ABSTRACT
The collapse of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) was part of a sequence of transformations that eliminated the Communist regimes installed in Eastern and Central Europe after World War II. Several significant developments in 1989 have been identified for their contribution to the overthrow of the Socialist Unity Party leadership under Erich Honecker and the end of the party's dominant position. The scenario of resurgent German nationalism was vexing because it was conceivable that the opposite condition, frustration of the Federal Republic's national goals, could inspire pan-German sentiments. The prospects for German reunification, with its associated spectre of German expansionism and militarism, appeared far from favorable by the 1980s. The importance of economic considerations was evident in the drive to reunification, with the GDR's damaged industrial infrastructure and pressures for monetary union in sharp relief. West German decisionmakers sought to foster East German identification with the German nation through inner-German travel and communication links and economic assistance to the GDR.
