Topic Reading-Vol.2773-11/14/2019

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Topic Reading-Vol.2773-11/14/2019

英語で世界を知ろう！Topic Reading

2019/11/14 Topic Reading-Vol.2773-11/14/2019

Dear MEL Topic Readers,

The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago. But an invisible barrier still divides Germany

From 1961 until November 9, 1989, Berlin was physically and ideologically divided by a concrete wall, the Berlin Wall. It was built by the German Democratic Republic (GDR), or Eastern Germany, to protect its citizens from fascism. During the Cold War period, Germany was divided physically, ideologically, and economically divided. Less than a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the distinctly divided countries were reunited and became one Germany.

There were around 16 million people lived in Eastern Germany 63 million in the West at that time. Though the national and physical borders were removed, distinct gaps seem to exist between the two regions. Eastern Germany’s GDP per capita is around 32,000 euros while that of Western Germany is nearly 43,000. One reason is that the East has more rural regions, while the West has more headquarters of big corporations and thus, richer people. Also, the Eastern population is older, poorer, and more male. That’s because nearly two million people moved to the West since the unification, two-thirds of whom were women. In the meantime, the pay gap between men and women is smaller in the East, and accordingly, more women work in the East than those of the West. Interestingly, young Eastern students perform better in schools than Western children.

Are these gaps after three decades of division too significant? What if the border and Demilitarized Zone were removed between North and South Korea?

Enjoy reading the article and learn what Eastern and Western Germanies are like.

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/07/europe/berlin-wall-fall-30th-anniversary-intl-grm/index.html

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