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I often asked myself, what if, if East Germany managed to overcome the "crisis" in the end of the 80's and still existed as a state. The POD is, that the government ordered the NVA to shoot at the protestors in Leipzig, thus killing the peoples will to protest against the government. But in the same time, Gorbatshow decided to cut the support for the DDR, and ordered the soviet troops to leave East Germany immediatly. As a result, the DDR is isolated in the world, as it hasn't any allies anymore.

But with no allies and trade partners, how would East Germany have managed to exist until that day? I think that the DDR would have strengthened ties with China, Cuba and North Korea. Especially China would become a very important trade partner, because as we all know, China was on the way to be a economical heavyweight in the world. Maybe the DDR would have become some kind of european China, this means european companies (Volkswagen for example) decided to let their products be produced in the DDR. This might have caused controversy in West Germany (As jobs would have been transferred to the other Germany which is a totalitarian regime).

But maybe East Germany went another way, and ended up as an North Korea-like state. This means, a down-worked economy and a pseudo-religious person cult (Although I can't imagine that for people like Egon Krenz or Gregor Gysi). But with closer relations to North Korea, the DDR might become the target of the USA, maybe George W. Bush would have declared the DDR as a part of the "Axis of evil".

But a still existing DDR has also strong influence of West Germany. I think the political landscape would have been more right-wing with the NPD being in the Bundestag as I think that the NPD might take a role like OTL Left Party.

So what do you think? What would be different if East Germany still exists?
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