What if Germany Never Reunited?

Throughout the Cold War, Germany had been divided in two, between the Liberal Democracy of West Germany and the Communist state of East Germany. And, at this point, nobody had any real hope that the two countries nor the German people would ever reunite. But, after forty-five years of division, after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, a push was made that ultimately resulted in the complete reunification of Germany by 1990, as Germany reemerged as the dominant power of Europe. But, what if, in an alternate timeline, Germany had never reunited? Enjoy!

MUSIC:

Video Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:32 Background
4:45 Scenario

[contxt.mp]

"East Germany technically has that Caribbean island, so technically Germany never reunited" 🤓

[diegoyanesholtz]

It will be more like Romania and Moldova, they are the same people but they didn't see the necessity to reunite.

[nurventilatoren]

One thing is for sure, East Germany still would have kept the better national hymn.

[rtaj]

They should have disbanded NATO when the Cold War ended

[typiclyjohny]

East Germany recognised the Oder-Neisse Border in 1950

[itzdave]

9:43 Actually East Germany already renounced their claims in the Treaty of Zgorzelec in 1950.

[RollerCoaster-okqw]

don't think the GDR would have reconquered the former eastern territories. Not just because of the 1951 treaty, but because it would be pointless. Poles lived in the eastern areas and the Germans were expelled. This means that the GDR would have either accepted a huge Polish minority and would then no longer have been a German state. Or the GDR would have driven out the Poles and had huge empty areas. On the one hand, most of the former German residents of the eastern regions went to the Federal Republic of Germany and, on the other hand, they were all quite old. Their children and grandchildren no longer had any connection to their old homeland.

[justagreekhistorian]

Interesting concept, that's for sure, would have preferred it to be a little longer and more detailed though

[danielsantiagourtado]

Thanks For this Josh! Suggestion: What if the Habsburgs of spain survived?

[sirius]

I dont think much would change, they would likely still join the EU for economic reasons and NATO wanting to expand eastward. And if they didn't, a war with Poland instead of Ukraine wouldn't happen, Poland doesn't have the strategic and historical importance to Russia that Ukraine has, not even getting into the n4zi problem and the russian speaking population. What is more likely, is that it East Germany would be like Hungary, a right-populist state integrated the western sphere, but one of the weaker links with russian sympathies

[nightvvisher]

It would be called Prussia today probably, which would discredit west Germany to hold the name Germany, as it's not unified at all xD

[ashhathaway]

Great alt-hist vid. Having Auferstanden aus Ruinen playing in the background was a nice touch.

[MrAsianPie]

East Germany did survive, in our hearts...

[roban]

It's very interesting how Germany went against the trend of the 90's and united, while other nations like the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia shattered

[randnew]

East Germany becoming an authoritarian successor state to Prussia would be really cool albeit a very far stretch

[tommasofogli]

East German had meaning only in the context of the cold war. If during the 80s east germany had found its national, less authoritarian, way to socialism, distant from the urss maiby there is a scenario where it survives with it's specific economic and political sistem. It it became identical to the west it would have just reunited

[lordjazoijua]

Sorry I don't see East Germany reclaiming former German lands in Poland.

[tarqinquentinsson-obviousl]

"... without NATO expanding as far as it did in our timeline, we very likely wouldn't have seen the Russian invasion of Ukraine as we did in our timeline..."

Lmao

No, we'd have seen it about 30 years earlier

[oesypum]

East Germany was, despite financial help from the BRD, bankrupt, they were already struggling to meet the repayments, this was exacerbated with the loss of their trading partners in Eastern Europe, who had elected to join with the West, leaving the GDR isolated, and financially unviable. Not that everyone has benefitted from the reunification.

[Ray-turw]

Before it happened I never thought Russia and France would allow it.