Chancellor Kohl's role in reunification
The 10-point programme
Joint Declaration by Helmut Kohl and Mikhail Gorbachev (Bonn, 13 June 1989)
TextOn 13 June 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and the German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, sign a Joint Declaration in Bonn concerning the right of peoples and States to self-determination.
Mikhail Gorbachev and Helmut Kohl sign a joint declaration (Bonn, 13 June 1989)
BildOn 13 June 1989, meeting in Bonn, Mikhail Gorbachev, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), and the German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, sign a joint declaration affirming the right of peoples and States to self-determination.
Address given by Helmut Kohl on the state of the nation in a divided Germany (Bonn, 8 November 1989)
TextOn 8 November 1989, Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), delivers an address to the Bundestag on the state of the nation in a divided Germany.
Ten-Point Plan to overcome the division of Germany and Europe (28 November 1989)
TextOn 28 November 1989, Chancellor Helmut Kohl presents to the Bundestag his Ten-Point Plan designed to result in the reunification of Germany.
Statement by Wolfgang Meyer on the 10-point programme (Berlin, 28 November 1989)
TextOn 28 November 1989, Wolfgang Meyer, spokesman for the East German Government, expresses reservations about the Ten-Point Plan devised by Chancellot Helmut Kohl to facilitate the reunification of Germany.
Hans-Dietrich Genscher, Memoirs
TextIn his memoirs, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, former West German Foreign Minister, describes the reactions to the presentation, on 28 November 1989, of Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s 10-point plan for German reunification.
‘Ten points on how to live together’ from Die Zeit (30 November 1989)
TextOn 30 November 1989, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit considers whether the application of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's 10-point plan might ultimately lead to the reunification of Germany.
Helmut Kohl
BildOn 28 November 1989, Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from 1982 to 1998, presents a ten-point plan for the unification of the two German States.
Hans-Dietrich Genscher
BildForeign Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in 1974 and then again from 1982 to 1992, the Liberal politician Hans-Dietrich Genscher is among the architects of German reunification.
Helmut Kohl
PassCartoon by Hanel on the 10-point programme for the reunification of Germany (1989)
Bild‘National anthem.’ In 1989, German cartoonist Walter Hanel takes an ironic look at the fears of the leaders of the Four Powers — the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union — regarding Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s 10-point programme for the reunification of Germany. From left to right: US President George Bush, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, French President François Mitterrand and First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev. Operating the handle of the barrel organ is German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, accompanied by his Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher.
Monetary, economic and social union
'The cost of inter-German monetary union' from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (17 February 1990)
TextOn 17 February 1990, the German Conservative-Liberal daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung analyses the issue of the cost of German reunification.
‘Counterfeit currency instead of the Deutschmark?’ from Die Zeit (6 April 1990)
TextOn 6 April 1990, the German weekly newspaper Die Zeit analyses the arguments for and against the application of a 1:1 rate for the conversion of the East German mark into the West German mark after the reunification of Germany.
'1:1 — with some risk' from the Süddeutsche Zeitung (24 April 1990)
TextOn 24 April 1990, the Bavarian daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung comments on the decision taken by Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), to apply the exchange rate of one East German mark to one West German mark.
Treaty establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union (Bonn, 18 May 1990)
TextOn 18 May 1990, the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) sign in Bonn the Treaty establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union.
Signing of the Treaty establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union between the two German states (Bonn, 18 May 1990)
BildOn 18 May 1990, in Bonn, in the presence of Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the FRG, and Lothar de Maizière, Head of the East German Government, the Finance Ministers Walter Romberg (GDR) and Theodor Waigel (FRG) sign the Treaty establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union between the two German states. From left to right (foreground): Walter Romberg and Theodor Waigel; (background): Lothar de Maizière and Helmut Kohl
Signing of the Treaty establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union (Bonn, 18 May 1990)
BildOn 18 May 1990, in Bonn, to the applause of Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the FRG, and Lothar de Maizière, leader of the East German Government, the Finance Ministers Theodor Waigel (FRG) and Walter Romberg (GDR) sign the Treaty establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union. From left to right: Lothar de Maizière, Walter Romberg, Helmut Kohl and Theodor Waigel.
Statement by Helmut Kohl at the signing of the treaty between the FRG and the GDR (Bonn, 18 May 1990)
TextOn 18 May 1990, at the signing of the Treaty establishing an economic, monetary and social union between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Chancellor Helmut Kohl emphasises the historic impact of the agreement.
Statement by Lothar de Maizière at the signing of the treaty between the FRG and the GDR (Bonn, 18 May 1990)
TextOn 18 May 1990, at the signing of the Treaty establishing an economic, monetary and social union between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the German Democratic Republic (GDR), Lothar de Maizière, Prime Minister in the East German Government, emphasises the importance of the agreement for the reunification of Germany.
'Misplaced serenity as the Germanys leap into unknown' from The Guardian (29 June 1990)
TextOn 29 June 1990, the British left-wing daily newspaper The Guardian expresses its fears about the optimism of the Bundesbank and the OECD with regard to the monetary, economic and social union between the two Germanys.
