Forget your gripes and celebrate

When the two Germanys reunited twenty years ago they had no idea how different they really were, comments the liberal daily Pražský deník: "This became increasingly clear to them the more their mutual aversion grew. To the East Germans those from the West seemed arrogant and pompous. The 'Wessies', on the other hand, accused the 'Ossies' of laziness and complained that they had to pay for the reunification with a drop in living standards. The nationality and language they share could not obliterate the different experiences they had gone through under opposing social systems. Nevertheless the positive aspects of the reunification outweigh the negative, and that's what the Germans will be celebrating. Especially since there was no plan B for these artificially separated peoples."

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