History of Germany (1945–90) German exodus was continuing apace; more than 117,000 left in January and February 1990. In early February 1990, the Modrow government's proposal for a unified, neutral German state was rejected by Chancellor Kohl, who affirmed that a unified Germany must be a member of NATO. Finally, on 18 March, the first free elections were held in East Germany, and a government led by Lothar de Maizière (CDU) was formed under a policy of expeditious unification with West Germany. The freely elected representatives of the "Volkskammer" held their first session on 5 April, and East Germany peacefully evolved from a communist
Germany and the United Nations in October. Both Germanies were admitted as full members of the United Nations (UN) on 18 September 1973. The two countries eventually merged on 3 October 1990, signifying an end of the Cold war era. Today, Germany is the third largest contributor to the UN budget, after the United States and Japan, with 190 million US dollars, or roughly 8% of the UN budget for the 2010-11 biennial budget. The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was admitted to the UN as an observer in 1952. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) was admitted as an observer in 1972. On