German Reunification Explained

[@hardcorehardo]

Sadly, the people living in Prussia didn't just get to be polish or Russian.. they were forced out of their homes and had to flee westwards. Do to the hard winter conditions many lost their lifes or were mistreated and murdered by Soviets

[@klaus9714]

"Copare a crime with a crime, and you are no inch better"

[@ThaatEpicKitten]

Wrzem wrzem Nazi =/= Average Citizen Revenge =\= Moral

[@diegodiego3164]

"they would never have been forcibly relocated if Germany hadn't committed one of the biggest crimes against humanity in world history in the first place. So what I'm trying to say is "sorry, but... not sorry" "Where did i equate nazis with average citizens? Did say i say revenge is moral?" *"sorry,but...not sorry"* I think you're a bit wrong mate.

[@henryseidel5469]

Hardocore That's right. But you forget to mention what had been happening on Russian soil during the four years before that. Over twenty five million people lay dead on the fields.Of course it was a horrible disaster to the Russian and then the German population that were concerned in these areas.But politically and militarily it was just the boomerang that had come back to Germany.

[@henryseidel5469]

Wrzem Wrzem Yet I do not like the idea of Polish nationalism coming up again. What is Poland actually ? Until WW1 you were not even on the map of Europe. During the Russian civil war Pilsudski tried to cut off territories from Russia, and to me it is not a surprise that Stalin has always been very suspicious about Polish policies. Even when signing the Ribbentrop pact with Germany in August 39. The Brits had guaranteed for the Poles but did nothing but holding speeches in London together with your so called exile government. Eventually it was Stalin whose soldiers had to liberate Poland doing all the dirty jobs, because there was nobody else to do it.I know history is contradictory and problematic, but in the end the Poles were given enough land and support to rebuild their nation again. Do you think Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Dresden were not in ruins ? Do you think you should have been presented a piece of Europe well wrapped in silk ? Poles usually tend to complain about what they have lost but never appreciate what they have received from other European peoples. My grandfather was born and lived in Silezia (Walbrzych/Waldenburg) until 45, and in the eighties I took him there again when he was about eighty. We were welcomed by the Polish family who had been deported from Wolhynia/Ukraine and who lived in the house of my granddad at Walbrzych. So both parties were refugees. And the lady baked cake, made coffee and meals, and we sat there talking for hours without any problems. Their daughter had an excellent command of English. And on the way back to Zgorzelec and Germany my granddad said to me "I am so happy there are such nice people living there today !"And he had overcome the dreary past - even at his age. That is the only way to get on with each other - make friends not war !Otherwise the whole shit from the last century will start again from its beginning. Sorry, I am not sorry for the politicians, but I am sorry for the people ! The Germans, the Polish, the Russians - no matter where they are from.

[@KohlerSAStudios]

Now I get it. France, USA, Britain and the Soviet got so sick of Helmut Kohl saying “Germany will be united” they eventually gave in so he would shut up.

[@shahilgupta8176]

KöhlerSAStudios Ever heard of Gandhi?

[@shrek_has_swag2344]

Vindexproeliator America is -although not official- the name most people call the USA and everyone knows what they mean

[@yakutza3922]

Actually, it's the Soviets, Gorbachev let them reunite. BBC did about that video, check it. But, yes, almost of Europe was against of reuniting Germany. In ussr was a parade of independence. A lot of republics, even the RSFSR subjects had a sovereign rights.

[@yakutza3922]

You have to read books

[@c.g.5580]

Reeky Tortoise ngl your last reply ruined the vibe of your first reply

[@beageler]

I will never forget that evening, when the wall came down. I was seven years old, on TV the were people dancing and singing and fireworks were going off. My mum was crying. I didn't understand then what was happening. But everybody was glad and hopeful and relieved. It was awesome.

[@brianlawrence8184]

This video is a fairy tale and lacks in the reality of the Unification. Please read my remarks.

[@beageler]

No, I'm not gonna search for some comment that probably has nothing to do with my memories of the feelings right after the wall fell. And don't repost it here, I have no interest to read it, grinch. I also don't need someone from another country to wax about what went wrong. I lived through it, I seriously doubt you have anything to say that is pertinent to my understanding of it.

[@verdeboyo]

Yeah me too! There must have been lots of sex drugs and drinking going on for days, until the reality kicked in that the poor East will drain the richer West of it's resources before things smoothed out again

[@ok-he2ko]

@@verdeboyo You from Italy? And you call US poor? With your little country lmaoooo

[@verdeboyo]

@@ok-he2ko from England UK. And most def not poor😆😅

[@PurpleCrownVic]

It kills me how the border guards were like "we aint paid enough for this" and opened the gates lmao

[@gamerdrache6076]

They propaly wasen't even paid lol

[@chrisrudolf9839]

Their problem was that they were rushed by thousands totally unprepared. And not the regular guys who always tried to sneak over the border at night, whom propaganda said were class traitors or western spys anyway, so they shot them like they were ordered, but literally the whole Berlin neighborhood that promptly packed a few bags and wanted to run to the west because the news (falsly) announced that it would be allowed now. The crowd was so big that the ones in front couldn't even have backed up if they wanted to, so the only option the border guards had other than just letting it happen, would have been using their automatic weapons and just mowing a few hundred of them down, hoping that the mass would then panick and disperse (and even then there would have been a chance that they would have just been overrun, tight packed crowds like that behave unpredictable when a panick breaks out). Thankfully, the guards weren't ready to cause a bloodbath of such proportions.

[@iCanbEYOURrUKIA]

Some of those guards looked like they might tear up😢imagine not being able to see your friends and family because western powers couldn't decide if you were too dangerous to be united. It's a crazy story, but must have been a beautiful moment to live in.

[@OlBlow-qv6oz]

That's communism for you 😂

[@notmaireelneim]

Germany will be.....? I can't remember how it ends because you didn't say it often enough.

[@DaisyGeekyTransGirl]

I don't either. Was it nuked? I think the word was nuked.

[@notmaireelneim]

Yeah, I think that's it. Germany will be nuked. He should say it a few more times because it is not emphatic or profound enough.

[@navarro6148]

Germany will be Remade?? I think that's it

[@notmaireelneim]

Yes! I think that's it. Germany will be remade! Germany will be remade! Germany will be remade! Germany will be remade! Germany will be remade! Germany will be remade! Germany will be remade! Germany will be remade! Germany will be remade! Germany will be remade! Germany will be remade! Germany will be remade! I think I've said it enough times...

[@harrylui309]

Head of the EU.

[@Loser177]

Germany: can I be unified All of Europe: *war flashbacks* n o

[@certifiedcharbergian8462]

iVls *sad german noises*

[@appleslover]

@Ska only first world In the rest of the world Germany and Germans are known for positive stereotypes

[@appleslover]

@Ska maybe because they did their shit in Europe unlike Britain, France, Spain and the US You know it's an unwritten rule to do your atrocities away from where the butchers live

[@levi_athon9648]

A few years later Okay maybe sure

[@RodRock6133]

No please

[@quietdignityandgrace]

Historically speaking, when Germany says "unite", the rest of the world gets a little nervous.

