iF
'

2 By ANNIE BULLER
f and HARRY GURALNICK

aN THE process of building socialism,
+ the remaking of man, of directing

thinking, his outlook and his rela-
mship with his fellow men into
hetnels of humanism is proceeding

“we remembered these words of a
sman friend in our travels during
four week stay in the German

juocratic Republic.

g@itler poisoned the minds and bru-
zed many a German. It took an
psided effort to cleanse that poison
make humanism prevail in the re-
#onship between men. In our travels
#such cities as Potsdam, Dresden,
pZig, Weimar, Erfurt, and in the
mer Nazi concentration camp Bu-
mwald we became convinced that a
# life is being built, a new Germany
» arisen. And we were happy.
is only 18 years since the German
locratic Republic came into being,
18th Anniversary was celebrated
l€ we were in Berlin, October 7th,
y!- Eighteen years in the life of a
€ IS a very short period, but in this
% of time the GDR rose from the
75 Of the war and built itself up to
a € the fifth industrial country in
gop and tenth in the world. Such
ance represents an economic mir-
¢ But considering the not so distant
er past, although much remains to

\

|

)and bringing him back to the hu-
list traditions of the German people
mother miracle as great as the eco-
iC one and, perhaps even more
gificant, which only socialism can
gorm.
ne German Democratic Republic is
msely anti-fascist. This is attested
the continuous exposure of the
jrecord of present high officials in
government of West Germany and
erection of “The Wall of Peace”;
he preservation of the Cecilienhof
© near Potsdam, where the “Pots-
Agreement” was signed by the
is in 1945 for the denazification,
litarization and decartelization of
many and which the Western pow-
lave so brazenly betrayed. Also in
preservation of the site of the for-
‘nazi concentration camp Buchen-
“| which is visited by tens of thou-
4s of citizens of the GDR and other
Miries and in maintaining the build-
"0 Leipzig where the famous Dimi-
trial took place.
#gans and buildings in every place
ilisited of friendship and peace, the
ite educational system, the press
ifthe institutions of culture and art
te beamed toward the eradication
ery vestige of the nazi past. There
i well-deserved pride in the GDR
{the achievements in the 18 short
sf} Of its existence.
ate GDR feels secure in and by its
wship and close all-sided coopera-
with the Soviet Union and the
f socialist countries. They speak
4e great assistance which they re-
ao particularly from the Soviet
2. Along ‘with the celebrations of
8th Anniversary, elaborate prepa-
ns were in progress for the cele-
‘on of the 50th Anniversary of the
mat October Revolution.” They
“ed that without the Soviet Union
jild have been impossible in such
time to build up their industrial
and withstand the provocations
hreats coming from the West. The

e: n Democratic Republic is here

‘

s
0
‘

lone, the achievements in remaking ©

German Democratic Republic

to stay as a land of socialism, peace
and freundschaft.

We became familiar with the general
life of the people. The GDR, conscious
of its economic strength and the devo-
tion of its people to the building of a
new life, was the first of the socialist
countries to go over to a five day work
week without reduction in pay. The
law on the five day week went into ef-
fect on August Ist, 1967. Food and
other consumer products are in good

- supply. Prices are stable, set by the

government and are the same in the
little towns as in Berlin or Leipzig. We
observed stores, well stocked and
crowded with people buying all kinds
of things.

Everywhere we went we saw con-
struction. Much is still to be done to
provide every family with new modern
housing, but construction is proceeding
continuously and is one of the priorities
of the government. There is no unem-
ployment, no fear of tomorrow. This is
so for the first time in German history.

The coordinated system of social in-
surance in the GDR provides free medi-
cal service for every citizen. Hospital
treatment as.well as drugs are free
of charge. Special attention is paid to
the needs.of mothers and children.
Working mothers are granted 14 weeks
maternity leave with full pay. For
every newly born child the state grants
a minimum of 500 marks.

