Editing German reunification (section)

== Process of reunification ==

=== Cooperation ===
[[File:Flag of East Germany with cut out emblem.svg|alt=Flag of East Germany, with cut-out emblem.|thumb|219x219px|[[Flag of East Germany]] with cut-out [[National emblem of East Germany|emblem]], prominently visible during protests against the [[Communist Regime]]]]
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R0518-182, Erich Honecker.jpg|thumb|upright|The end of East Germany became clear after the resignation of [[Erich Honecker]]]]
[[File:BerlinWall-BrandenburgGate.jpg|thumb|upright|Berlin Wall at the [[Brandenburg Gate]] on 10 November 1989 showing the [[graffiti]] {{langx|de|Wie denn|label=none}} ("How now") over the sign warning the public that they are leaving West Berlin]]
[[File:Volkspolizei at the official opening of the Brandenburg Gate.jpg|thumb|right|Police officers of the East German [[Volkspolizei]] wait for the official opening of the [[Brandenburg Gate]] of the Berlin Wall on 22 December 1989.]]
[[File: RIAN archive 428452 Germany becomes one country.jpg|thumb|Berlin Wall, October 1990, saying "Thank you, [[Mikhail Gorbachev|Gorbi]]!"]]
On 28 November 1989—two weeks after the fall of the Berlin Wall—West German [[Chancellor of Germany|Chancellor]] [[Helmut Kohl]] announced a 10-point program calling for the two Germanies to expand their cooperation with a view toward eventual reunification.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Helmut Kohl's Ten-Point Plan for German Unity (November 28, 1989) |url=https://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=223 |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org |archive-date=20 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120144721/https://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=223 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Initially, no timetable was proposed. However, events rapidly came to a head in early 1990. First, in March, the [[Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany)|Party of Democratic Socialism]]—the former [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]]—was heavily defeated in [[1990 East German general election|East Germany's first free elections]]. A grand coalition was formed under [[Lothar de Maizière]], leader of the [[Christian Democratic Union (East Germany)|East German wing]] of [[Cologne|Kohl]]'s [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|Christian Democratic Union]], on a platform of speedy reunification. Second, [[Economy of East Germany|East Germany's economy]] and infrastructure underwent a swift and near-total collapse. Although East Germany was long reckoned as having the most robust economy in the Soviet bloc, the removal of Communist hegemony revealed the ramshackle foundations of that system. The [[East German mark]] had been almost worthless outside East Germany for some time before the events of 1989–1990, and the collapse of the East German economy further magnified the problem.

=== Economic merger ===
{{See also|Economic history of the German reunification}}
Discussions immediately began on an emergency merger of the German economies. On 18 May 1990, the two German states signed a treaty agreeing on monetary, economic, and social union. This treaty is called [[Treaty Establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany|''Vertrag über die Schaffung einer Währungs-, Wirtschafts- und Sozialunion zwischen der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik und der Bundesrepublik Deutschland'']] ("Treaty Establishing a Monetary, Economic and Social Union between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany");<ref name="verfassungen.de">{{cite web | title = Vertrag über die Schaffung einer Währungs-, Wirtschafts- und Sozialunion zwischen der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik und der Bundesrepublik Deutschland | url = http://www.verfassungen.de/de/ddr/waehrungsunionsvertrag90.htm | publisher = Die Verfassungen in Deutschland | access-date = 22 March 2013 | archive-date = 29 October 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131029194536/http://www.verfassungen.de/de/ddr/waehrungsunionsvertrag90.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> it came into force on 1 July 1990, with the West German [[Deutsche Mark]] replacing the East German mark as the official currency of East Germany. The Deutsche Mark had a very high reputation among the East Germans and was considered stable.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 July 1990 |title=German Unification Monetary union |url=http://www.cepr.org/Pubs/bulletin/dps/dp719.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725152404/http://www.cepr.org/Pubs/bulletin/dps/dp719.htm |archive-date=25 July 2011 |access-date=19 October 2010 |website=Cepr.org}}</ref> While the GDR transferred its financial policy sovereignty to West Germany, the West started granting subsidies for the GDR budget and social [[security]] system.<ref name="London">{{Cite web |title=Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany London – A short history of German reunification |url=http://www.london.diplo.de/Vertretung/london/en/01/Feste/Tag__der__Deutschen__Einheit/History__of__reunification__seite.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100607025002/http://www.london.diplo.de/Vertretung/london/en/01/Feste/Tag__der__Deutschen__Einheit/History__of__reunification__seite.html |archive-date=7 June 2010 |access-date=19 October 2010 |website=London.diplo.de |language=de}}</ref> At the same time, many West German laws came into force in the GDR. This created a suitable framework for a [[political union]] by diminishing the huge gap between the two existing political, social, and economic systems.<ref name="London" />

