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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Germany reunified on 3 October 1990, when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 popular movement against GDR rule, not the legal act that reunited the country.
Why the Berlin Wall opened
The Wall had been built beginning on 13 August 1961. For 28 years, the Wall and border barriers divided people and land, according to the Bundesarchiv. By 1989, the GDR was in a political crisis: mass demonstrations in Leipzig, East Berlin and other cities challenged a state ruled for four decades by the Socialist Unity Party (SED). The Bundesarchiv describes this movement as the peaceful revolution.
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The protests and the leadership’s deliberations over travel restrictions formed the context for 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 reportedly answered, “Sofort”—“Immediately.” Crowds gathered at border crossings, and guards eventually opened them under pressure. The sudden opening followed that announcement, but it was not simply the result of one verbal slip: it came amid sustained public pressure and a wider political crisis. The Bundesarchiv’s account of November 1989 describes the exchange and the events at the crossings.
“The Wall fell” is common shorthand for 9 November, but the immediate event was the opening of the border crossings. The date marks a decisive rupture in the division of Germany; it does not mean every section of the Wall physically disappeared that night.
How the opening became reunification
Opening the border did not settle what would happen to the two German states. In the following months, people in the GDR went to the polls, the two governments negotiated closer ties, and the four former occupying powers took part in settling the international aspects of unity. The eventual outcome was rapid, but not inevitable in the form it took.
March 1990: The GDR elects a new Volkskammer
The March 1990 Volkskammer election was a key political step after the peaceful revolution. It gave the GDR a newly elected parliament to make decisions about the country’s future and negotiate with the Federal Republic. The election was part of the transition; the opening of the Wall alone did not legally merge the states. The Bundesarchiv’s overview of the road to German unity places the election in the sequence of events.
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July 1990: Economic, monetary and social union
In July, economic, monetary and social union between the GDR and the Federal Republic brought major areas of daily and economic life into a shared framework. This was a consequential step toward unity, but it was distinct from the treaty that later set the date when the GDR would join the Federal Republic.
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Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →31 August: The Unification Treaty is signed
The two German states signed the Unification Treaty on 31 August 1990. It set out the terms for the GDR to join the Federal Republic. Its entry into force—not the signing date—was 3 October. The Bundesarchiv’s documents on German unity record the treaty and its effect.
12 September: The Two Plus Four Treaty settles external questions
On 12 September 1990, the United States, Soviet Union, United Kingdom and France signed the Two Plus Four Treaty with the two German states. It addressed the international aspects of unity: the four former occupying powers relinquished their former rights concerning Germany, and the two German states recognized the inviolability of postwar borders, among other provisions. This treaty had a different role from the Unification Treaty, which governed the process by which the GDR joined the Federal Republic. The Bundesarchiv explains the agreement in its account of the September 1990 signing.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why 3 October 1990 is reunification day
The Unification Treaty entered into force on 3 October 1990. On that date, the GDR joined the Federal Republic and the division between the two German states ended. That is why 3 October—not the Wall’s opening on 9 November 1989—is the date of German reunification and the Day of German Unity.
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The chronology shows three related but distinct parts of the process: a popular movement inside the GDR, political and economic decisions between the two German states, and an international settlement with the four former occupying powers. The Bundesarchiv’s overview of paths to German unity and its account of the Day of German Unity provide further historical context.
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