Ursual Bouffier, Volker Bouffier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, president Joachim Gauck and Daniela Schadt arrive for events to celebrate the 25th anniversary of German reunification on October 3, 2015 in Frankfurt, Germany. On October 3, 1990, following the end of the Cold War, western-oriented, capitalist and democratic West Germany and post-revolution, formerly communist East Germany reunited into a single state after 41 years of official separation. Though the integration of the two former states into one is seen by most as a success, differences remain, particularly in average incomes and pensions, which in eastern Germany are lower.