Editing German reunification (section)

===Cost of reunification===
The subsequent economic restructuring and reconstruction of [[eastern Germany]] resulted in significant costs, especially for [[western Germany]], which paid large sums of money in the form of the {{langx|de|Solidaritätszuschlag|label=none}} ({{IPA|de|zolidaʁiˈtɛːt͡st͡suːˌʃlaːk|lang|De-Solidaritätszuschlag.ogg}}, ''Solidarity Surcharge'') in order to rebuild the east German infrastructure. In addition, the immensely advantageous exchange rate of 1:1 between the West German Deutschmark to the East German mark meant that East Germans could trade in their almost worthless marks for and receive wages in West German currency. This dealt a major blow to the West German budget in the coming few years.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Judt |first=Tony |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61303516 |title=Postwar : a history of Europe since 1945 |publisher=Penguin Press |year=2005 |isbn=978-1-59420-065-6 |location=New York |pages=638 |oclc=61303516 |access-date=6 March 2022 |archive-date=13 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240213044020/https://search.worldcat.org/title/61303516 |url-status=live }}</ref> The cost of German reunification for the federal government is estimated to be between 1.5 and 2 trillion euros.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-09-21 |title=Ost-Förderung: Deutsche Einheit kostet 2.000.000.000.000 Euro - WELT |url=https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article127595786/Deutsche-Einheit-kostet-2-000-000-000-000-Euro.html |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=[[Welt (TV channel)|Welt]] |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=C. Burda |first=Michael |date=2001 |title=From Reunification to Economic Integration: Productivity and the Labor Market in Eastern Germany |url=https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2001/06/2001b_bpea_burda.pdf |journal=[[Brookings Papers on Economic Activity]] |volume=2 |pages=11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=SPIEGEL|first=DER|title=Interview with Former German Finance Minister : 'Germans Will Have to Pay'|url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/interview-with-former-german-finance-minister-germans-will-have-to-pay-a-785704.html|access-date=2021-06-25|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=12 September 2011|language=en|archive-date=6 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306170511/https://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/interview-with-former-german-finance-minister-germans-will-have-to-pay-a-785704.html|url-status=live}}</ref>