f the comingEuropean Union, to citizens of East Berlin before the fall would never be a reality,but in West Berlin, the citizens always hoped the city would again be united to itspre wall greatness.Even though the wall was gone, the city and the country remained divided. An entire generation of Germans grew up knowing two separate Germanys. ManyGermans when I was there still saw these East Berliners, as second class citizens. They still did not view them as Germans. They saw them as they saw Austrians, A West German student at Berlins free University said of the East Berliners. she still cant shake the idea that East Germany is part of Germany. It is likeAustria; they speak German, but they are another country, they have their own struggles and we have ours.(7)These sentiments even in my last visit in 1995 were still prevalent, people are gladthe wall is down, but they still often refer to East Germans and West Germans asif they are from differing nations. The different citys through the wall eradeveloped different cultures, and economies. Many citizens of the West Berlinbackground do not believe it is their responsibility to bring East Berlin into theTwentieth century. When a person enters East Berlin they can observe vastdifferences. But these differences are changing East Berlin is today the constructionMecca of Europe.While the west was building West Berlin into a monument to capitalism, EastBerlin became a very cosmopolitan and modern city, by communist standards. However a striking contrast in the two cities living standards remained. WestBerliners had access to a vast array of goods from all over the world, while the EastBerlin shopping district, Alexanderplatz, comprised of dingy shops selling a poorselection of low quality goods. could only sell goods created in East Germany, orother communist nations. Mercedes and BMWs were common in West Berlin, while Trabis, the EastGerman-built, three-cylinder car that easterne...
