독일통일 10년, 그 비용과 수익의 총체적 평가

Abstract

When the Berlin Wall was broken down, the mayor of Berlin called the German as the happiest people in the world. At that time, nationalism was sweeping around the “brand-new” united nation. In that frenzy, it was impossible for the German to count how much they payed and gained in cold blood. Now, however, many people worry about some results of the unification, especially the burden of huge unification cost. In this study, I appraise the cost and the profit of the unification with such respects - 1:1 currency reform, restitution and privatization of “socialist property”, cleanig-up East German leaders and public transfers to East Germany. Through the study, I come to following conclusions. First, most parts of the “huge unification cost” was payed not just for the unification itself but for the international political situation. In other words, West Germany suffered from two bad circumstances - lack of time and dubious international political situation. To complement such bad situations, West Germany was constrained to pay much money. Next, West Germany made efforts to improve East Germany’s standard of living hastily. To do this, West Germany had to pour much money into East Germany. Shortly, the attempt to the haste assimilation added fuel to rise the “unification cost”. Last, the German unification still remains a valuable example to us even though it is known as a “failed unification”. Because we, Korean, are facing the similar situation to Germany, especially in the respect of the great dependency on the international political situation.