By Hassan Humeida
Kiel, Germany
As Germany commemorates 35 years of unity since the historic fall of the Berlin Wall, AsiaN is publishing a special series of interviews with Germans who reflect on the country’s path to reunification. These accounts capture the experiences of individuals who witnessed the effects of breaking down barriers and opening doors to a shared future.
The reflections, marked by fairness and authenticity, highlight themes of dignity, resilience and hope. They move beyond surface narratives to offer deeper perspectives on the significance of reunification for Germany and for the world.
In keeping with its mission to present journalism grounded in shared humanity, AsiaN is committed to sharing these stories with readers across Asia and well beyond it.
Through these voices and their enduring messages, AsiaN seeks to remind the world that reconciliation, unity, and the bridging of divides are achievable ideals in today’s world.
A Perspective on Reunification, Mistakes, and What Korea May Learn
Interview with Stefan S. – Kiel, Germany
My own experiences as a young person before German reunification
Experiences only from the press and television. No relatives in the GDR, never visited, not even in West Berlin. For me, the GDR was a completely normal foreign country behind the Iron Curtain.
My feelings during the German reunification process
There were no feelings connected to it at all. By lack of feelings, I mean: Of course, I was happy for the people in the GDR that their wishes had (provisionally) come true without much bloodshed. But the joy was no greater than if the same process had taken place anywhere else in the world.
How my life and society have changed in the last three decades
I perceive a resurgence of nationalist and populist forces. This is not just a consequence of reunification, but a European and global trend. The areas of the former GDR are still far ahead, though I have no idea why.
What I love about Germany as my homeland
The diversity and beauty of the landscape, the time when there was still a “social market economy,” the remnants of which still resonate today, and the predominantly relaxed and rational, yet also warm-hearted people.
My own perspectives on the lessons of German reunification
Professionally, I worked for a housing project in Halle an der Saale (in former east Germany) for a long time—it must have been in 1996 or 1997. At that time, there were tax advantages for Western companies and private individuals who invested in housing in the former German Democratic Republic. However, the project was never realized because the subsidies were discontinued at short notice.
The overall impression of reunification was that subsidies for reconstruction were not distributed sensibly; instead, there was a blind activism.
As if there had been no plan for reunification at all.
The wage gap between West and East naturally led to a rural exodus, which could have been better prevented, for example, through faster wage adjustments and through social measures or simply appreciation and maintaining the self-esteem of the eastern territories.
What advantages I see for Korea and its future about a possible reunification of the Korean peninsula
First of all, Korean reunification (at least with the result that a free, democratic basic order would apply to the unified Korea) is absolutely inconceivable to me for several reasons.
First, German reunification would also have been unthinkable without the changed policy in the Kremlin.
Second, neither the FRG nor the GDR have pushed themselves to the forefront of global politics the way North Korea has long done.
Viewed from a distance, I would consider a reunification following the sad example of Vietnam more likely than a peaceful reunification.
But if that does happen, I hope that those involved have learned from the German mistakes or are simply smarter in their own right.
What the path to tolerant and respectful coexistence among people worldwide looks like
The basic prerequisite for this is that no one has to live in poverty. How the problem can be solved globally: I have no idea.
On a smaller scale, most people live tolerantly and respectfully toward others. This works as long as everyone can at least satisfy their basic needs and is satisfied with them.
But unfortunately, a few individuals who are not tolerant and respectful, but rather ruthless and selfish, are enough to disrupt coexistence. Only patience will help.
Peace and security in the world mean the following:
The absence of war and oppression, and the sustainable, future-proof satisfaction of the basic needs of all people.