=== German Reunification Treaty ===
[[File:EinigungsvertragBRD-DDR.JPG|thumb|The two original copies of the Unification Treaty signed on 31 August 1990. West German Interior Minister [[Wolfgang Schäuble]] signed for the FRG and the East German State Secretary [[Günther Krause]] signed for the GDR.]]
The [[Volkskammer]], the Parliament of East Germany, passed a resolution on 23 August 1990 declaring the accession ({{langx|de|Beitritt|label=none}}) of the German Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic of Germany, and the extension of the field of application of the Federal Republic's Basic Law to the territory of East Germany as allowed by Article 23 of the West German Basic Law, effective 3 October 1990.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Leben in der DDR |url=https://www.mdr.de/geschichte/stoebern/ddr-deutsche-demokratische-republik-ueberblick-100_zc-ffc2d9c1_zs-9f57411c.html |access-date=2022-03-06 |website=www.mdr.de |language=de |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213043121/https://www.mdr.de/geschichte/stoebern/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author= |title=Volkskammer der DDR stimmt für Beitritt |url=http://www.bpb.de/politik/hintergrund-aktuell/69018/volkskammer-stimmt-fuer-beitritt-20-08-2010 |access-date=2022-03-06 |website=Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung |publisher=BPD.de |language=de |archive-date=2 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202233233/http://www.bpb.de/politik/hintergrund-aktuell/69018/volkskammer-stimmt-fuer-beitritt-20-08-2010 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web |title=Bundesarchiv – Digitalisierung und Onlinestellung des Bestandes DA 1 Volkskammer der DDR, Teil 10. Wahlperiode |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/oeffentlichkeitsarbeit/bilder_dokumente/01525/index-16.html.de |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020000846/http://www.bundesarchiv.de/oeffentlichkeitsarbeit/bilder_dokumente/01525/index-16.html.de |archive-date=20 October 2015 |access-date=2022-03-06 |website=www.bundesarchiv.de |language=de}}</ref> This Declaration of Accession ({{langx|de|Beitrittserklärung|label=none}}) was formally presented by the President of the Volkskammer, [[Sabine Bergmann-Pohl]], to the President of the West German Bundestag, [[Rita Süssmuth]], by means of a letter dated 25 August 1990.<ref name=":2" /> Thus, formally, the procedure of reunification by means of the accession of East Germany to West Germany, and of East Germany's acceptance of the Basic Law already in force in West Germany, was initiated as the unilateral, sovereign decision of East Germany, as allowed by the provisions of article 23 of the West German Basic Law as it then existed.