Helmut Kohl, I wanted German unity
TextIn his memoirs, Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), recalls the signing of the Treaty establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union between the FRG and the German Democratic Republic (GDR) on 18 May 1990.
Cartoon by Hanel on monetary policy in the former GDR (1990)
Bild‘This way, Helmut …’ In 1990, faced with vexed European countries and partners, Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), puts his full weight behind the decision to replace the former East German mark with the Deutschmark in the territories of the German Democratic Republic.
The 1990 reunification
'Europeans seek path out of divisive ideological camps' from The Guardian (11 November 1989)
TextOn 11 November 1989, the day after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the British left-wing daily newspaper The Guardian speculates on European security and on the future of NATO and the Warsaw Pact.
The 1990 reunification
‘The European Parliament approves German unity by a large majority ' from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (15 February 1990)
TextOn 15 February 1990, the German Conservative-Liberal daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung describes the European Parliament’s decision on the reunification of the two Germanies.
Resolution on the German-Polish Frontier adopted by the German Bundestag (21 June 1990)
TextOn 21 June 1990, the German Bundestag adopts a resolution which confirms the course of the Oder-Neisse Line as the border between the united Germany and the Republic of Poland.
Cartoon by Opland on the end of the German Democratic Republic (25 July 1990)
Bild‘Epilogue — "Is it all right if I switch off the light myself?"' asks Lothar de Maizière, first and last democratically elected Head of Government of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). In July 1990, Opland, Dutch cartoonist announces the end of the German Democratic Republic.
Statement by Helmut Kohl on the occasion of the Declaration by the People’s Chamber on the GDR’s accession to the FRG (Bonn, 23 August 1990)
TextOn 23 August 1990, the day after the Declaration by the People's Chamber on the accession of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) to the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), the Federal Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, outlines to the Bundestag the stages of German reunification and addresses the question of economic aid for the GDR.
The Unification Treaty between the FRG and the GDR (Berlin, 31 August 1990)
TextOn 31 August 1990, in Berlin, Wolfgang Schäuble, Interior Minister of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), and Günther Krause, Junior Minister to Lothar de Maizière, Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), sign the Unification Treaty establishing a single federal democratic state.
Address given by Lothar de Maizière on the eve of German unity (Berlin, 2 October 1990)
TextOn 2 October 1990, at the ceremony on the eve of German unity, Lothar de Maizière, Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), gives an address in which he describes the historic impact of the creation of a reunified German state.
Exchange of messages between Roland Dumas and Hans-Dietrich Genscher (3 October 1990)
TextOn 3 October 1990, Roland Dumas, French Foreign Minister, and his German counterpart, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, confirm in an exchange of letters the importance of the unification of Germany and emphasise their commitment to Franco-German friendship.
Commission statement on German unification (3 October 1990)
TextOn 3 October 1990, the European Commission comments on the reunification of Germany and expresses the hope that this event might pave the way for the unity of Europe as a whole.
'Democracy takes a step forward' from La Libre Belgique (3 October 1990)
TextOn 3 October 1990, commenting on the official reunification of Germany, the daily newspaper La Libre Belgique emphasises the historic importance of the event and speculates on the political future of the reunified, democratic Germany.
Government declaration by Helmut Kohl (Berlin, 4 October 1990)
TextOn 4 October 1990, in his first government declaration to the Bundestag of the reunified Germany, Chancellor Helmut Kohl assesses the country’s economic situation and indicates the correct paths to follow in order to overcome the difficulties associated with the harmonisation of two economic systems which, for a long period of time, had been separate.
Helmut Kohl, I wanted German unity
TextIn his memoirs, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl describes the conversations he had in the early 1990s with Mikhail Gorbachev, President of the Soviet Union, concerning the process of German reunification.
Cartoon by Behrendt on German reunification (1990)
Bild‘German unity: Viva Germania? A new Reich? The great takeover or the end of a long separation?’ In 1990, the cartoonist, Fritz Behrendt, interprets in his own inimitable fashion the various meanings that may be attributed to German reunification.
Cartoon by Hanel on German reunification (1990)
BildIn 1990, the German cartoonist, Walter Hanel, takes an ironic look at the way in which the German Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, and his Foreign Minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, present the reunified Germany to the world together as their ‘newborn child'.
Reunification of Germany (Berlin, 9 November 1989)
BildOn 9 November 1989, the German Democratic Republic (GDR) opens its frontiers to West Berlin and to the remainder of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), a move which prompts large numbers of mass demonstrations in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
Farewell ceremony for the Western troops stationed in Berlin (8 September 1994)
VideoOn 8 September 1994, a military parade is held in the courtyard of Charlottenburg Palace to mark the departure of Western Allied troops from the City of Berlin. The parade is attended by Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), Warren Christopher, US Secretary of State, John Major, British Prime Minister, and François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic.
Farewell ceremony for the CIS troops stationed in Berlin (31 August 1994)
VideoOn 31 August 1994, Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), welcomes Boris Yeltsin, President of the Russian Federation, to Berlin on the occasion of the departure of the troops from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) stationed in Berlin. A ceremony is held at the Neue Wache, a memorial dedicated to the victims of all wars and oppressive regimes.