Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

If you are talking about reunification, we, the East Germans, definitely overwhelmingly wanted it. There was no need for a referendum, I will make that claim.

Remaining blocked off by not having any real money (GDR money was useless! Exchange rates, if you could exchange at all, were astronomical when you add the fact that East Germans had very little of even our own money to begin with), after we finally got the wall down and saw in brief visits to the West, getting Begrüßungsgeld (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begr%C3%BC%C3%9Fungsgeld), now we should stay isolated in East Germany?

Without reunification everybody who could would have moved to the West. Even so that movement existed even after reunification, but it was a lot less than it would have been without reunification.




Oh, to clarify -Reunification was needed. I paid that payroll tax in the 1990s!

Russian energy dependence was not voted on. Green (reduce nuke and coal) was enabled by votes for those people.

I think euro would not have been voted in by German people, if they were allowed to vote on d-mark or euro in 1997.




Consider applying for YC's Summer 2025 batch! Applications are open till May 13

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: