On the 9th of November 2009 Angela Merkel, The German "Bundeskanzler" crossed the Bösebrücke in Berlin, directing a parade of several world leaders and hundreds of VIPs to celebrate the downfall of the Berlin wall 20 years ago. Back in 1989 the Bösebrücke was the first DDR (Deutsche Democratische Republik) border opening to give way to thousands of East German citizens, who hastily were finding their way to the West. For many of them it was the first time abroad; visiting family living in the BRD (Bundes Republik Deutschland) and West Berlin in particular, gazing at the department stores, BMW's, Mercedeses and all the benefits of the western affluent society.

After World War II Germany got divided into four occupied zones, of which three western zones (English, French and US) in 1949 were transformed into the BDR, and a fourth one, the Soviet zone, was transformed into the DDR. In 1952 the DDR started the construction of a barrier between the two German countries; the Berlin Wall was part of this "Iron curtain". Following the initial opening of sections of the Berlin Wall, the "Volkskammer" (the East German parliament) decided to join the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990. As a result of reunification on that date, the German Democratic Republic ceased to exist.

The integration of the New "Bundesländer" also meant (re)establishing of the land- and property registry. The DDR as a communist republic had confiscated real estate property; with nationalised companies and factories. Because most of the property belonged to the state there was no use to keep a proper land registration system. Over the years of the DDR the old system was neglected and became out of date. Since investors immediately demand to be quite sure about the legal status of real estate and companies before investing any money the registration system had to be established.

The "Treuhandanstalt" was the agency that privatized the DDR enterprises, it oversaw the restructuring and selling of about 8,500 firms with initially over 4 million employees. It controlled around 2.4 million hectares of agricultural land and forests. At the end of 2007 it was still managing 1500 real estate properties worth EUR1.4 billion, over 500,000 hectares of agricultural land, and just under 100,000 hectares of forest land. Due to adverse economic conditions all operations are put on hold in July 2008 and it will take several years to complete the integration, still delaying the reunification process.