Surviving East Germany?

I agree it would be hard to keep the country. West German TV broadcast direct into East Germany and Gorby wanted out.
To me though the fall of the regime, nor how it went, was inevitable.

Norh korea only shares two borders (China and South Korea), East Germany shares three (West Germany, Poland and Czechoslovakia), i think that also matters for a surviving East Germany as unlike China, Poland and Czechoslovakia will after the fall of the Wall will join the nations of the democracies isolating a surviving East Germany.

Found this: What if Germany had never been reunited?

A far richer West Germany is something I hadn't considered either: interesting.

  Yes that's what they said.  Its been very expensive and the east is still a good way behind the west. 

  Of course there is always the point that just because the money isn't spent in the east it might be absorbed/spent/wasted in some other way.

Nope - with 1989 the fall of the GDR is not avoidable.

If you try to establish a scenario in that the western countries "forbid" FRG to unify with the GDR you start a chainreaction you don´t want to establish.

THe state GDR was fully rotten in 1989. They were for sure the "best" of the former Warsaw-bloc-states, but that was just a hollow picture. Everything was rotten. Their economy - non existing. Their society - waiting to explode (as it happened the second the big player USSR don´t support the regime in berlin anymore).

So if you achive by brute force - nothing else stops unification - that the FRG do NOT unify, you have still a failed state that is nondemocratic, but surrounded by states who will get rid of the soviet control.

Basically you need to finance the GDR with around 50 billion EUR a year for an unlimited time, have created a true hostile western germany (to anything the french, american or british want - no EU anymore WITH germany in it, forget it) that understand that the "friendship" with france or the USA is a lie -> that will alone cause huge troubles, the 3rd economy in the world learns that their friends, most much weaker in economic terms hate them, violate the will of the people and happily finance a dicatorship to supress germans (in it).

The french and british tried something similar in the beginning of the break down, recognizing quickly that
a.) the GDR was a lost cause
b.) they would turn west germany in a hostile neighbour - true hostile from the far left to the right- a neighbour who allready is way more powerfull in economic terms as UK and france
c.) would violate anything they publicy stay fore (liberality, democracy, free will of people).

You can´t solve this in 1989.

In west germany the people "belived" in friendship to france, USA and UK. If in 1989 till 1991 (that should be the time in that the GDR is pimped by UK and france) the unification (peacefully, democratic) of germany is stopped cold you end this - forever.

You will see germany turning against france, breaking them economically. In 1989 that is very easy... they were weak and they needed german support. Now france spend billions of EUR for keeping the GDR alive. So germany will not only not help france but will work AGAINST french economic interests. That cause a complete shutdown of the french economy... same for UK

these both states could now only
"invade" germany with the forces in it, declaring them a failed evil nazi state - have fun to
a.) explain this to the world society why they invade a democratic state how does nothing illegal
b.) explain it to the own people, why they suddenly supress (brutal) neighbours
c.) explain why you invade an allied (!) nation that is in the NATO.

Fallout of this is that the eastern european states, who got billions of euro (all in euro to make it more easy) from germany do not get much or no money from germany. THis ruins the economy here even more, just by germany NOT investing money in it.

The next "problem" you get - all the GDR citizens who want to leave the GDR (basially every single one beside the die hard communists, around 100k) have to be stopped. That can only happen by brute force - by the GDR? nope - you need french and british soldiers, shooting them death if they try to leave the GDR and enter the FRG. THe germans will not help them to stop them, why should they? these are germans. The same french and british forces are needed in the CSSR (until it fell apart) and poland.
Again the question: why would these want them in their countries to kill germans who just want to leave the country.

If you drop this point the GDR is an empty shell in 1991 - west germany has taken 10 million "refugees" and france and uk (the two historical states who tried to stop german unification) are forced to keep the GDR alive.

With no unification the FRG do not pay 120 billion DM (60 billion EUR) to the USSR to keep em alive. That has significant consequences for the rest of the world.

So we have
a democratic germany that is now a hostile nation for france and UK, with all in the EWG the germans will not allow anything that suits these two states. Basically the EU is dead. No new members, esp. no GDR as a new state.
Germany will use its superior economical power against france and UK, expect millions more unemployed in both states, that is the "answer" to the betraying of germany by the governments of france and uk in the "german question". The might of the DM will break the economies of both states quickly... so the overall economcial situation here is full of strikes, unemployment, lots of money is lost here.

If the americans had joined that "we do not allow unification"-club, they also will suffer. Beeing stronger they will not suffer much in economic terms, but the germans will not give any support, esp. in 1991 they will not pay the bill of the 2nd iraq war, as they did historically. Even from the UN the germans could retreat - esp. if this will not help but support the move of the "hostile" big 2 or 3.

FRG will propably still establish good relations to the USSR and Gorbatchev, if the british - desperate in economic terms try something internal in the nato germany even could leave nato. A defence alliance in that one member attacks or threatens another one is useless.

You need this ASB-level-behaviour of france, uk and USA to stop german unification and a still existing GDR.
The consequences of that behaviour is given by me.

OTL the french and british did EVERYTHING to avoid the german unification but they recognized that they would suffer much more by the moves they need to do. France get the EURO (even if that bit em in the butt much more 20 years later), UK was to weak and got from Bush senior the needed dose of reality (Thatcher) and in consequence she got removed for this.