November 1989: East Germany Meets West Germany
The fall of the Berlin Wall and the “iron curtain” separating the Soviet from the western bloc was a joyous occasion across Europe, but nowhere more so than in Germany. Divided from one another into two countries after World War II, Germans would later find that reunification was a problem, bringing unemployment and social dislocation. In November 1989, however, West Germans lined up to welcome their fellow citizens traveling from the east to see what life was like beyond the Soviet sphere. (ullstein bild / Bildarchiv / The Granger Collection, NYC—All rights reserved.)