[@meltedicecreamsandwich]

Except the US

[@thepepishow9878]

Lebensraum

[@itsprometheus8938]

@@meltedicecreamsandwich trust me you fat piece of arrogant shit should be more anxious than the europeans they fought with courage since 38 you got later in to the ww 2 ask.UK& greece & and the soviets being the only one to either fight or resist the nazis or italians

[@44olympus]

They thought Germany was joking....but suddenly remembered that Germany has no sense of humor.

[@henrifortier8621]

@@itsprometheus8938 Greece hahaha

[@omkargadewar2932]

One man promised that Germany would be united: Otto Von Bismarck. LOL

[@albertwang3536]

Johan Jacobs lesser German solution

[@Siegbert85]

Otto... the Great

[@onlinejobsfromhome5300]

wonderful

[@onlinejobsfromhome5300]

thumbs up

[@JohnSmith-fk7hq]

thumbs up

[@dr_flaming]

Margeret Thatcher: the dominant people in Europe would be German another person in the background: yey

[@Rynewulf]

@Renan_PS badass? Leeching popularity from the budget cut and diplomatically abandoned armed forces success at defending the Falklands is functionally evil, not badass.

[@MaSoNGaMeR115]

@Renan_PS she wasn't tough just hateful towards her own people, Britain hasn't even been close to electing someone tough since the 30's when Mosley was imprisoned without charge for refusing to support a war that killed millions of britons.

[@iain3713]

MaSoNGaMeR115 millions lol ok

[@BigAl2-u7e]

**Looks at a map of modern Germany** Otto von Bismarck: Look at how they massacred my boy.

[@hannorasmusholtiegel6044]

Germany is richer and more powerful then ever so huh...

[@roskcity]

@@hannorasmusholtiegel6044 Ja

[@MaSoNGaMeR115]

@@hannorasmusholtiegel6044 and Germans there are set to become a minority and eventually a non existent people from the past, definitely worth it

[@PhysicsGamer]

​@@MaSoNGaMeR115 Nobody with any sense cares about your racialized ideas of who is or is not German, dude. Not in Germany, and not elsewhere. Give it half a dozen generations and intermarriage will solve whatever particular "heritage" problem you've decided to decry. If you really want to make sure there aren't long-term problems, just change the citizenship criteria from primarily _jus sanguinis_ to primarily _jus soli._

[@nevets2371]

Technically you could argue his boy massacred himself, a couple times...

[@AsisTM]

Sorry I didn't get the Germany will be united part. Can you repeat it like another 100 times please?

[@HistoryScope]

I've added it to the next video for you so you'll get it then! :D

[@Lucas_07-PL]

@@HistoryScope Isn't it united tho ?

[@victorviereck4117]

@@Lucas_07-PL Currently? Yes Yes Yes and a lil tiny no.

[@Lucas_07-PL]

@@victorviereck4117 What u mean by tiny no ?

[@martinfranzer2254]

@@Lucas_07-PL he probably means the existing divide in Germany. Look up a religion map for Germany for example or look at the average income. Or where the big companies are having their headquaters e.t.c.

[@Austrian_Butcher]

Donald Trump: Man, it's hard to build a wall... Walter Ulbricht & Erich Honecker: First time?

[@will6412]

Österreichischer Patriot you can’t compare the Berlin Wall to Mexican boarder wall

[@Austrian_Butcher]

@@will6412 it's only a joke tho

[@kkapalle]

They all failed, this what happend with the stupid Trump, he is already in the history of America as worst president ever

[@Oline1756]

Klaus Kapalle Trumo sucks, I wish Obama like president comes.

[@johnsmith-yj2cn]

bill Clinton and Obama are way worst

[@seansantos7051]

Who else cant get over the fact that all of this wouldn't have happened if some Serbs hadn't killed a austro-Hungarian guy

[@OneEyeShadow]

There would've been some other trigger for WWI 2 months later, probably.

[@Redeemer216]

@@acho8387 dafuq you smoking. Flo clearly said WW1

[@nielsmichiels1939]

@nowai ................Dude. When the germans were occupying my country (belgium) during WWI they did horrors upon the people out of pure fear from them because their officers filled their minds with paranoid delusions that every belgian was a potential saboteur and a killer. It became so bad that when a drunk german soldier accidentaly fired at another german soldier in Leuven they burned the entire city down and shot 3/4 of the population of the city in the square right in front of the train station. They were convinced that there was an insurgency happening. XD People had the right to be angry at them.

[@PedoThaBear]

History seldom has a clear cause. You could trace it all way back to the millitarism in Prussia, wich itself resulted alot from the 30 years war, and if you trace back the reasons for that, the church, christianity, and if you trace that back... Well, you see what I mean....

[@Narusage]

Sean Santos All of this because some Serb decided to get a sandwich and by luck saw Franz Ferdinand and killed him.

[@NathanS__]

“These people were now Russian... polish” That’s a nice way to say millions of Germans were expelled and replaced by Russian/polish settlers.

[@jamessalmon5109]

Eh, these things happen

[@hardcorehardo]

@@jamessalmon5109 yeah just like with the native Americans..

[@hardcorehardo]

One of the most unheard humanitarian crimes of the 20th century

[@Soundwave3591]

how many poles and Russians did the Germans expel from their lands during the War? The presence of Ethnic Germans in the east was one of the driving motivations of HItler's "lebensraum" efforts, and the nations ransacked by the Nazis didn't want anyone using the excuse "there are already Germans there!" again.

[@94Newbie]

@Soundwave3591 the issue is not what was worse. but the video makes it sound like the local population was simply integrated into the soviet union and not expelled. wich is factually incorrect.

[@Moritz19081980]

I am from Berlin and I was there when the wall fell. The atmosphere was crazy. Everybody was so happy and full of hope. So many people openly cried tears of joy. But I only was 9 (or 10) at this time. So the real extent of this historical event wasn't clear to me back then. I mean: I was born in West-Berlin and grew up with 2 Germanies as the normality. I didn't know it differently. So it all felt like an adventure to me.

[@rhinaffrika5825]

Fusilier Thresher fuck no

[@rhinaffrika5825]

Gyoto Azimoto its really sad man

[@boomznbladez405]

@Gyoto Azimoto the fuck do you mean "the allies won unfortunately"? Bro better take that shit back to 1945 when that idealogy surrendered.

[@onepunchman5909]

@Thresher yes

[@boomznbladez405]

@@appleslover indeed

[@Hollywood2021]

Your drawing of Gorbachev is hilarious

[@Squeeze35i]

Hollywood hair and no shitmark😂

[@HistoryScope]

I used this image, btw. www.google.com/search?q=gorbachev&client=ms-android-huawei&prmd=inv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjBxZfMgPjjAhXSPOwKHYIOCVAQ_AUIFygB&biw=360&bih=518#imgrc=bQovboNKEovSpM

[@jackhammer1021]

200th like on dis comment

[@szoszaty]

I wrote this comment, because... Germany will be united!

[@galaxyred7]

Szoszaty Germany is united idiot.

[@k0mentator507]

Galaxy Red r/woooosh

[@zyanego3170]

@@galaxyred7 Austria is Germany

[@checkcommentsfirst3335]

@@galaxyred7 Germany isnt united! Look at the east provinces idiot

[@Lucas_07-PL]

@@checkcommentsfirst3335 The what ?

[@romanbaranovichi5375]

Massive like for correct pronunciation of Gorbachev

[@TheMillennialPlantDad]

I'm watching this from Nigeria and no particular reason, but this was so informative and insightful

[@prometheus9096]

Greetings from Germany :=)

[@jewelss7585]

Yall have wifi?

[@HistoryScope]

Yes. the Internet is a few decades old and many poorer regions of the world also have access to Internet by now.

[@alejandrorobles1343]

@@HistoryScope r/woooosh

[@hello-friend990]

Do you really think a country with skyscrapers would not have WiFi users...are you dumb or prejudiced

[@duwang8499]

I need to correct you about something. When you talked about the kaliningrad oblast and the lands east of the oder neisse, you said that the people there now would live in russia and poland. But that's wrong, because shortly after the war almost all germans from these regions (and in general east europe) where expelled or killed, leaving only a small part in upper silesia and Transylvania

[@HistoryScope]

you're correct. This video was already getting pretty long so I cut all the material about what happened to previously German territories :(

[@ducktube7473]

@@HistoryScope Yeah, but this extra sentence would be pretty damn important

[@benragaberplym]

@@ducktube7473 but this is entirely it. He's basically making a propaganda film about the greatness of Germany. Germany is an artificially constructed state, not an organically moulded one like all other European countries. He's very forceful about how essential it is that German borders be drawn a certain way, just as lines on a map rather than for some over arching reason. This idea of Germany has done so much damage over the last 150 years.

[@ducktube7473]

@@benragaberplym Germany is as artifical as Italy or the us. So cut that bs. The idea of Germany caused harm? Are y that dumb? Beside the last Century all European nations were nearly constantly warring in different coalitions. Germany is a legitimate state with every right to be united. If you have a problem with that gfy.

[@benragaberplym]

@@ducktube7473 I do have a problem with that. The difference with Italy is that since unification, they haven't been the cause of every major conflict in Europe. When Italy is the cause of every major conflict in Europe then we need to look at it again. Germany is a series of countries that don't work together. The only thing that say Bavaria and the Ruhr Valley have in common are the language they speak. No one has asked the people if they want this. Not putting such things to the people and forcing unity anyway is a ticking bomb, but nah, you go ahead because when it blows up, and believe me it will, it isn't going to explode in my face. Not until Germany needs another distraction from its own problems and causes another world war anyway.

[@MHG1023]

The explanation regarding Helmut Kohl´s decision not to demand those territories taken over by the Soviet Union and Poland is a bit misleading. It is true that he attempted to get back as much as possible. But he was aware that this would not have been possible and didn´t push too hard for that. He just needed to show certain organizations (representing those that had been expelled from these territories) in Germany that he did his best ... Otherwise Poland would have demanded back the territories that were taken by the Soviet Union (these territories are part of Ukraine today btw.) So, insisting on these territories by Germany would´ve created great chaos through shifting back various borders - without helping anybody since anything German in the western Polish and anything Polish in western Soviet Union / Ukraine is gone. So, returning "East Prussia" to Germany was not going to happen - under any circumstances - In particular in Kaliningrad area there´s very little German cultural heritage (e.g. housing, etc.) left and since it is a major Soviet/Russian navy installation they were never going to give it up again - ever. Helmut Kohl knew that. After the war the German inhabitants of the (now) western Polish territory and East Prussia (Königsberg/Kaliningrad) were expelled and had to leave behind everything they possessed. But - the same happened to the Polish people that lived in the area of the western Soviet Union (now western Ukraine). They were moved to the former German territory in western Poland. That´s a fact that these organizations of expelled people in Germany silently ignore all the time ... These Polish people had to suffer the same fate as the expelled Germans. So, we can´t turn it over all again without creating new tensions/problems. Germany got the max out of what was possible when the big wall fell. We´re lucky !!!

[@pinheadtheyumenikkifananti6969]

fuck you nobody will read that you fucking nerd

[@Alexander-zt9kz]

You're right but most the territories that were Polish now belong to Belarus not Ukraine

[@Lucas_07-PL]

@@Hitman47IOI U mean piles of rocks dat were cities before war .

[@camelofsiberia962]

Nah germans lost so much rich land to minorities in their nation after ww2 I wouldnt call it max

[@zliu4208]

It doesn’t even matter now with the freedom to live wherever they want in European Schengen zone as a EU citizen. Both Poles and Germans should work together to make EU stronger to curb the influence of old and emerging superpower like USA, Russia and China. The world needs some rebalancing.

[@juanchoalbertonity4730]

Take a shot everytime he says G E R M A N Y W I L L B E U N I T E D

[@saturn6584]

*dies*

[@thesuperean3008]

german empire Anschluss?

[@saturn6584]

@@thesuperean3008 yes

[@mariusberger3297]

Oder ne Line ziehen :D

[@ramranchlover5374]

juancho albertonity i got alcohol poisoning

[@darkstarnh]

I was there in 89 working on the tv coverage. An amazing few days.

[@MTC008]

I hope korea gets reunified like this

[@IamAWESOME3980]

cool, summer of 89 my government was shooting at the student's protestors with live bullets. Didn't stop capitalism from chasing the communists out or vice versa though. the two intermarry one another and coexisted. just wow.

[@OlBlow-qv6oz]

​@@MTC008Nah

[@MTC008]

@@OlBlow-qv6oz yes, it should be

[@OlBlow-qv6oz]

@@MTC008 Kim Jong Un declared that North Korea would be Independent forever.

[@Stack4Freedom]

I’m not scared of the idea of a strong and independent Germany, the Second World War was 76 years ago and the modern day German people have been educated about their past mistakes and would never do such things again. I trust the German people (who I very much love) to manifest their own destiny in the ever changing geopolitical landscape of the 21st century.

[@KimPossibleShockwave]

There is a conflict brewing, though -- those in the political and academic areas want Germany to basically go full on EU and globalist, while the average German doesn't and is becoming more and more angry at what's happening with migration. The divide is growing. While the German people obviously have learned from their mistakes, it looks like their leadership hasn't. sigh

[@SlamF95]

Much love from Germany! ❤

[@LetoxxIant]

Our and the future of all of Europe lays in a strong and independent EU. The single states in the EU are to small to compete with China, India, the US and even Brazil in the future. Indonesia will surpass Germans economy in 1.5 to 2 decades. We just need to look at the UK after Brexit to see what will happen to us if we do work together. Future endeavours are to costly for the single states in Europe. I hope there won't be a strong and independent Germany outside of a strong independent EU else Germany will neither be strong nor independent.

[@michakrynicki7299]

​@@LetoxxIant eu state is bad idea i dont trust my country politicians so why woud i trust a forigner politician to look out for my intrests

[@awesomestevie27]

It’s never the people it’s just governments and people of Germany even 40 years after we’re effect by a war that happened 40 years ago when they were just innocent civilians

[@KTA1sVidsandFacts]

Get someone who looks at you the same way Helmut Kohl looked at Germany.

[@imperialism7780]

I watched this video in my German Class and my teacher who is quite old born in West Germany was so happy watching this video as it gave her memories of when she heard the news of reunification.

[@stjaeger81]

hope she realized that this video gives a lot of wrong informations.

[@KLblk88]

Was she so happy because her country annexed independent GDR?

[@vvieites001]

Of course she was happy. Her life as she knew it wasn’t upended at all lol

[@vvieites001]

@@stjaeger81such as?