In the wake of that resolution of accession, the "German reunification treaty",<ref name="NBClearn">{{cite web | title = United States and Soviet Union Sign German Reunification Treaty | url = https://a248.e.akamai.net/7/1635/50139/1d/origin.nbclearn.com/files/nbcarchives/site/pdf/3838.pdf | publisher = [[NBC Learn]] | access-date = 22 March 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131004215218/https://a248.e.akamai.net/7/1635/50139/1d/origin.nbclearn.com/files/nbcarchives/site/pdf/3838.pdf | archive-date = 4 October 2013 | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name="deutschland.de">{{cite web | title = Merkel to mark 20th anniversary of German reunification treaty | url = http://test.magazin-deutschland.de/en/artikel-en/article/article/merkel-to-mark-20th-anniversary-of-german-reunification-treaty.html | publisher = [[Deutschland.de]] | access-date = 22 March 2013 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130516041356/http://test.magazin-deutschland.de/en/artikel-en/article/article/merkel-to-mark-20th-anniversary-of-german-reunification-treaty.html | archive-date = 16 May 2013 | df = dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="AssociatedPress">{{cite web | title = Soviet Legislature Ratifies German Reunification Treaty | url = https://apnews.com/34489f15c7ce3d9a072c3bdb0cabea75 | publisher = [[AP News Archive]] | access-date = 22 March 2013 | date = 4 March 1991 | last = Imse | first = Ann | archive-date = 7 August 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200807042653/https://apnews.com/34489f15c7ce3d9a072c3bdb0cabea75 | url-status = live }}</ref> commonly known in German as "{{langx|de|Einigungsvertrag|label=none}}" (Unification Treaty) or "{{langx|de|Wiedervereinigungsvertrag|label=none}}" (Reunification Treaty), that had been negotiated between the two German states since 2 July 1990, was signed by representatives of the two governments on 31 August 1990. This Treaty, officially titled {{langx|de|Vertrag zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik über die Herstellung der Einheit Deutschlands|label=none}} (Treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic on the Establishment of German Unity), was approved by large majorities in the legislative chambers of both countries on 20 September 1990 (442–47 in the West German Bundestag and 299–80 in the East German Volkskammer).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Opening of the Berlin Wall and Unification: German History |url=https://germanculture.com.ua/library/history/bl_wall_collapse_unification.htm |access-date=2022-03-06 |website=germanculture.com.ua |archive-date=13 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813234642/https://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/history/bl_wall_collapse_unification.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Treaty passed the West German Bundesrat on the following day, 21 September 1990. The amendments to the Federal Republic's Basic Law that were foreseen in the Unification Treaty or necessary for its implementation were adopted by the Federal Statute of 23 September 1990, that enacted the incorporation of the Treaty as part of the Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. The said Federal Statute, containing the whole text of the Treaty and its Protocols as an annex, was published in the {{langx|de|[[Bundesgesetzblatt (Germany)|Bundesgesetzblatt]]|label=none}} (the official journal for the publication of the laws of the Federal Republic) on 28 September 1990.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bundesgesetzblatt |url=http://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo=bgbl290s0885_gross.pdf#__bgbl__%2F%2F*%5B%40attr_id%3D%27bgbl290s0885_gross.pdf%27%5D__1467485637703 |access-date=9 October 2016 |website=Bgbl.de |publisher= |archive-date=7 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207215607/http://www.bgbl.de/xaver/bgbl/start.xav?startbk=Bundesanzeiger_BGBl&jumpTo=bgbl290s0885_gross.pdf#__bgbl__%2F%2F*%5B%40attr_id%3D%27bgbl290s0885_gross.pdf%27%5D__1467485637703 |url-status=live }}</ref> In the German Democratic Republic, the constitutional law ({{langx|de|Verfassungsgesetz|label=none}}) giving effect to the Treaty was also published on 28 September 1990.<ref name=":2" /> With the adoption of the Treaty as part of its Constitution, East Germany legislated its own abolition as a separate state.

Under article 45 of the Treaty,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Art 45 EinigVtr – Einzelnorm |url=http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/einigvtr/art_45.html |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=www.gesetze-im-internet.de |archive-date=9 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309114824/http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/einigvtr/art_45.html |url-status=live }}</ref> it entered into force according to international law on 29 September 1990, upon the exchange of notices regarding the completion of the respective internal constitutional requirements for the adoption of the treaty in both East Germany and West Germany. With that last step, and in accordance with article 1 of the Treaty, and in [[conformity]] with East Germany's Declaration of Accession presented to the Federal Republic, Germany was officially reunited at 00:00 [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] on 3 October 1990. East Germany joined the Federal Republic as the five {{langx|de|[[Länder]]|label=none}} (states) of [[Brandenburg]], [[Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania]], [[Saxony]], [[Saxony-Anhalt]], and [[Thuringia]]. These states were the five original states of East Germany, but were abolished in 1952 in favor of a centralized system. As part of the 18 May treaty, the five East German states were reconstituted on 23 August. [[East Berlin]], the capital of East Germany, reunited with [[West Berlin]], a [[West_Berlin#Legal_status|''de facto'' part of West Germany]], in order to form the city of [[Berlin]], which joined the Federal Republic as its third [[city-state]] alongside [[Bremen]] and [[Hamburg]]. Berlin was still formally under Allied occupation (that would only be terminated later, as a result of the provisions of the [[Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany|Two Plus Four Treaty]]), but the city's administrative merger and inclusion in the enlarged Federal Republic as its capital, effective on 3 October 1990, had been greenlit{{clarify|date=January 2024}} by the four Allies, and were formally approved in the final meeting of the Allied Control Council on 2 October 1990. In an emotional ceremony, at the stroke of midnight on 3 October 1990, the [[Flag of Germany|black-red-gold flag of West Germany]]—now the flag of a reunited Germany—was raised above the [[Brandenburg Gate]], marking the moment of German reunification.

