The German word Begrüßungsgeld means “welcome money”. Free money? Pretty much. And lots of people wanted it.
The idea of “welcome money” is a concept that was created by the West German government in 1970. Begrüßungsgeld was a monetary gift from the Federal Republic of Germany to visitors from the eastern side the German Democratic Republic.
In those rare instances where East Germans were approved to visit the West, the GDR only allowed them to exchange 70 East-German Marks into West-German DM (by 1989, it had been reduced to 15 M per year -enough to buy a couple of groceries but not much more).
The monetary restriction made it difficult for East Germans to travel to the West, which prompted the West German government to introduce the Begrüßungsgeld. GDR citizens who visited the West were given 30 DM of “welcome money” up to twice a year, paid out at a city or local government. By 1988, they were entitled to 100 DM per year. The West German government’s Begrüßungsgeld therefore made it possible for a greater number of East Germans to pay a visit to the other side – assuming, of course, that their visitation request was approved by the GDR first.
Naturally, when the Berlin Wall fell, thousands of East Germans flocked to the West German city and local governments to claim their promised 100 DM. In only three weeks following the fall of the wall, millions of people claimed their “welcome money”, costing the West German government 1.8 billion DM. And between November and December 1989, an estimated 3-4 billion DM was paid out in “welcome money”. The demand for this Begrüßungsgeld was so high on November 9 and 10, 1989, that Berlin mayor Walter Momper ordered banks to make the Begrüßungsgeld payouts. Long lines formed outside of West German banks as millions of East Germans lined up for the cash.
The West German government never expected to be paying such large sums of money in such a short amount of time, and ended its Begrüßungsgeld payouts on December 29, 1989. Those who didn’t claim it earlier were out of luck.
But for millions of Germans, the Begrüßungsgeld helped them with the transition to a reunified Germany.
And in July 1990, the DM became Germany’s sole currency, which it kept until adopting the Euro at the turn of the century.
By Nicole Glass, German Embassy
