ABSTRACT
The diplomatic process was a great success, not least because German unification seemed the only exit strategy for a crisis that had been triggered by the ongoing migration and the manifest bankruptcy of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The adjustment of the administrative structures in the former GDR caused few problems and concerned mainly local government which, in the field of social policy, was now to shoulder responsibilities previously carried by central government. The Modrow government had a set up of new office in order to transform some 8,000 enterprises, hitherto run by state employees, into capitalist businesses managed by the same officials. Unification proved a bonanza for West German entrepreneurs who gained a new home market and picked the few plum parts of the old industries with a view to expanding their businesses or eclipsing potential competitors. As an export nation, Germany had always benefited from a global market.
