35 Years of German Unity

A typographic composition: along the vertical axis, the right-aligned text 'Wir sind ein Volk' (We are one people) on the left, and the left-aligned text '35 Jahre Deutsche Einheit' (35 Years of German Unity) on the right. Both text blocks are framed by horizontal lines above and below. The two halves are joined at the centre by an enlarged 'D', underscoring the fact that there were once Germans in both east and west. Along the upper edge: the designer's initials 'TS' and the mint mark of the relevant mint ('A', 'D', 'F', 'G' or 'J'). Along the lower edge: the country code 'D' and the year '2025'.

On the evening of 3 October 1990, East Germany joined the Federal Republic of Germany — a date that marked the end of four decades of systemic division. What had begun in autumn 1989 with mass demonstrations in Leipzig, Dresden and East Berlin culminated within a year in a constitutional process whose speed exceeded all diplomatic expectations. The Two Plus Four Agreement secured international consent, while the monetary, economic and social union of July 1990 laid the economic foundation. After 45 years of division, Germany was once again a sovereign state — for the first time since the end of the Second World War fully in control of its own internal and external affairs.

The decades following reunification were shaped by what became known as "Aufbau Ost" (Reconstruction East), one of the largest economic and infrastructure projects in the history of the Federal Republic. Through the Solidarity Pact, the federal government and the states channelled several hundred billion euros into the eastern German states up to 2019. Despite considerable progress — in wage levels, infrastructure and economic integration — structural differences between East and West persisted, continuing to shape political and social debate today. The chant "Wir sind ein Volk" ("We are one people"), heard on the streets in autumn 1989, thus describes less a completed state than an ongoing societal process. On the 35th anniversary of German unity in 2025, Germany honours this historic turning point as part of its "Unity and Justice and Freedom" commemorative coin series.