In which year did East and West Germany unify into the current Germany?

The formal end of Germany's 45-year division was a landmark event that reshaped modern Europe. After World War II, the country was split into two separate states in 1949: the democratic Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the communist German Democratic Republic (East Germany). For decades, these two nations existed on opposite sides of the Cold War's Iron Curtain, symbolized by the infamous Berlin (Review) Wall, which physically and ideologically separated the two peoples.

The path to a single German state opened dramatically with the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989. This historic event triggered a series of rapid political changes and negotiations. Less than a year later, the Unification Treaty was signed, and on October 3, 1990, the German Democratic Republic was officially dissolved and its territory was absorbed into the Federal Republic of Germany.

This accession formally created the unified Germany we know today, with Berlin as its capital. The event is considered a key moment in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe and the peaceful conclusion of the Cold War. The date, October 3rd, is now celebrated as a national holiday known as the Day of German Unity.