Berlin Wall near Potsdamer Platz where the stretch of both walls is marked, giving visitors an impression of the dimension of the barrier system. After the fall of Berlin Wall, there were initiatives that they want to preserve the death strip walkways and redevelop it into a hiking and cycling area, known as Berliner Mauerweg. It is part of the initiative by Berlin Senate since 2005. For many years after reunification, people in Germany talked about cultural differences between East and West Germans (colloquially "Ossis" and "Wessis"), sometimes described as "Mauer im Kopf" (The wall in the head). A September 2004 poll
East Germany most recent scholarship: Many East Germans initially regarded the dissolution of the GDR positively. But this reaction soon turned sour. West Germans often acted as if they had "won" and East Germans had "lost" in unification, leading many East Germans ("Ossis") to resent West Germans ("Wessis"). In 2004, Ascher Barnstone wrote, "East Germans resent the wealth possessed by West Germans; West Germans see the East Germans as lazy opportunists who want something for nothing. East Germans find 'Wessis' arrogant and pushy, West Germans think the 'Ossis' are lazy good-for-nothings." On a more fundamental level, unification and subsequent federal policies led