The Division and Reunification of Germany and the “Effects” of Communism

The division of Germany into the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 and its reunification in 1990 provide a framework for analyzing the effects of communism. Never before has such an unexpected introduction and abolition of a communist regime occurred in part of the territory of a country that was united before and after. However, this paper argues that the effects of communism cannot be directly deduced from this period of German history.