Eastern Germany 25 Years Since German Reunification

HOYERSWERDA, GERMANY - JULY 07: A mural, painted under a sale sign from a shop that reads: "We've reduced!", shows apartment buildings as well as their demolition in Wohnkomplex X (WK X, or Living Complex X) district on July 7, 2015 in Hoyerswerda, Germany. City authorities demolished much of WK X in 2013 due to an endemic housing glut. Hoyerswerda was largely built by the communist East German authorities in the 1950s in order to house workers needed for nearby coal mines, power plants and factories, and by 1981 had a population of over 70,000. After the collapse of the communist government in 1989 the factories shut down and coal production declined, resulting in a population that has sunk to around 34,000 today, making Hoyerswerda the city with the starkest population decline in Germany. 25 years since German reunification eastern Germany is struggling with a low birth rate, rural emigration and unemployment rates higher than in western Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)