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Originally Posted by DGG
I once read that if East Germany had not joined West Germany so soon after the fall of the communist regime, the two countries would probably never have merged. Their cultures and self images would have drifted appart, perhaps also their versions of the German language. Many people in these two countries were in favour of unification, but I have never doubted that a majority of both Germans and Austrians would not see any real advantages of uniting these countries and would be opposed to such an idea.
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Keep in mind that Germany itself was a creation of Von Bismark in the late 1800's. Prior to that, it was a collection of independent states with a common language and culture (with some differences, religion being one as Austria is majority Catholic, Germany majority Protestant), but not government although at various periods such as the Holy Roman Empire the states did have one degree or another of political ties. Still, there has long been a friction between the two poles of German culture: Austria and Prussia. It has never been in the Austrian interest to see the Prussian pole excessively powerful.