The present study deals with the development of educational opportunities in the new federal states after the German reunification at the beginning of the 1990s. It examines the respective developments in each of the new federal states and also draws a comparison with the old federal states. Furthermore, the new situation in East Germany is compared to the situation and developments in the GDR. This involves looking back at the development of the GDR education system and educational opportunities since the founding of the GDR, and comparing it with the developments in the FRG at that time. The educational opportunities in East and West Germany are compared based on the functioning of their influencing factors, with a particular focus on specific influencing factors in the respective parts of Germany.