The Berlin Wall fell 30 years ago. But an invisible barrier still divides Germany

CNN- The Berlin Wall was torn down 30 years ago. The seismic event sent shock waves across Europe, and sparked hopes for millions of East Germans.

Jubilant crowds stormed the concrete blockade dividing the East and the West on November 9, 1989, just minutes after the Communist German Democratic Republic (GDR) announced that travel restrictions would be lifted for East Germans. The propaganda and fear were replaced with a sense of freedom and unity.

West Berliners crowded in front of the Berlin Wall on November 11 1989, watching East German border guards demolishing a section of the barrier.

But three decades later, an invisible barrier still stretches across Germany. It is slowly disintegrating, but it's still there.

The two countries, The GDR and the western Federal Republic of Germany (FDR), reunited less than a year after the Berlin Wall collapsed. According to Steffen Mau, a sociology professor at Berlin's Humboldt University, many gaps, particularly the economic ones, have narrowed. 

Berlin n)ベルリン　バァﾘﾝ
fall  v)落ちる、倒れる　 fall-fell-fallen
invisible  adj)目に見えない　ｲﾝヴィｼﾞﾌﾞﾙ
barrier  n)障害　ベｪﾘｱ
divide　v)分ける、隔てる　ﾃﾞｨヴァｲﾄﾞ
torn　トｫｰﾝ　tear テｱ-  -tore-torn    v)引き裂く、裂ける、破れる
seismic　adj)激しい　サイｽﾞﾐｯｸ
send-sent-sent v)送る
spark　v)火をつける
Jubilant　adj)大喜びの　ジュﾌﾞﾗﾝﾄ
storm　v)突入する
blockade　n)封鎖　ﾌﾞﾛケイﾄﾞ
restriction　n)制限　ﾘｽ ﾄリｸｼｮﾝ　travel restriction 旅行制限
propaganda　n)特定の世論へ誘導する行為　ﾌﾟﾛﾊﾟガンﾀﾞ　ﾌﾟﾛﾊﾟギャンﾀﾞ
fear　n)恐れ　フィｱｰ
a sense of freedom 解放感
unity　n)まとまり、結束、団結　ユﾆﾃｨ
guard  n)見張り、監視人　ガｧｰﾄﾞ
demolish  v)取り壊す　ﾃﾞモﾘｯｼｭ
section　n)分けられた区域　a business/residential section
stretch  v)伸びる、広がる、達する、及ぶ　ｽﾄレｯﾁ
disintegrate　v)崩壊する　ﾃﾞｨｽインﾃｸﾞﾚｲﾄ　integrate  v)統合する
reunited　v)再統合する、再会させる　ﾘﾕナｲﾄ
less  より少ない、より小さい　little-less-least
collapse　v)崩壊する、倒れる　ｺラｯﾌﾟｽ
sociology　n)社会学　ｿｽｨオﾛｼﾞｰ
particularly　adv)特に　ﾊﾟティｷｭﾗﾘｰ