37 years after fall of Berlin Wall: How divided are Germans?

When the Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989, ending East Germany's isolation from the West, the event was celebrated on both sides of the border. Yet, 37 years later, many people on both sides remain deeply skeptical of each other.

Surveys show that only a minority of respondents report feeling a strong sense of community between those from former East and West Germany, and many continue to perceive significant differences.

Does Germany's Gen Z still feel the East-West divide?

We asked three artists from Germany with different perspectives on the history of the country's division to share their views.

Author Lea Streisand was born in 1979 and experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall firsthand while growing up in East Berlin.

In her books and essays, she has returned to her East German upbringing many times, using literature to process it.

The novel "Hufeland, at the corner of Bötzow" (2019, Ullstein), for example, recounts the period of reunification from a child's perspective.

"November 9, 1989, was simply incredible," she told DW. She was 10 years old at the time. When her mother bought her winter boots with the 100 Deutsche Marks she received from the West German state — a welcome gift given to all East German citizens — she was so disappointed that she felt like crying. But later, a friend of her parents' let her buy so many sweets at the supermarket that they lasted until Christmas.

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