Skip to content

Berlin and Germany – The Success of Unification and the New Divisions


October 31, 2016
12:15pm - 1:45pm
Goldman Room, Adolphus Busch Hall
October 31, 2016
12:15pm - 1:45pm
Goldman Room, Adolphus Busch Hall

About

Berlin has been after World War II the one German city where the division of Germany was still visible. After the fall of the wall Berlin has become the city where the process of unification – infrastructure, salaries and pensions, the mixing of the populations – has made more progress than in the rest of the country. There are still significant cultural differences. Nevertheless, Berlin has become a magnet for the pioneers of the IT-economy, for the international nightclub and party-goers, and for many new citizens. The year 2015 marks a historical incision. While a majority of Germans greeted the migration of 900 000 refugees from Syria and Africa – 85000 ended up in Berlin – with an unprecedented welcome culture, a minority reacted with fear, aggression and arson assaults against homes for asylum seekers. One half of these attacks are committed in East Germany with a fifth of Germany’s population. A new right wing party (AFD) is establishing itself with two digit results in recent state elections – a new phenomenon in post war Germany. The issue of the “refugee crisis” dominates the debates of the whole country and creates new divisions and alliances – not only in Germany but also in the EU. Two unanswered questions seem to fuel the general confusion: How to integrate millions of mainly muslim migrants? How to cope with a new era of mass migration of which we have only seen the beginning in 2015?

Lunch will be available before the seminar.

Sponsors

Close