[@Bergen98]

I have been in Kaliningrad couple of times. And it amazes me how almost nothing of Germany is left there. Even if Germans, for some reason, would decide they want it (like Russia wanted Crimea), there will be literally nobody who would support that

[@juliane__]

Sure, nevertheless russian politicians in Kaliningrad want to rename it into the russion version of Königsberg, what Kjongsberg is, i guess. Interesting how relaxed people in Kaliningrad look at the topic of homeland.

[@schma9lo189]

It's because they kicked all the germans out of it after WW2, sent them to germany, and repopulated it with ethnic russians.

[@bob494949]

Yes, it’s called ethnic cleansing. It’s horrible, no matter who does it.

[@kerim.s8801]

Well everything was bombed of course and the russians rebuild it.

[@erigreca3297]

The only thing that Orks from Moscow can do is Destruction&Poverty

[@mustard5382]

GERMANY WILL BE UNITED

[@user-qp3hd3cn8e]

Dont fall for it, this is propaganda. Helmut Kohl was an idiot who could sell himself pretty good but at the end of his chancellorship things where obvious and most people hated him but he managed to get elected once again by making generous promises to the East Germans and the people couldnt belive it. He also was greedy for power and by that he had a good influence on the media as well, he is really known by the power he had.

[@hardcorehardo]

Yeah Prussia is next lol

[@reigon5078]

I had to stop the video

[@denon7474]

GOD SAVE THE QUEEN

[@RecklessFables]

ANOTHER EXCUSE TO DRINK BEER

[@ravex24]

It was amazing watching this happen irl. One of the most memorable moments in my life, even as a young American boy watching it on TV.

[@apache8664]

UK: we will not create a powerful germany Germany: i dont think you get it we will be united

[@zerk1130]

1:30; You make it sound like the West built the wall. The West didn't build the wall to keep people out, the East built the wall to keep people in.

[@PedoThaBear]

The west had build less visible walls nontheless. Like making a separate currency, to distance themself from the east and disturb their developement... That's often overlooked.

[@dionysg205]

And it was not build between the two Germanies as implied but around the West Berlin sector which was a West Germany enclave in East Germany.

[@siblinganon66]

@@dionysg205 Nope. It was build along the whole border. Minefields, fences and all. Today most of it is a nature preserve forming a very long green belt.

[@linusfotograf]

@@dionysg205 That's just what you assume. Totally incorrect.

[@rebeccaliegeoise6895]

Actually there were two walls : one between West and East Germany (and between the other capitalist and socialist states) and another, after august 1961, around the French, US-American and British sectors of Berlin called West Berlin surrounded by the German Democratic Republic and the Soviet sector of Berlin which became capital of the GDR.

[@DaDunge]

2:50 They essentialy had two choices open fire on civilians or let them through and there were no orders to kill the civilians which meant that if they did that they had to accept responsibility for it themselves. I don't think anyone has ever done that, taken it upon themselves to massacre civilians without being able to fall back on "I was just following orders".

[@HECKproductions]

helmut kohl: eggs and bananas east germany: where do i sign up

[@de132]

@elem arha Er macht Witze.

[@bubiruski8067]

Allmost a quarter century ago I served for a short period in Germany. I had to pay that “ solidaritats betrag“ from my income. I must admit that I enjoyed to pay this, just as a tiny contribution to the great German people to ease their unification. I wish the Germans prosperity and progress. God bless the Germans and all their Friends !

[@derdude6214]

Thanks man, the solidarity contribution (Solidaritäts Beitrag) is still around actually. It's used for humanitarian purposes today.

[@NazriB]

Lies again? Grab Food USD SGD

[@bubiruski8067]

@@NazriB No lie ! Germans, finest people !

[@TripleTSingt]

My grandmother was born in Tilsit, known as Sowetsk in Russia, in Oblast Kaliningrad, while my grandfather was born in Berlin.

[@Grivian]

Germany gets one of the hardest beatdowns in history, gets split in two and still West Germany has a bigger economy than the victor Great Britain.

[@anoopm2022]

@Grivian ur right. Fraudsters never prosper.

[@krle7970]

Lost Cities and territories to ALL their neighbors and yet today is still a powerhouse. Not even Post Napoleonic France compares and they kept ALL their core territories.

[@pahaihminen1]

Was Germany united? I think I missed that

[@therealslimshady3662]

not yet

[@Stack4Freedom]

@@therealslimshady3662 *chuckles* I’m in danger

[@therealslimshady3662]

@@Stack4Freedom ja, auch ihr werdet eines tages deutsch sein, keine sorge.

[@Stack4Freedom]

@@therealslimshady3662 I doubt that, Germany’s population is in decline because you sold out population growth for women’s rights. Also the west will soon be surpassed by the east. I’m more scared of China than Germany.

[@therealslimshady3662]

@@Stack4Freedom thats ok, at least our women are educated and able to drive cars without being stoned to death

[@tommiterava5955]

2:55 the border guard officer: "i have just lost my sense of purpose"

[@megakev321]

Wow Helmut Kohl was pretty badass. He even wanted pre-WW2 territory back.

[@c.straut5065]

That is complitly wrong. In the former eastern part of Germany there are now polish and in the northern part of eastprussia russian people. Kohl made an agreement with Poland that Germany would not claim for giving back these terretories. Germany wants to have friends at the borders!

[@user-Merovingian1980]

taking the piss imo millions died for those land yet this jobsworth thinks its his to take back

[@sillyone52062]

I served in West Germany in the early '80's. At the Headquarters US Army Europe, Heidelberg, we were a mere 90 miles from the border. A 600 mph jet could cover that distance in nine minutes. Missiles could be launched from miles away. Helmut Kohl flew into my airfield on a C-414 Chancellor. I always got a kick out of that. He was a BIG man!!

[@PropperNaughtyGeezer]

And a heavy man. I´m sure he had to sit in the middle because of the trim.

[@AWWx2]

A very interesting historical look at an event that I lived-through as an adult in the USA, paying so little attention as I did, as a young American, to events happening in Europe, (I had only visited France, Switzerland, and England before these events.) Thank you. In 1994, I went to Germany, to Berlin for several days, and learned so much history of Germany after WW II, frightening, very enlightening, but I still had much ore to learn, and, from your video, I guess I still do have much to learn. Thank you...you have succeeded where my teachers failed, to teach me important information about the German unification struggles around 1989-1990.

[@HerMeggido]

Fun fact to the ending, later in the 90s Boris Yeltsin offered to sell Kaliningrad to Germany but then they refused.

[@thunderbird1921]

Maybe it's for the best right now. It's Russia's only warm water port in the region IIRC, so it at least keeps some tensions down.

[@A_Haunted_Pancake]

As nice as it would have been to get that piece of Germany back as well, it probably would have been more trouble than it was worth. Short term, kicking out all the Russians would have looked (and been) really bad. In the long run, having a piece of the Country that's separated is a conflict just waiting to happen.

[@comph2686]

Instructions unclear: was Germany United or not? Edit: Instructions definitely unclear. Nukes were fired and Germany isn’t even there

[@damiangaming5696]

Instructions Still Unclear Got Paper cuts instead of Reuniting

[@MrTohawk]

Depends on what you call Germany.

[@malcolml309]

Actually, it's a Germany, minus BOTH Prussia and Austria.

[@malcolml309]

@Johan Jacobs Valid point.

[@hardcorehardo]

No it wasn't. Prussia is missing and mostly forgotten

[@jamescarmody4713]

Crazy how a press secretary could hasten German unification just by misspeaking. Secretaries have more power than we give them credit for...

