October 3, 1990

October 3 is marked as the day of reunification of West and East Germany. After WWII, Germany was divided into two separate nations, one governed by the USA and Europe and one governed by the USSR. When the Cold War started, these nations held the same allegiances with West Germany allying with NATO and East Germany allying with the Soviets and Communists. The tensions between these two opposing forces became so great that the Berlin Wall was built to separate East and West Germany from one another. However, in the 1980s, the Soviets and Communists began losing authority over the Eastern Bloc, especially when Hungary removed their border fences allowing thousands of East Germans to flood into West Germany. Germany slowly began to reform in 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down, but full reunification was not made until October 3, 1990. The reunification called for a democratic Germany with alliances to NATO and the EU. This signified a decline in the power of the Eastern Bloc and foreshadowed the death of the communist regime in Eastern Europe.

I definitely appreciate this event since it marked a social and political victory for America and the Western World we live in today. This event set up the stage for the capitalist and democratic world that exists today and without this contribution we may not enjoy some of the same freedoms that we enjoy today.