German reunification
East Germany accedes to the Federal Republic, completing German reunification
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗A state vanished without a war: at the stroke of midnight, the GDR's territory entered another state under a constitutional accession clause.
Midnight, 3 October 1990
At midnight on 3 October 1990, the German Democratic Republic's accession to the Federal Republic of Germany took effect under Article 23 of the Basic Law. Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia became Länder of the Federal Republic, and East Germany ceased to exist as a separate state.
East and West Berlin became one Land of Berlin. At midnight the Freedom Bell rang in Berlin while hundreds of thousands of people from East and West celebrated outside the Reichstag.
What the treaty transferred
The Basic Law and, subject to treaty exceptions, West German federal and European Community law entered into force in the acceding territory. Germany notified the United Nations of the establishment of unity and continued its UN commitments under the name “Germany.”
The Unification Treaty made Berlin the capital immediately, while postponing the decision about the seats of parliament and government.
Accession, not merger
“Reunification” is the common description, but the precise constitutional mechanism was the GDR's accession to the continuing Federal Republic rather than the creation of an entirely new successor state.
The next day, 144 delegated Volkskammer members joined the 519 existing Bundestag members for the first all-German sitting, a chamber of 663.
Sources
Researched 23 Aug 2026 6 sources 3 audit passes
How this was checked
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What the sources leave uncertain
- “Reunification” commonly describes the event, but its precise constitutional mechanism was the GDR’s accession to the continuing Federal Republic, not the creation of an entirely new successor state.
- The Two Plus Four Treaty entered into force after final ratification on 15 March 1991, but the Four Powers had already suspended their reserved rights from the time of unity, allowing united Germany to exercise full sovereignty.