[@fremejoker]

Schabowski wasn't just a press secretary. It's a false friend translation. He was "Sekretär für Informationswesen" (Secretary for Information) . Secretaries in a communist state are kind of ministers within the communist party, which have the actual power instead of the real ministers within the actual administration (executive government). Often these positions are occupied by the same person. The central commitee of a communist party often mirrors the actual government cabinet regarding departments. The administration almost always has a minister for economy and in a communist state the central commitee will have a secretary for economy, and the latter has the actual power to make a decision. Anyway, even if he were just a press secretary back then, it would have had the same impact, because this was a statement in a governmental press conference with no single chance to take that back. Luckily.

[@brianlawrence8184]

Pure nonsense ! This video is a fairy tale and lacks in the reality of the Unification. Please read my remarks.

[@AsimKhan-yd5fj]

Very interesting, the mistake in the press conference and they let the people cross.

[@tensorprodukt]

There is one important detail about the border wall that is very important, and needs to be mentioned, especially in the actual context where everyone wants to build walls : The German wall was not build by the west to not let the poorer East Germans in, but by the East to not let them out !

[@juditkovacse]

I've always wondered about how this happened. This is your best video yet. Congrats!

[@MattBargain]

There is a wonderful video about Kohl and his foreign affairs minister Genscher in Russia. After they signed the deal for billions of $ the mics are still open and you can hear them say: " yeah, now let's get drunk!" Funny footnote in history...

[@stjaeger81]

would be wonderful, if it would be correct..

[@MattBargain]

Here is a source: www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/zeitgeschichte-milliarden-poker-am-telefon_aid_173810.html

[@tamino27]

sorry, but this the worst video ever on german unification. It is full of mistakes and desinformation.

[@stjaeger81]

@@MattBargain my answer was for Judit Kovacs, I didn't doubt your comment.

[@tonyk501]

Nicely summarized video on on the historic events leading up to Germany's re-unification. Congratulations to all Germans as we approach the 30 year anniversary of their re-unification! That historic event reflected a tremendous achievement in human dialogue, international team work and mutual co-operation on an epic scale. Looking forward, I sincerely hope with all my heart to perhaps one day also see the re-unification of both Ireland and Korea, in my lifetime. The brothers and sisters of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland should look each other in the eyes, shake hands and become one Ireland for all time. Similarly, North Korea and South Korea are also members of the same family and should seek to end their conflict peacefully and become one again.

[@SushiElemental]

Oh, I misread. Ireland unifying with Korea would be pretty cool, though.

[@iCanbEYOURrUKIA]

It's really so beautiful, and I pray for those nations to reunite as well.

[@wildsurfer12]

You say Germany has been united. Politically and geographically yes, culturally and economically no.

[@fuckinantipope5511]

wildsurfer12 true. Many eastern parts are still underdevelopted and the people in the west have much better income

[@MattBargain]

Well, I guess you can't have it all at once. Created quite a bit of ugly consequences though. I was born in East Germany, served in the first international army division (German-French) and lived in Germany, Spain, US and now Netherlands. I now feel alienated in Germany though. Had to leave after another try for a year. I feel they are moving backwards instead of forward in history.

[@the_9ent]

Matt Bargain Interesting. Why do you feel that way?

[@klaus9714]

When I saw this picture de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahnstrecke_Neumark%E2%80%93Greiz#/media/File:Bahnhof_Greiz_Aubachtal_(5).jpg first, I thought it is somewhere east, like poland or ukraine... It´s from 2017

[@lowesmanager8193]

Its getting better every year, you can't expect the cultural changes of East Germany to go away in just under thirty years, but I believe that it will be mostly gone in a decade or two.

[@Pazzystar]

ONE MISTAKE WAS MADE. GDR anthem was not adopted.

[@Exodon2020]

That whiny piece was heavily tainted by the regieme abusing it...

[@Soldner41]

@@Exodon2020 still it Sounds better and makes more Sense than the cutted West German anthem.

[@kampfkarpfen6013]

@@Soldner41 cut

[@Exodon2020]

The Nazis didn't use the third stanza though

[@Exodon2020]

No, "Deutschland über alles" is actually the first stanza. And despite the Nazis abusing it as a call for conquest it was originally meant very differently: as a call for unification. Germans should be putting aside their differences and working together to achieve one common goal - the only goal that mattered throughout the 19th century. The third stanza is the one left out by the Nazis as it is about unity, law and freedom being the foundation of happiness and thus a goal worth striving for - so basically the opposite of what the Nazis believed in.

[@johnscurr2501]

I served in the British Army of the Rhine for 8 years in total spread between 1969 and 1982 at no time was the British Army an occupation force. The same can be said of the Canadian, Belgian, Dutch, French and US forces I served with and alongside. In 1949 as NATO was conceived the armies of occupation ceased to exist as such and became a joint NATO force as the Russians rearmed at an alarming rate. Six years later the Bundeswehr came into being.

[@kommie27]

In 1970 West Germany signed treaties with the Soviet Union (Treaty of Moscow) and Poland (Treaty of Warsaw) recognizing Poland's Western border at the Oder-Neisse line as current reality,

[@HistoryScope]

You are right, what I should have said is that the new Germany hadn't given up claims to the former German regions of Poland :)

[@Maddinhpws]

Why should it have remained divided?

[@alanhowitzer]

Interesting. I wonder why West Germany recognized Poland's west border. What would Germany gain by doing this?

[@Maddinhpws]

@@alanhowitzer Like a good relationship with Poland?

[@HashimyHuseini]

Maddinhpws Yeah seems a very profitable thing

[@andrewkeseman3108]

So at about 1:40 you mention that "a wall was built between the two Germanies" in order to prevent East Germans from emigrating. This isn't exactly true. A wall was built around West Berlin for this purpose, but since it was entirely surrounded by East Germany, it wasn't "between the two." Instead, much of the border between these two countries was turned into a minefield for the same purpose.

[@Alkalus]

He protecc He atacc But most importantly He got his Eastern half bac

[@hexadezimal8631]

10:40 Westgermany gave up all the territories east of the Oder-Neisse-Line in the "Ostverträge". Chancellor Willy Brandt used this agreement for his "Neue Ostpolitik" (new east-policy), which started the process of reunification.

[@rUckAmIng]

thats wrong he only agreed with poland the the borders from the görlitz agrement of 1950 wont be violated

[@hexadezimal8631]

@@rUckAmIng Brandt signed the Moscow Agreement in august 1970. West-germany recognized the existing borders with poland. In december 1970 he signed the agreement of Warsaw which reaffirms the agreement of Moscow. With the "Grundlagenvertrag" he reassured the Oder-Neiße-Line as the western border of Poland.

[@Exodon2020]

Brandt asured Poland and the Soviet Union that West Germany wouldn't demand those Territories back until a final agreement concerning the German borders has been made. This final agreement is the 2+4 Treaty

[@WasGuckstDuSo65]

de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweriner_Grenzvertrag

[@kjartanruminy6297]

1:00 the german people living in the now Polish and Russian regions didn’t become Polish or Russian they were forced out of their homes and had to flee to Germany. I know this because my grandmother was born in now Polish territories but back then were German territories until 1945 and they were ordered to leave their home within 6 hours or something. These were hard times for German people living in these territories and there are some details I’m not sure if I should go in to. But anyway great video.

