On October 22, 2020, the panel discussion on "30 Years of Economic and Monetary Union: Successes and Mistakes" took place, which was prepared and organized by the Bremen project team "Mod-Block GDR" in cooperation with the Leipzig Forum for Contemporary History and the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR).

On the podium, which was converted from a presence to an online format at short notice, Christa Luft (former Minister of Economics of the GDR), Johannes Ludewig (former coordinator "New Länder" in the Federal Chancellery), Udo Ludwig (former advisor to the Federal Government and IWH Halle) and Rudolf Hickel (former University of Bremen and advisor to the trade unions in East Germany) discussed the topic. Ine Dippmann, journalist and freelancer at the MDR, moderated the discussion, in which the monetary union, privatization practice and economic policy decisions were highlighted. The panel guests brought into the discussion what they had experienced directly at the beginning of the 1990s and reflected on the economic policy decisions against the background of the current situation.

"The discussion will continue," said the moderator in her concluding statement, "and the team from "Mod-Block GDR" will continue to research in order to better understand the long-term effects of economic transformation.

Further events on the topic of "30 Years of German Unification" are planned: Calendar