Abstract
The integration of the GDR into a united Germany constitutes a strategy fostered by West German elites. The GDR regime had lost its legitimacy and its depoliticized population lacked the resources to oppose this fusion. An artificial German nationalism, necessary to develop support for the economic sacrifices needed to rescue the GDR economy and integrate it into the West German system has been promoted. However, mounting social and economic problems will weaken national cohesion. Neither an escalation of nationalist sentiment nor welfare state measures will suffice to deal with these problems. Only a democratic constitutional process, a true "social contract," can mobilize the energies required to resolve the oncoming crisis.
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