Second German-German Summit in Bonn (February 1990)

Source

/The second German-German summit following the revolutionary events in the GDR took place in the German capital Bonn. Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl received GDR Prime Minister Hans Modrow. The talks were dominated by the rapid political and economic decline in the GDR. Tens of thousands of GDR citizens are still leaving their homeland to move to the Federal Republic of Germany - a major burden for both German states. An economic and monetary union is to make a decisive contribution to stemming this flow of migrants. The West German mark is to be introduced as a means of payment in the GDR as soon as possible.
Speaking to the international press, Hans Modrow took the opportunity to make a dramatic appeal to the people of the GDR:
/Modrow: I urge everyone to stay where their home is, everyone has a perspective, everyone has opportunities.
/The Federal Chancellor emphatically ruled out a national, unilateral path on the road to German unity:
/Kohl: German unity must be embedded in the overall European architecture and in the overall process of West-East relations. No one has a greater interest in this than we Germans ourselves. [German unity] means a great common task in our previously divided fatherland, it means a peaceful future for a free and united Europe. It is the German and European contribution to world peace.

Source: Deutschlandspiegel 427/1990. Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv ID: 29342

Bundesarchiv