===Constitutional merger===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1990-1003-008, Berlin, Brandenburger Tor, Vereinigungsfeier, Feuerwerk.jpg|thumb|right|Fireworks at Brandenburg Gate after the reunification]]
The process chosen was one of the two options set out in the [[Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany|West German constitution]] ({{langx|de|Grundgesetz|label=none}} or Basic Law) of 1949 to facilitate eventual reunification. The Basic Law stated that it was only intended for temporary use until a permanent constitution could be adopted by the German people as a whole. Under that document's (then existing) Article 23, any new prospective {{langx|de|Länder|label=none}} could adhere to the Basic Law by a simple majority vote. The initial 11 joining states of 1949 constituted the Trizone. West Berlin had been proposed as the 12th state, but this was legally inhibited by Allied objections since Berlin as a whole was legally a quadripartite occupied area. Despite this, West Berlin's political affiliation was with West Germany, and, in many fields, it functioned de facto as if it were a component state of West Germany. On 1 January 1957, before the reunification, the territory of [[Saarland]], a [[Saar Protectorate|protectorate of France]] (1947–1956), united with West Germany (and thus rejoined Germany) as the 11th state of the Federal Republic; this was called "Little Reunification" although the Saar Protectorate itself was only one [[disputed territory]], as its existence was opposed by the Soviet Union.

The other option was set out in Article 146, which provided a mechanism for a permanent constitution for a reunified Germany. This route would have entailed a formal union between two German states that then would have had, among other things, to create a new constitution for the newly established country. However, by the spring of 1990, it was apparent that drafting a new constitution would require protracted negotiations that would open up numerous issues in West Germany. Even without this to consider, by the start of 1990 East Germany was in a state of economic and political collapse. In contrast, reunification under Article 23 could be implemented in as little as six months. Ultimately, when the treaty on monetary, economic, and social union was signed, it was decided to use the quicker process of Article 23. By this process, East Germany voted to dissolve itself and to join West Germany, and the area in which the Basic Law was in force was simply extended to include its constituent parts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Germany Today – The German Unification Treaty |url=http://europe-today.com/germany/gerunif.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720183143/http://www.europe-today.com/germany/gerunif.html |archive-date=20 July 2008 |access-date=19 October 2010 |website=Europe-today.com}}</ref> Thus, while legally East Germany as a whole acceded to the Federal Republic, the constituent parts of East Germany entered into the Federal Republic as five new states, which held their first elections on 14 October 1990.

Nevertheless, although the Volkskammer's declaration of accession to the Federal Republic had initiated the process of reunification, the act of reunification itself (with its many specific terms, conditions, and qualifications, some of which required amendments to the Basic Law itself) was achieved constitutionally by the subsequent Unification Treaty of 31 August 1990; that is, through a binding agreement between the former GDR and the [[West Germany|Federal Republic]] now recognizing each another as separate sovereign states in [[international law]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kommers |first1=Donald P. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9780822395386 |title=The Constitutional Jurisprudence of the Federal Republic of Germany |last2=Miller |first2=Russell A. |date=2012-11-09 |publisher=Duke University Press |doi=10.1515/9780822395386 |isbn=978-0-8223-9538-6 |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213043001/https://chooser.crossref.org/?doi=10.1515%2F9780822395386 |url-status=live }}</ref> This treaty was then voted into effect by both the [[Volkskammer]] and the [[Bundestag]] by the constitutionally required two-thirds majorities, effecting on the one hand, the extinction of the GDR, and on the other, the agreed amendments to the Basic Law of the Federal Republic. Hence, although the GDR declared its accession to the Federal Republic under Article 23 of the Basic Law, this did not imply its acceptance of the Basic Law as it then stood, but rather of the Basic Law as subsequently amended in line with the Unification Treaty.

Legally, the reunification did not create a third state out of the two. Rather, West Germany effectively absorbed East Germany. Accordingly, on Unification Day, 3 October 1990, the German Democratic Republic ceased to exist, and five new federated states on its former territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany. East and West Berlin were reunited as the third full-fledged federated city-state of the enlarged Federal Republic. The reunited city became the capital of the enlarged Federal Republic. Under this model, the Federal Republic of Germany, now enlarged to include the five states of the former GDR plus the reunified Berlin, continued to exist under the same legal personality that was founded in May 1949.

While the Basic Law was modified, rather than replaced by a constitution as such, it still permits the adoption of a formal constitution by the German people at some time in the future.

===Unification of Berlin===
In the context of [[urban planning]], in addition to a wealth of new opportunity and the symbolism of two former independent states being rejoined, the reunification of Berlin presented numerous challenges. The city underwent massive [[redevelopment]], involving the political, economic, and cultural environment of both East and West Berlin. However, the "scar" left by the [[Berlin Wall|Wall]], which ran directly through the very heart of the city,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sarotte |first=Mary Elise |title=In Uncertain Times |date=2011 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-0-8014-4909-3 |pages=13–25 |chapter=The Wall Comes Down: A Punctuational Moment |doi=10.7591/cornell/9780801449093.003.0001}}</ref> had consequences for the urban environment that planning still needs to address.