The education of the children and
young people is well looked after.
There are 44 universities and close tao
200 trade schools in the GDR. Higher
education is free of charge and 85 per-
cent of the students receive state
grants. Young people from over 100
countries are studying in the GDR un-
der the same conditions as German
students,

A rich cultural life is enjoyed.: Be-
sides the large number of newspapers
and all kinds of magazines, and. the
tremendous book-publishing, there are
93 theatres and opera houses, some of
which, like the Berlin Brecht-Ensemble,

' the German State Opera and the Comic

Opera, have won international recog-
nition. We, too, enjoyed some of the

grand: performances,

As is well known to all who study
the foreign policy of the GDR, this
German state has fulfilled the condi-
tions of the Potsdam Agreement and
made the principles of the United Na-
tions Charter the foundation of its poli-
cies. The basic principle of the German
Democratic Republic is to secure peace
and peaceful coexistence -with all peo-
ples. The GDR meets all the conditions
for membership in the United Nations
Organizations.

Official state documents clearly ex-
press the firm position that all Euro-
pean states not in possession of nuclear
weapons renounce such weapons; that
all European states respect the existing
frontiers in Europe, and that relations
between all European states, including
the two German states, be normalized.
What a glaring contrast this is to the
position of the Bonn regime where no-
torious nazis are influential figures in
the government apparatus.

Despite non-recognition by the Wes-
tern powers, the GDR is not isolated.
Official trade agreements have been
concluded with nearly 50 countries.
Exports go to more than 100 countries.
The biggest trade agreement for the
five year period 1966-1970 concluded
with the Soviet Union amounts to a
turnover of 60,000 million marks
(about 15,000 million dollars).

Everything for the people

Facilities in the newly opened Manfred von Ardenne Research Institute. -

igs

Highlight of the three-day ‘Festival of Friendship’ in Leipzig was the march
by 35,000 Thealmann and Lenin Young Pioneers.

The highly developed specialized
machine industry and the recognized
quality of its products is seen in the

_ fact that more than 50 percent of ex-

ports consist of products of the ma-
chine-engineering industry. The export
of complete plants is steadily on the
increase. During 1965 alone, 80 com-
plete plants were exported to 22 coun-
tries. By 1970 the GDR will have de-
livered more than 100 complete plants

- for the chemical industry to the Soviet

Union alone. The Zeiss works at Jena
are well known for their high-quality
products. The imports of the GDR con-
sist mainly of raw materials, fuels, iron
ore, hard coal, petroleum as well as
vehicles and food products.

Ninety percent of industrial produc-
tion comes from nationally and coop-
eratively owned plants. The GDR oc-
cupies second place in the world in
the per capita output of chemical pro-
ducts. In 1966 the first atomic power
station started operating in the GDR.
During our 2 week stay in the rest-

‘home of Gabelbach, high in the Thu-

ringian Forest, we had the opportunity
to discuss with other guests many
questions concerning the life and wel-
fare of the working man and his fam-
ily, including the question of vacations.
Most of the rest homes and vacation
resorts are under the supervision of the
Trade Union Federation.

The GDR provides accommodation
for close to two million people at one
time. Most of the rest homes are open
all year round. For a two weeks vaca-
tion a worker pays between 50 and 75

marks according to monthly earnings.
The Trade Union Holiday Service pro-
vides transportaion to and all round
service at the rest home. And what the
worker pays is less than a third of
what the actual cost is.

Last July the presidium of the Trade
Union Federation had already decided
on the plan for vacations during the
year 1968. The trade unions will pro-
vide vacations for close to 1,096,000
workers and their families. Of this num-
ber close to 1,020,000 trade union mem-
bers will have their vacations in the
rest homes of the GDR. The plan also
provides accommodation and service
for 68,600 special cases, such as vet-
erans, special vacation needs for the
youth, for agricultural workers and for
the blind and the deaf. About 7,800
GDR workers will’ be provided with
vacations outside the country, in the
other socialist countries. Provision is
also made for 11,500 people from other
countries to spend their vacation in the
GDR.

Thus, the Socialist Unity Party of
Germany, the multi-party government
of the National Front and the public
institutions of the GDR, true to the
principles of socialist care for the wel-
fare of the people, are showing a rec-
ord of great achievement in organiza-
tion and service. Such is the result of
the efforts to build for life and happi-
ness, engaging in peaceful labor and
striving for peace in Europe and in

. the world, The visit to the German

Democratic Republic was a great inspi-
ration to us.

DECEMBER 15, 1967—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 5_

& spoI—JUUSIAT SIWUDAT--—Noet .¢) F3GM3DIG

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