ABSTRACT
Before 1989, Germans used the term ‘Wende’ to refer to the transition from the Schmidt to the Kohl government in 1982. This meaning vanished overnight between November 9 and 10,1989. The real Wende became the revolution on the other side of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent Unification of the two Germanys. Doubtless this shift in meaning was justified. By October 1990, Germany had experienced far more than a change in political leadership. It now had new expanded
borders, 17 million new citizens, and a mountain of challenges to overcome.