[@djbugsy3888]

Correction - a wall was built in east Germany surrounding west Berlin to stop emigration out east Germany/ Berlin into West Berlin

[@comradeedwin1006]

Amazing video i subscribed with bells and liked the video for this amazing video

[@liberalaco829]

A few inaccuracies on the pre-ww2 map of the British Empire! Libya and Italian Somaliland are both shown as British yet Egypt isn't. However one *could* argue that because Egypt was a dominion of Britain it wouldn't be shown, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, The Raj, and Malaya are all shown as Britain.

[@drakon5076]

As far as I know, Egypt has not been officially part of the british empire, egypt was never annexed but instead was turned into a (british controlled) puppet-state.

[@liberalaco829]

A dominion you could say?

[@drakon5076]

I have to admit that I do not really know the British definition for a Dominion. But to be a Dominion, does a country have to be part of the British Empire or not? My impression was that the Dominions were part of the British Empire with a lot of autonomy and independence, like Canada or Australia? The difference, in my opinion, is that Egypt was never annexed and was never part of the British Empire. Officially, Egypt was a sovereign nation whose government was later forced to enter into unfavorable treaties with Great Britain. This allowed the British representatives in Egypt to act as they wished and to have full control over the economy, politics and the army. Therefore I would call it a classic puppet state.

[@nimaiiikun]

getting support on reunification: US - easy mode, UK - hard mode

[@tombkings6279]

"Germany is united" You mean half of it

[@thinkaboutit4715]

You right

[@bobesponja7791]

where is the other half? i can't see any on map,and if you can,i think you need to start learning history

[@thinkaboutit4715]

@@bobesponja7791 I would say that we're still missing, the German speaking population in the eastern part of Belgium, Austria, Pomerania and Silesia.

[@thinkaboutit4715]

This is just my opinion

[@thinkaboutit4715]

@@bobesponja7791 Not all German speaking countries are called "Germany"

[@timothyrice1621]

I liked the video, it was cool to see the German version of the event. Also the animation is very good. I just wish you had provided some sources, only because I was taught in my classes that the US's was the first power (following W Germany) to support reunification and that we pressured France and the UK to accept it.

[@TrashDeviant]

Wow. Again, well researched and well presented. You got yourself another subscriber.

[@mr.x4001]

What you are saying at 10:38 is just wrong! His predecessor Willy Brandt already acknowledged these territorys as Polish. Claims to these parts were never made at this time. It is true that Germany during reunification made a treaty with Poland and the restof the allies to ratify the already obvious. However Kohl did get an offer to buy the Russian territory but he refused it. Because only russians were living there (the Germans in this area already migrated to Germany years ago) and the infrastructure was in very bad shape and would ad trillions to an already expensive reunification. He said in a famous quote that he would not even take the Soviet part if it was given to him for free.

[@gerdforster883]

Some soviet general, who had no authority in that matter, has been reported to have made said offer to one of Kohl's underlings. Who refused it without even asking Kohl. At least that is the story told in an article that was published more than ten years after reunification. Gorbatchev immediately made it clear that this had never been an official offer, when that story broke.

[@canislupus6591]

You are right, but that would disturb his epic song about almighty Helmut Kohl, Kanzler der Einheit.

[@christopheroleary1452]

Wow, now that's a piece of music I didn't expect to hear as the backing track of an unrelated KZbin video: 'Franz Liszt's 3rd Symphonic Poem "Les Preludes"'. Has always been a favourite of mine, but unfortunately very few people know about Liszt's immense repertoire of top-tier music beyond Hungarian Rhapsody 2., Un Sospiro, his transcription(basically a rework in Liszt terms) of 'Stanchen' Serenade, by Schubert and 'La Campanella'. I recognised Les Preludes instantly, major Kudos for using it.

[@Vinzmannn]

You didn't show THE nost important part of the Scharbowski clip. The part where, when asked when this new rule would be implemented, he stuttered and said: "After my knowledge, now. Instantly."

[@fullmetalhundertzehn]

1:20 the germans in Silesia, Pommerania and Eastprussia weren't allowed to stay there. They were forced to leave.

[@franciscomtois7777]

No a single mention of David Hasselhoff and how he single-handedly reunited Germany

[@w.k.7277]

Helmut Kohl was an interesting guy. He was truly Christian. He admired Poland and felt always profoundly sorry for his ancestors responsible for the war. He was often in Poland officially and privately. He gave all his support to Eastern Europe.

[@presidentforlife1732]

Königsberg germans faced the same fate as volga germans.

[@klarobskyr]

Except not really. Volga Germans and the rest of the Soviet Germans were expelled to Kazakhstan and Siberia, while East Prussian Germans were evacuated to West Germany.

[@DaDunge]

@@klarobskyr Evacuated? Told to walk to the border.

[@conveyor2]

@@klarobskyr My extended family were Volga Germans and got to starve to death under Stalin in 1933.

[@klarobskyr]

@@conveyor2 Well, that's just Communist things. All of my extended family is from the former USSR, I've got at least a dozen of relatives who got imprisoned, executed, expelled or starved. Pretty much every branch of it lost virtually all kind of the property it had prior to the 30s. My grandmas couldn't think of any male cousins they had, because very few made it throught the first decades of the Communist rule.

[@Mp57navy]

1.There was only a wall in Berlin, around the allied sector. Common misconception. 2. And it was built by East Germany.

[@coobk]

There was also a wall between the two germanies not just in Berlin You can still visit it in some places

[@maaarlon248]

Agreed. I‘m from the border of Sachsen-Anhalt and Niedersachsen and there still are some leftovers of the wall.

[@kingnugget4050]

Are we not gonna talk about how he highlighted the falklands on the 1990 map? That's some big dedication.

[@auricom24]

Lousy dokumentation! It just sounds like the reunition came just because the mistake from Schabowski. You forget the whole protests of the citicens of GDR before. "We are the people!" " we are one nation!"

[@canislupus6591]

And he is overestimating kohl's role in the reunification process. And underestimating the 1990 election as a motivation for Kohl to reunite so quickly. As far as I can remember only the British had serious doubts about the reunification. And the polish because of possible discussions about the Oder-Neiße-Border, but in fact only right-wing CSU politicians were talking about regaining those areas.

[@unematrix]

Awesome video, as always!

[@tyvamakes5226]

With these animations, it feels like Extra History, but better

[@rexisnox577]

Its absolutely beautiful watching the east germans flood through the gates.

[@wojtekjakub1810]

As a Polak. I like my Deutsch neighbours. They deserve the Reunification. Although East German memorabilia is pretty cool. The East and West Germans had enough of the Iron Curtain as much as the Polish and the whole eastern block. Yes some Nationalist Germans wanted western Poland and Eastern Prussia back but it's the same thing as saying Poland wants it's east back that it lost to the Soviet Union. The point was the people had enough of living in misery and wanted a normal life so I'm happy for the Germans. We lived together in that land for centuries and there is no point to be shitting in our own backyard over and over again. Goes to the rest of beloved Europe that has bled many many times.

[@conors4430]

To me that mistaken press conference is the ultimate sign of just how powerful a mass movement of people is. Because it shows just how brittle power actually is because it’s based on divide and conquer and fear. When the reality could be quite different if you actually test the system on mass

[@NOTDRQXX]

Thank you so much for sharing that.

