Begrüßungsgeld

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Begrüßungsgeld (German: welcome money) was until 1990 a present from the (Western) Federal Republic of Germany to visitors from the East German Democratic Republic. Every East German was entitled to receive (as of 1987) 100 Deutsche Mark per year, which was marked in the papers. Mainly retired seniors and selected Reisekader (de:Reisekader) persons were allowed to travel by GDR authorities until the fall of the Berlin wall on 9 November 1989, after which literally ten thousands stood in line in front of banks and town halls in West Berlin (Berlin-Wedding, Berlin-Kreuzberg, Berlin-Tiergarten) and in towns west of the Inner German border.

Until German reunification, over one billion was handed out to over 10 million people. The money was usually spend on the same day in local businesses. Bavaria paid additional 40 DM.

On the other hand, until 24 December 1989, West Germans visiting the GDR had to pay Zwangsumtausch (or Mindestumtausch), i. e. the mandatory exchange of a minimum of 25 DM per day into the same amount of East German mark.

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