20 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall

Hardly anyone expected world-historical events to unfold so dramatically in November 1989. Twenty years ago, Eastern Europe freed itself from Soviet communism. The collapse of the Eastern bloc, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), the reunification of Germany – all these events ended an era which had been characterised by two world wars and subsequent Cold War conflict between East and West.

Moved by these events, the management of Munich Re decided to help their East German fellow citizens quickly and unbureaucratically. It was a personal wish of the then Chairman, Dr. Horst K. Jannott, who himself hailed from the East German city of Gotha, to demonstrate solidarity and affinity and to contribute to the redevelopment of Eastern Germany.

Two months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Munich Re asked how it could best help. This was an important question, considering that the GDR was at this juncture still a socialist state, and doubts remained whether reunification – not achieved until the signing of the so-called "Two-Plus-Four Agreement" in September 1990 – was even possible. Since the communist regime was effectively still in power, Munich Re selected the churches as the recipients of their help. Their clergy had emerged as catalysts of social and political change long before the events of 9 November 1989 unfolded.

In January 1990, Munich Re allocated DM 1m to a "Eastern Europe Partner Fund", earmarked to provide equipment and donations for economic, academic and charitable purposes and to support individuals, companies as well as educational and charitable institutions.

In the same month, Dr. Jannott assembled a “MR GDR crew”, who in February drove through the East German states of Saxony and Thuringia seeking out parishes to which Munich Re could donate so-called “parish sets” containing an electric typewriter, a photocopier, paper and miscellaneous office supplies. This kind of equipment had not been available for years in the GDR, least of all in church parish offices. The idea was to give parishes the means and opportunity to open channels of communication which had been closed for decades.

Barely two months after first contact had been established with the parishes and their needs ascertained, a now enlarged MR GDR crew set off with a truck on a three-day logistical tour through snow-covered Eastern Germany to deliver 28 of these parish sets.

The tour, which took them through "seemingly derelict villages" that looked "drab and grey", turned out to be a great success. After initial mistrust on the part of the clergy, the MR GDR crew usually experienced an outpouring of sentiments that ranged from incredulous astonishment to tears of joy. The parishes accepted the material in deep gratitude. In an account of the journey, one of the crew members remembers overwhelming emotions and encounters which were undoubtedly thought-provoking, such as the one with a minister who told them from his personal experience about harassment and surveillance techniques employed by the Stasi or East German secret police.

Shortly afterwards, in April 1990, the Munich Re Board of Management decided to offer business support as well. In order to stimulate business growth in the East, Munich Re confirmed to all cedants that existing Munich Re reinsurance contracts would include the territory of the GDR.

Munich Re also stayed in touch with the parishes and continued to send the communities donations and supplies for social welfare institutions, such as hospitals or retirement homes. A subsequent "Easter bunny visit" was particularly memorable for the GDR crew. Kindergartens of the partner communities received games, dolls, toy stores and puppet theatres. At the sight of the children’s shining eyes and their faces beaming with joy, the Munich Re crew found it hard to fight back tears.

The interim aid for the partner communities, involving significant costs, was extended until 1994. As part of a special initiative, Munich Re ultimately invited the clergymen along with their spouses to spend a weekend in the Bavarian Alps.

It was with great pride that Munich Re and its employees thus contributed to the development of Eastern Germany and assisted its fellow citizens in the GDR during a difficult transition phase. Twenty years on, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the events surrounding it are still characterised by the word which was on everyone’s lips back then: Amazing!