[@stjaeger81]

Do you like incorrect information?

[@stjaeger81]

@Anonymous Person can I contact you somewhere else? KZbin id not good and sometimes I can read the answers.

[@TheHipClip]

Germany could have been reunited in 1952. Actually Stalin wanted Germany to be an independent buffer zone between the West and the East. Some Historians say he wanted to hinder West Germany joining the European Economic Zone. Then Kanzler Adenauer only wanted reunification under a Western controlled Germany.

[@willywodka1924]

And than, ooops, Soviet Invasion in Germany, which had no allies, because they had no NATO membership. It would have been a real risk for Germany.

[@henryseidel5469]

Willy Wodka Yet an independent united Germany would have been much better for the Germans than being rearmed again by both sides to become another launching site and target for foreign powers. Nato should have been abolished after the Warsaw Pact had been broken down. Instead of some nato idiots creeping about in front of Russian borderlines.A handful of Russian missiles on the island of Cuba were called a "world crisis", but American missiles a hundred miles away from Petersburg are a great deed for freedom and democracy ??What an insane philosophy ! Russians will never agree to that.

[@rippspeck]

If Germany hadn't allied with the West, we'd speak Russian all the way to Lisbon right fucking now. Don't forget, they claimed to be the savior and liberator of all "suppressed" peoples with their incredibly benevolent politics of economical stagnation and terror.

[@henryseidel5469]

@@rippspeck Oh yes, the Russians would have come over he Cremlin Wall with knives between their teeth to rape all western virgins. After they had defeated the Nazis long before the fighters for freedom and democracy appeared on the horizon. What terror ? The Russians only defeated themselves, they never carpet bombed residential areas with women and children in them. They fought with machine guns and tanks on battlefields only. You are a lover of western tabloids, aren't you ? By the way, Germany had not allied with the west, it was only half of it. Germany was separated to preserve American bases in Europe. The Soviets withdrew some thirty years ago, but the yankees are still there.

[@The80sWolf_]

Western capitalist states only wants independent countries when they accept pro-capitalist politics. They never care about letting people build their own society.

[@warriorsrule9350]

My father told me a story back in the 1990's. He told me that when he was in school in the 60's, a French history teacher told him that if and when Germany unites, Nazism will be reborn. My dad told me this because we were watching news reports about German skinheads.

[@warriorsrule9350]

@Edmund Faust It's always a joy to watch a cat fight between two Europeans.

[@warriorsrule9350]

@Edmund Faust "You wrote my dad's teacher was wrong" He was not. Clearly he was talking about the idea of extreme right and fascism. He was talking about Nazism as an idea. Since the 1990s the idea has been resurrected. While before it was unthinkable to simply utter the word.

[@warriorsrule9350]

@WinnieTheGrizzly I agree with you about the French and their phobia. I read a quote once and it made perfect sense. It stated: "The Scots are afraid of the English, the English of the Irish, The French are afraid of the Germans, and the Germans are scared of the Germans." HAHAHA

[@IronmanM]

@@warriorsrule9350 We are most scared of being without a job...thats like the death row for us...you can hide a mountain of dead bodys in your basement...as long as you got a job, everythings fine 😅

[@thunderbird1921]

I've actually seen more activism online from German royalists/traditionalists than Neo-Nazis from there. Some of them are on KZbin, they want to bring back the Kaiser Emperor in a constitutional monarchy form. I personally think it's unlikely, but they're not giving up. Quite an interesting development.

[@FionanUaMurchadha]

Ireland. Will. Be. United.

[@bluestingray8955]

The difference is the majority of northern Irish people don’t want unification, the Republic of Ireland government also isn’t supper into the idea of reunification because of how it would affect the country’s demographics etc. Germany was different, although there were people (especially some in the ddr) who opposed unification it was ultimately a very popular thing and Germans of either side were not likely to start mass protesting this. Ireland is a different case, if the country was unified there would be large scale riots from the majority loyalist population who would clash with pro-unification population. There would be bloodshed, something Ireland has already seen too much of in recent history. The Good Friday Agreement is in effect. Currently all is well, The people are happy with their lives on both sides of the border and there is complete freedom of movement. Sometimes it’s just best to leave well enough alone

[@FionanUaMurchadha]

@@bluestingray8955 That doesn't mean it wont be eventually. I accept the border for now, I would vote no for unity today because we got to get out affairs in order first.

[@FionanUaMurchadha]

@@bluestingray8955 the Good Friday Agreement states when there is demand the border will be gone, the extreme loyalists can fight for an already dying cause because Great Britain does not want them

[@tonyhovater7467]

lol

[@sunshineimperials1600]

Yeah, united under British rule. Definitely would make the map look a bit more cleaner

[@AbdiPianoChannel]

I actually witnessed the break up of the Soviet union, the rise of solidarity in Poland, reunification of Germany and Tiananmen Square massacre all in the ages from 18 to 21.

[@shpendaliu1395]

Thanks for saying "Germany will be united" over and over, because I did not realize what video I was watching.

[@mrunseen3797]

11:40 I never heard, that Kohl ever claimed the former german parts in Poland "back". Never I heard that (Edit: And I didn`tfind any source suggesting this, it`s quite the opposite) and I call BS on this. Edit: The whole part after 11:40 is faulty and illinformed. Kohl never wanted these parts "back" and there was no back and forth!!!!! Please, you need to fix this video ASAP!

[@patrickp7871]

Those territories originally belonged to the Balts and Prussians (not Germanized Prussia). Some of them later were Polish (since the first official borders of 1025) and later on throughout history went back and forth between Poland, the Holy Roman Empire, Teutonic Knights. Prussia got germanized and became German speaking territories. For the origins check the coronation of the 1st Polish king, Bolesław I, in 1025 and the official borders of the sovereign Polish kingdom that were set. The coronation was confirmed by Henry II, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and King of Germany (within that empire) and furthermore Conrad II, the next emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and also king of Germany, confirmed the title of King to Mieszko II, Bolesław's heir.

[@JohnDoe-kv3cm]

Its on Wikipedia... come on man, its not hard to find.

[@patrickp7871]

@Estex oh, sorry :) .. I misunderstood. I removed the previous comment.

[@AdamMPick]

East Germany officially gave up all claims to the polish zone in the 1950 "Görlitzer Abkommen", West Germany did the same in the 1970 "Warschauer Vertrag". The 1990 German-Polish border agreement was a matter of protocol, as for the first time a de facto whole Germany could sign such an agreement. The same was done with the USSR. By the way, the USSR tried to sell Kaliningrad back to West Germany, not sell East Germany, but there were practicly no Germans living there, so Kohl declined. What they demanded and got, was quite a lot of money to move and reintegrate their massive military presence from Germany to the USSR.

[@Siegbert85]

Austria was part of Germany as well, pre-1945. The allies unanimously decided it wouldn't be henceforth, but you could at least have mentioned it.

[@HistoryScope]

While it is an interesting argument, I decided against it because it wasn't part of the German Empire when Germany was united in 1871. It was also part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, meaning is history isn't as interwoven with Germany pre-1938.. Hence, I did not deem it important enough as it was only part of Germany for a mere 7 years.

[@Siegbert85]

Historically speaking Austria had always been part of any notion of "Germany" up until mid 19th century. But I get that a topic like that is about subjects of international law rather than some diffuse cultural argument.

