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Germany reunified on 3 October 1990, when the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany) joined the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). The Berlin Wall had opened nearly eleven months earlier, on 9 November 1989. That opening was a turning point in a peaceful revolution, not the legal act of reunification itself.
Why did the Berlin Wall open?
The Wall’s opening followed a deep political crisis in the GDR, where the Socialist Unity Party (SED) had ruled for four decades. Mass demonstrations in Leipzig, East Berlin and other cities challenged the government and became part of what is known as the peaceful revolution. The Wall, built beginning on 13 August 1961, had divided land and people for 28 years, according to the Bundesarchiv’s account of the border opening.
On 9 November 1989, SED Politburo member Günter Schabowski announced new travel rules at a press conference. Asked when they would take effect, he answered “Sofort,” meaning “Immediately.” Crowds soon gathered at border crossings. Under pressure from the people assembled there, guards eventually opened the crossings.
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What happened between the Wall opening and reunification?
Opening the border accelerated the GDR’s end, but it did not make reunification inevitable or determine the form it would take. Over the following months, people in East Germany voted in a free election, the two German states negotiated closer ties, and the four former occupying powers took part in settling the international terms of unity.
| Date | What happened | Why it mattered |
|---|---|---|
| 9 November 1989 | The Berlin Wall’s border crossings opened. | A decisive break in the GDR’s authority and a powerful symbol of the end of division. |
| March 1990 | The GDR held a Volkskammer election. | Voters chose a new political direction and gave elected representatives a role in shaping the state’s future. |
| July 1990 | Economic, monetary and social union between the GDR and Federal Republic took effect. | The two states advanced practical integration before formal reunification. |
| 31 August 1990 | The two German states signed the Unification Treaty. | It set out the arrangements for the GDR to join the Federal Republic. |
| 12 September 1990 | The two German states and the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and France signed the Two Plus Four Treaty. | It addressed the international aspects of German unity. |
| 3 October 1990 | The Unification Treaty entered into force. | The GDR joined the Federal Republic, ending the division into two German states. |
The Bundesarchiv describes the interval from the Wall’s opening to reunification as eleven months. It also cautions that the outcome was not inevitable in the form ultimately realized: the sequence of elections, negotiations and agreements involved political choices, not an automatic consequence of the events of 9 November.
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What was the difference between the two treaties?
The Unification Treaty
The Unification Treaty was an agreement between the GDR and the Federal Republic about how the GDR would join the Federal Republic. Signed on 31 August 1990, it entered into force on 3 October. That date—not 9 November 1989—is the legal date of German reunification.
The Two Plus Four Treaty
The “Two Plus Four” agreement involved the two German states and the four former occupying powers: the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and France. Signed on 12 September 1990, it settled external aspects of unity. The four powers relinquished their former rights concerning Germany, and the two German states recognized the inviolability of postwar borders, among other provisions.
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The treaties were related but served different purposes. The Unification Treaty governed the joining of the two German states; the Two Plus Four Treaty resolved international aspects of unity.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When did Germany reunify?
Germany reunified on 3 October 1990, when the Unification Treaty entered into force and the GDR joined the Federal Republic. The Wall’s opening on 9 November 1989 made that outcome possible in a rapidly changing political landscape, but it was a separate event nearly eleven months earlier.
For a concise chronology and archival documents, see the Bundesarchiv’s overview of the road to German unity, its account of November 1989 and the border opening, and its pages on German unity and the September 1990 Two Plus Four Treaty.
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