1 in 7 ‘want Berlin Wall back’

ONE in seven Germans want the Berlin Wall back because they were better off when the country was divided, according to an opinion poll published ahead of the 20th anniversary of its collapse on November 9, 1989.

The survey of 1,002 Germans by the Forsa institute published in Stern magazine said 15% of the country’s 82 million long for the days when there were two Germanys. Some 16% pining for the Wall were westerners and 10% easterners. Many westerners are bitter about higher taxes to pay for rebuilding the formerly communist east, the survey found, where €1.2 trillion worth of state funds have been transferred since 1989.