into living flesh
without anaesthesia”. Thus, it can be observed that so high was its importance, that only after the
Berlin wall was abolished in that the cold war was finally coming to an end and so traumatising
was its presence that Berlin has yet to fully recover.

After the Berlin Wall came down, 18 million people in East Germany were — for the first time
in more than 40 years — able to travel as widely as they could afford; express political opinions
without the fear of the secret police; and choose their government in democratic elections.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 laid the groundwork for new institutions, new states, and, in
some cases, new conflicts. In the three decades since the end of Germany’s division and the
collapse of the Soviet Union, the European Union has taken shape but suffered growing pains
along the way. Its eastward expansion has been met by a renewed challenge from Russia, and the
bloc has had to grapple with economic crises, migration pressures, rising nationalism, and
divisions over the future of the European project.

Birth of European Union

The fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union accelerated the push for deeper
European integration, a project which had begun in earnest in the wake of World War II, with the
founding of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 and the European Economic
Community in 1958. The European Union (EU) was formally established by the 1992 Maastricht
Treaty. Maastricht established a framework for a common currency and a common defense and
security policy; the 2007 Lisbon Treaty created the EU’s current structure.

Under these treaties, the twenty-eight member states agreed to pool their sovereignty and
delegate many decision-making powers to the EU. This includes a passport-free zone, known as
the Schengen Area. The free movement of people is one of the bloc’s “four freedoms,” along
with that of goods, services, and capital.

Free Europe
The reunification of Germany paved the way for former Eastern Bloc countries to join the EU.
Between 2004 and 2007, EU membership jumped from fifteen to twenty-seven, with the addition
of central European countries including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, as
well as the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Many hoped this would fulfill a vision
of a united Europe, “whole and free,” as first articulated in 1989 by U.S. President George H.W.
Bush. But enlargement has since slowed, as the bloc has struggled with economic crises,
migration pressures, and rising nationalism. Croatia has been the only new admission since 2007,
joining in 2013. Turkey’s candidacy, already contentious due to concerns over the country’s size,
its human rights record, and the stability of its economy, has come to a halt amid President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s growing authoritarianism, and further expansion efforts have all but
stalled.
Conclusion: Germany Today
Germany is the world’s 5th largest export economy. In 2014, Germany exported $1.41 Trillion
dollars’ worth of goods, and imported $1.13 Trillion dollars, resulting in an increase in trade
revenue of $271 Billion.

-The top exports of Germany are Cars at 163 billion, Vehicle Parts at 67 Billion, and Packaged
Medicaments at 52 Billion. Those 3 make up $278.2B of their export revenue.

-German agriculture exports around 70 billion US dollars of goods. Their main exports are beef,
pork, cereals, poultry, wheat, milk, sugar, and cabbages. Germany’s gross domestic product is
approximately $ 3.5 trillion while the per capita gross domestic product is around $40,631. This
high performance is attributed to the fact that Germany has major manufacturing industries
involved in the production of both engineering and electrical products for exports. Despite the
fact that poverty rates are extremely low, the rate of unemployment in the country stands at 7%
(Council of Europe, 2002). The country’s working population falls between 15 and 64 years.
This accounts for approximately 74% of the entire population. The ratio of males to females is
0.97%, meaning that females outnumber the males. This is one of the reasons why there are
several women who work in the shopping centers, markets, and other service institutions.
Currently, the rate of population growth in Thailand is almost the same with the growth rate seen
in western countries. It is approximately 0.61%. The country enjoys relatively good healthcare
system which is reflected on the infant mortality rate that lies slightly below 2%. This is
equivalent to 18.23/1000 live births.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND DECLARATION

I humbly submit that Index of Authorities, references and links used for the purpose of research
in the project are duly recognized under the column of “Index of Authorities”. Furthermore, this
project is for no degree purpose in any other institution rather than Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya
National Law University, Lucknow and has been created for academic check in the session of
2020-21. I thank and acknowledge Mr. Sanjay Singh (Professor, Sociology) for giving me a
chance to research on this topic and to all the sources which turned out to be helpful and
informative in the course of project making.
 BIBILIOGRAPHY

1. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/germany-after-
unification-normal-at-last/BE3A0A88E434F355EDC9496ED22F914A
2. https://fee.org/articles/comparing-the-economic-growth-of-east-germany-to-west-
germany-a-history-lesson/
3. https://www.britannica.com/place/Germany
4. https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/berlin-wall
5. https://www.deutschland.de/en/topic/politics/germany-europe/the-fall-of-the-wall-and-
german-reunification
6. https://www.worldfinance.com/inward-investment/europe/was-the-fall-of-the-berlin-
wall-as-economically-significant-as-some-suggest

Submitted By- Yash Bhatnagar

Submitted to- Prof. Sanjay Singh
Year 1, Semester 2
(Professor, Sociology)
Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National
Law University, Lucknow. Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National
Law University, Lucknow
Enr. No. 200101157