Tuesday unity celebrations mark country_s troubled century.

It is indicative of today_s Germany that 10 years after the collapse of a divide that separated individual German families, towns and even two enemy German nations for three decades - celebrations marking the historical fall of the Wall on Tuesday will be low-key. The government is making Tuesday_s anniversary reflective - with wreath laying, commemoration ceremonies and speeches. There are no fireworks, though there will be an "illumination" - tracing a ring around Brandenburg Gate where the Berlin Wall stood for 28 grim years. There is no obvious opportunity for that unbridled German cheer still reserved for the likes of the annual Oktoberfest beer festivals. One reason for the subdued approach to this 10th anniversary is the sheer magnitude of the event. There is also a desire, on the part of the German authorities, to remember those who died trying to escape to freedom from the Communist east, as well to fete a unified, free Germany. But, there is another reason, in fact, there are millions of reasons, personified by Gerhard Kompish, a machine-shop foreman in his 40s from East Berlin and other "Ossies" like him who, 10 years after their police state fell with the Wall, remain bitter, frustrated, and impoverished.
When NBC News interviewed Kompish 10 years ago, he was already worried. The Wall had just fallen, and many of his metal workers had abandoned his workshop to seek more lucrative employment in the West. Kompish welcomed reunification, but feared the economic turmoil that lay ahead. Today, the chief machinist says the German "dream of unification" has become a nightmare. Rents are high, forcing many businesses to go bust. Facing bankruptcy himself, Kompish has moved his shop to Berlin_s tattered outskirts. The business now survives on a shoestring.