East and West Germany don't reunite?

Telephone

Banned
Is it possible that the USSR could create such a lasting mark on East Germany that they feel they aren't the same nation as their western cousins? And what about an East Austria? Since the Soviets occupied part of that country as well?
 
I don't think you could ever stop East Germany going back to democracy, keeping them apart might be do-able. Does it have to be the East Germans deiciding not to reunify though? Might be easier for the West Germans to decide they don't want the Ossies if they get an idea of how much money it's going to take to fund them or how long the process will take.
 
Having the GDR last beyond 1990 is difficult, mainly because the people were fed up with being poor relations to the FRG, as soon as the door opened they left en masse and would have continued to do so. There was a quip on a previous thread on this subject that without the Iron Curtain East Germany would simply consist of 6 old men spying on each other.

Certainly there nervousness in Europe at the prospect of German reunification, Thatcher and Bush Snr were wary but couldn't prevent it. I think there are two ways to prevent it, either reduce the disparity in living standards by either making the GDR richer or the FRG poorer so there is less demand for reunification, or back during WW2 the Allies decide that there will never be another Germany. I dont mean the Morgenthau Plan but instead breaking Germany up into at least 4 states and destroying the idea of a German nation. But again that is very difficult and would require authoritarian measures that the Western Allies may have been unwilling to do.
 

Tovarich

Banned
I remember there was a moment where Kohl tried saying "Oh, did I really say I'll swap all those nasty dull Ostmarks for lovely shiny Deutschmarks at 1:1? I meant to say 2:1, haha, D'OH!"

He had to back down pretty quickly, I think, but if he hadn't then perhaps that may have given the GDR impetus to say "Stuff your reuinification, we became economic top dogs in the WP without your help, so we'll just join the EEC in our own right and soon overtake you!"
 
Top