germany separated into east and west on october 1990.
germany separated into east and west on october 1990.
when did germany separate into east and west?
october 1990
initially, east germany claimed an exclusive mandate for all of germany, a claim supported by most of the communist bloc. it claimed that west germany was an illegally-constituted nato puppet state. however, from the 1960s onward, east germany began recognizing itself as a separate country from west germany, and shared the legacy of the united german state of 1871–1945. this was formalized in 1974, when the reunification clause was removed from the revised east german constitution. west germany, in contrast, maintained that it was the only legitimate government of germany. from 1949 to the early 1970s, west germany maintained that east germany was an illegally constituted state. it argued that the gdr was a soviet puppet state, and frequently referred to it as the "soviet occupation zone". this position was shared by west germany's allies as well until 1973. east germany was recognized primarily by communist countries and the arab bloc, along with some "scattered sympathizers". according to the hallstein doctrine (1955), west germany also did not establish (formal) diplomatic ties with any country – except the soviets – that recognized east german sovereignty.
east germany
in "a berlin republic", habermas wages an intellectual campaign in germany's political public sphere against what he sees as the backward-looking influence of german political theorist and proponent of nazism, carl schmitt, and the philosopher martin heidegger. schmitt advocated a "normalizing" view of german history, whereby communism and nazism would be equated, and the continuity of a reunified germany with her pre-1945 past would be affirmed. habermas encourages germans to think differently about 1945 and 1989. in habermas's view, germany must reject any thought of basing her reunified future on a continuation of notions such as german ethnic identity as a foundation for the german state, germany as a potential political and military power in central europe, an "eastern-oriented" foreign policy, and the notion of a "special path" ("sonderweg") for germany separate from that of other western democracies.
a berlin republic