Most Germans believe those living in parts of the country once separated by the Iron Curtain have little in common.
Germans from both sides of the wall celebrated reunification on October 3, 1990Image: Jörg Schmitt/dpa/picture alliance
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Six in ten Germans believe the differences between people in the former East and West Germany are greater than what unites them, according to a survey published on Tuesday.
The findings appear to show that, in contrast to the German government's own assessment, the two sides of the country are growing apart.
How the numbers look
Only 37% of people said they believed people in the East and West had now largely grown together as one nation, while 60% saw more division than unity.
The figures show a marked difference with a previous study in 2019, when some 51% saw the country growing together compared with 45% convinced there was more division.
Skepticism was higher in the latest survey among older Germans and those in the former East where, 34 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, 75% were most aware of the divide.
Differences were foremost also in the minds of 69% of Germans aged 60 and above.
The last time the assessments were so pessimistic was in 2008.
Tracing the division of Berlin
On November 9, 1989 the border separating East and West Berlin suddenly opened, and the Berlin Wall became history. DW traces the remnants of the wall that divided the city.
Image: Britta Pedersen/ZB/dpa/picture alliance
Brandenburg Gate
The Berlin Wall divided Berlin for 28 years, two months and 27 days, from August 1961 to November 1989. The Brandenburg Gate had long been the symbol of the division of Germany. Even after the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989, there was no passage here. That changed on December 22, 1989. Since then, Berliners have been able to walk unhindered through the landmark of their city again.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
East Side Gallery
The East Side Gallery on the River Spree in Friedrichshain is a 1.3-kilometer-long section of the so-called Hinterland Wall, which artists from all over the world painted in 1990. It was located in front of the death strip and a second wall. The area near the Oberbaumbrücke is a tourist attraction, but several wall elements have already been removed in the course of construction projects.
Image: DW/V. Esipov
Berlin Wall Memorial
Nowhere is the former "death strip" as vivid as it is here. An 80-meter-long segment of the Wall, including a guard tower, has been reconstructed. The authentic border fortification complex serves as a central reminder of the division of Germany. It pays homage to the victims who died or were killed at the Berlin Wall.
Image: DW/F. Wiechel-Kramüller
Traces of the route of the Wall
The Berlin Wall has disappeared almost everywhere in the city. East and West have now grown together. A strip of cobblestones in the city center marks where the Wall used to run.
Image: DW/F. Wiechel-Kramüller
Checkpoint Charlie
This border crossing is among the best-known sights in Berlin. Only foreigners and diplomats were allowed to pass through this checkpoint. In October 1961, shortly after the Wall was built, there was a standoff here as armed Soviet and American tanks stood face-to-face. The situation very nearly escalated.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/W. Kastl
The Palace of Tears
It was a place of tearful farewells. Hundreds of people crossed this border post at Friedrichstrasse station when leaving East Germany for West Berlin. The former departure terminal now serves as a reminder of the forced separation of friends and families. Visitors can walk through an original cubicle where passports were checked and relive the border clearance procedure for themselves.
Image: ullstein - Mrotzkowski
Hohenschönhausen Memorial
This former Stasi prison has been a memorial to the victims of communist dictatorship since 1994. Visitors are informed about the detention conditions and interrogation methods in communist East Germany. Former inmates lead the guided tours.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/P. Zinken
The former listening station at Teufelsberg
After World War II, this area was used to deposit debris. Rubble from the war was collected to form the Teufelsberg, the highest elevation in West Berlin. During the Cold War, the US National Security Agency used the hill as a listening station. From here, military radio signals from the Warsaw Pact countries could be intercepted, monitored and jammed.
Image: Ullstein/Getty Images
Glienicke Bridge
You might imagine that the exchange of captured spies only took place on the silver screen, but this bridge between Berlin and Potsdam was actually the scene of three such operations. Steven Spielberg used this historic place as a setting in his feature film "Bridge of Spies."
Image: imago/Camera4
German Spy Museum
This interactive museum right near Potsdamer Platz takes visitors into the world of espionage. Special emphasis is placed on activities in Berlin during the Cold War. Among the more than 300 exhibits is an East German Trabant car with infrared cameras hidden in its doors.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/B. von Jutrczenka
Berlin Wall Trail
The Berlin Wall Trail follows the path of the former division of the city and covers some 160 kilometers. The Japanese donated some 10,000 cherry trees "to bring peace in the hearts of the people." They were planted in different sections of the former Wall. This avenue is right by Bösebrücke, the first crossing to open on the day the Wall came down.
Image: DW/E. Grenier
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People who would vote for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left Social Democrats, which leads Germany's ruling three-way coalition, were the most pessimistic of all, with 71% seeing mostly division.
Neoliberal Free Democrat voters were the only voting group more likely to have a positive assessment than a negative one — 48% compared with 46%.
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Berlin set to publish own findings
The German government is set to publish its own findings about East-West cohesivity on Wednesday, but a sneak preview from online news outlet The Pioneer pointed to a different conclusion.
"If you look closely, East and West Germany — despite numerous ongoing differences — turn out to be regions of a united country after 33 years of shared history," it was cited as saying.
East and West Germany were officially reunited on October 3, 1990, less than a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989.
In terms of gross domestic product per capita, the five former East German states — excluding Berlin — are still at the bottom of the league in a federal comparison and there are simmering resentments.
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