[@Siegbert85]

@XZDrake Sure it was. It was the leading power in both the the kingdom of Germany within the HRE and the German Confedaration during most of the 19th century. It only happened to not be included in the German Empire.

[@Siegbert85]

@XZDrake Well, as I said: Austria was part of "Germany" all through the middle ages and early modern era however you want to slice it. Prussia on the other hand arguably wasn't. Only Brandenburg belonged to the HRE and Germany thusly.

[@derrattenjunge]

I was 7 years old and had no idea, why we had to watch the News all night. My parents cried, the Telephone was ringing almost all the time, they opendend a bottle of wine or something and i was a little bit scared. But it was good, and i was there, when History was written, as a citizen of the unified Germany.

[@dudel39]

1:12 "these people were now living in poland". No these people (14 million germans from eastern europe in total) were driven out of there homes into "new germany", the ones that stayed mostly went to gulags similar to concentration camps (I got this from wikipedia btw).

[@andrzejkawa5491]

yep, sad, but true, there's almost no native germans left in those territories. those left are so russicized/polonized so they don't even speak geman.

[@lucagioviale]

nice video, subscribed!

[@SiVlog1989]

During a documentary about German Reunification, there were internal UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office documents that revealed Margret Thatcher's personal objection to Germany becoming one country. The British Ambassador in Bonn at the time said in a fax to Downing Street that despite the supportive line being shown by British diplomats, Britain is perceived to be not only the least supportive of German Reunification, but also the least important. To which in response, Thatcher wrote in the margin of the document, "because we are," German Reunification was definitely a setback for her

[@w23tx4]

Actually the eastern regions of the old German Reich were never even a topic to be dicussed. West Germany allready accepted the border with Poland in 1970 under Chancellor Willy Brandt. The question of reunification was just about the two german states. Even when the Sowjet Union offered to sell its Kaliningrad province back to Germany, Helmut Kohl and the West German government declined, because it would have upset several other states that were still opposing the reunification, like Great Britain, for example. So this part isn't actually true.

[@erin9377]

the polish recovered territories and russian kaliningrad oblast were absolutely not populated by germans in 1990... hell, they were almost entirely polish- and russian-populated by the 50s. the german claim to the land was purely historical by that point, and hardly more legitimate than claims to the old imperial territories like alsace-lorraine. in any case, i'm pretty sure west germany had already accepted the oder-neisse border by then. if kohl had seriously pursued a return to the pre-war borders, i highly doubt any of the powers would have been supported reunification.

[@mehawimes629]

Wrong. Poland didn't recover anything. Poland was occupied by both Germans and the Soviets. After the war however, Stalin didn't want to give the land he carved out from Poland so he offered the Polish the German lands to the west. Silesia, East Prussia and Pommerania had a large German population and it was always German. Soviets massacred the Germans in these lands and some 15 million of them left but more than a 1 million of them died. Polish and Russian settlers arrived after that. Alsace- Lorraine always had a French majority with German minority. Even Hitler had no interest in bringing Alsace-Lorraine back to the Reich. It is also funny that the people who ignore the ethnich cleansing of Germans criticize Nazi regime for their ideas of "Lebensraum". But nobody says a word of "Russian Lebensraum" which they have actually been doing for centuries and still doing atm.

[@erin9377]

@@mehawimes629 i was using the name "recovered territories" which refers to the territories which, as you say, were annexed to poland from germany after the war, had their german population expelled and were resettled with poles. the video skirts around all the events you describe and implies there were still germans living on the land by the 90s.

[@Wiktorino1984]

@@erin9377 German lands was exchange for east Polish lands. Why? Becose everybody that time want punish Germans and second reason Soviet Union want expand.

[@verdeboyo]

How can I not like this! Thank you for clearing up things I needed to know.

[@paulyb7267]

Not only was she strongly opposed to German reunification, but Thatcher was also strongly opposed to Austria (a German speaking country) joining the EU in the early 90s as it would (in her view) increase the number of German speakers in the EU from 80 million (reunited Germany) to 90 million (Germany + Austria). I'm guessing Thatcher really hated Germans. Even Mitterrand viewed Austrian accession into the EU as yet another German country joining the EU.

[@joestasitunes]

This really helped with my homework thanks :D

[@nqh4393]

1:14 Most of those Germans never became Poles. They were brutally expelled from their ancestral homelands in subsequent years. Same thing with East Prussia and Sudetenland.

[@ikerriveraperez]

thats very fucking sad

[@lucahlr8248]

I was on Holidays in the German part which belongs to Poland and some old guys told me they feel still german and speak still german

[@richlopez5896]

That's because they are ethnic Germans.Just the way you have ethnic Germans in the Alsace-Lorraine region of France who identify as German and speak German daily

[@RD-dn7yv]

I spoke with some former East Germans who had come to the UK in 2003 on an exchange visit. I asked them their opinion on reunification - and they all said it hadn't gone well for those in the east. 30 years on I wonder what opinion those in the former DDR hold?

[@scanida5070]

West German here! After reunification, a lot of the East’s businesses just couldn’t compete with those of the West and were subsequently bought up or just went bankrupt. In 2000, 20% of all East Germans were unemployed. Only after Angela Merkel came into office and investment started to go up, the numbers went down. Today, East Germany has been integrated thoroughly into the rest of Germany. It now has 70% of the economic performance of the West and cities like Dresden, Chemnitz and Leipzig are hubs for many startups. Though East Germany is still the poorest part of Germany with Mecklenburg-Vorpommern being the poorest state where the people have an average income of 3300€. People in Hesse Hesse (or should I say H€$$€) have an average income of 5000€ per month (though that‘s probably due to Frankfurt). The political landscape is also quite diverse. While in the West it‘s pretty simple (the further south you go, the more conservative/Bavaria it gets and the more north you go the more left it gets) the East is quite complicated. Some states are center-conservative or hardline/national-conservative while others are totally left wing/communist. The East isn‘t really dominated by the Conservative CDU (Angela Merkel‘s party) but by the National Conservative AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) and the successor of the East German SED (DIE LINKE). Only in the recent election, the CDU managed to get a record result of 37% in Sachsen-Anhalt. Saxony remains the stronghold of the AfD but it will most likely never govern as nobody wants to form a coalition with them. Thuringia meanwhile is the stronghold of DIE LINKE where they sit at 30% in a coalition together with the SPD and the Greens. So you see that‘s still pretty divided politically. The East is also very Atheist with nearly no Christians/Jews/Muslims/whatever remaining. There have been many projects though to integrate the East further. For example the VDE projects are 21 infrastructure projects which are designed to stimulate the East‘s economy. VDE 1-9 are train lines which also includes a High Speed line (max. speed 300 km/h) from Berlin to Munich. VDE 10-20 are new Autobahn highways and VDE 21 is an extensive project rerouting canals and connecting them with others in the West. VDE 21 is the last one that needs completion and is expected to be opened next or this year. Overall, West and East Germany is still divided but things have changed for the better. We Germans still call each other „Wessis“ (Westies) and „Ossis“ (Easties) but many of us think reunification was a succes, but there‘s still a lot to do ;)

[@Dummigame]

in that clip of people crossing the border that one woman looks SOOO happy, it's crazy what all east germans went through.

[@GhalamiteLoL]

Even when I do my random WW2 jokes, GERMANY WILL BE UNITED