The unification of Berlin presented legal, political, and technical challenges for the urban environment. The political division and physical separation of the city for more than 30 years saw the East and the West develop their own distinct urban forms, with many of these differences still visible to this day.<ref name="Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2003">{{Cite book |date=2003-06-06 |title=Urban Renaissance |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264101470-en |doi=10.1787/9789264101470-en |isbn=978-9264101463 |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213042940/https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/urban-rural-and-regional-development/urban-renaissance_9789264101470-en |url-status=live }}</ref>
As urban planning in Germany is the responsibility of the city government,<ref name="Loeb 2006 67–87">{{cite journal|last=Loeb|first=Carolyn|title=Planning reunification: the planning history of the fall of the Berlin Wall|journal=Planning Perspectives|date=January 2006|volume=21|issue=1 |pages=67–87|url=http://server.filozofia.bme.hu/~kerekgyarto/Berlin%20atvaltozasai/Szovegek/fal,%20emlekezes/berlin_wall.pdf|access-date=14 May 2012|doi=10.1080/02665430500397329|bibcode=2006PlPer..21...67L |s2cid=108646113}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> the integration of East and West Berlin was in part complicated by the fact that the existing planning frameworks became obsolete with the fall of the Wall.<ref name="Schwedler 2001">{{cite book|last=Schwedler|first=Hanns-Uve|title=Urban Planning and Cultural Inclusion Lessons from Belfast and Berlin|year=2001|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-79368-8}}</ref> Prior to the reunification of the city, the Land Use Plan of 1988 and General Development Plan of 1980 defined the spatial planning criteria for West and East Berlin, respectively.<ref name="Schwedler 2001"/> These were replaced by the new, unified Land Use Plan in 1994.<ref name="Schwedler 2001"/> Termed "Critical Reconstruction", the new policy aimed to revive Berlin's prewar aesthetic;<ref name="Tölle 2010 348–357"/> it was complemented by a strategic planning document for downtown Berlin, entitled "Inner City Planning Framework".<ref name="Tölle 2010 348–357"/>

Following the dissolution of the GDR on 3 October 1990, all planning projects under the socialist-totalitarian regime were abandoned.<ref name=UrbanF01>{{cite journal|last=Urban|first=F|title=Designing the past in East Berlin before and after the German Reunification.|journal=Progress in Planning|year=2007|volume=68|issue=1|pages=1–55|doi=10.1016/j.progress.2007.07.001}}</ref> Vacant lots, open areas, and empty fields in East Berlin were subject to redevelopment, in addition to space previously occupied by the Wall and associated [[buffer zone]].<ref name="Loeb 2006 67–87"/> Many of these sites were positioned in central, strategic locations of the reunified city.<ref name="Schwedler 2001"/>

===German Unity Day===
[[File:2014-10-03 Tag der Deutschen Einheit, (108) Luftballons vom Freundeskreis Hannover für Angela Merkel und Joachim Gauck,, (01).jpg|thumb|Chancellor [[Angela Merkel]] and President [[Joachim Gauck]] at the ''Bürgerfest'' (German Unity Day festivities) in [[Hannover]] in 2014]]
To commemorate the day that marks the official unification of the former East and West Germany in 1990, 3 October has since then been the official national holiday of Germany, the [[German Unity Day]] ({{langx|de|Tag der deutschen Einheit|label=none}}). It replaced the previous national holiday held in West Germany on 17 June commemorating the [[East German uprising of 1953]] and the national holiday on 7 October in the GDR, that commemorated the [[Republic Day (East Germany)|Foundation of the East German state]].<ref name="London" /> An alternative date to commemorate the reunification could have been the day the Berlin Wall came down, 9 November (1989), which coincided with the anniversary of the [[German Revolution of 1918–19|proclamation of the German Republic]] in 1918, and the defeat of [[Beer Hall Putsch|Hitler's first coup]] in 1923. However, 9 November was also the anniversary of the first large-scale Nazi-led [[pogrom]]s against Jews in 1938 (''[[Kristallnacht]]''), so the day was considered inappropriate for a national holiday.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kosmidou |first=Eleftheria Rania |title=European civil war films: memory, conflict, and nostalgia |date=2013 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-52320-2 |series=Routledge advances in film studies |location=New York, NY |pages=9–10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fürstenau |first=Marcel |date=9 November 2004 |title=Schicksalstag der Deutschen |url=https://www.dw.com/de/schicksalstag-der-deutschen/a-1389975 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505222902/http://www.dw.de/schicksalstag-der-deutschen/a-1389975 |archive-date=5 May 2015 |access-date=17 May 2023 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |language=de}}</ref>