The Berlin wall represented a deep split in the psyche of the German people. This coming weekend there will be many celebration to mark its demise on the 9 November 1989. There still is after 25 years some suspicion of those from the east who are now part of greater Germany. The living standards between the two parts of Germany were very stark, to some degree that is still the case.
In the immediate aftermath of WW2 when some 14 million ethnic Germans were forceably moved following the Potsdam agreement between Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt - from their old countries put even more strain on the German state post war. Great parts of eastern Europe were then put under Communist control. The Berlin Airlift of 1948 exposed the people to even more economic distress. Thankfully our relationship with Germany is generally good apart from the contentious issue of open boarders and EU immigration.
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