reporter Tod Strachan detailing the memories of Terrace resident Willy Schneider, who was born and grew up in Germany, and his reflections on the reunification of East and West Germany. The first part of the series appeared in the Oct. 10 issue of the Terrace Review. ‘by Tod Strachan: ~ In 1949, the western powers amalgamated their German holdings to form the Free Republic of Germany. But this wasn’t a movement the Soviets were willing to join. Instead, they held their share of the spoils, naming it the German Democratic. Tron Curtain. Extending the line drawn on the’ map to the Mediterranean Sea, Russia installed gun towers and an electric fence forming a no-man’s fand between communism and democracy. The fate of East Ger- many as well as other eastem block nations was sealed. Berlin, though, with it’s free _ corridor to the west was a flaw in the Russian plan, Berlin became a magnet for East Germans seeking freedom. The flow of refugees were brought to an abrupt halt in’ August, 1961, however, when the communists erected the Berlin Wall. For nearly 40 years, the wall served as a symbol of a divided Germany in defeat. Over those 40 years there have been stories, but no more: what was happening east of the Iron Curtain was more rumour than fact. Some escaped the communists, but most died at the Wall in the attempt — nearly a hundred of them... ‘But this Communist oppression of the German soul wasn’t to last, Forty-four years and six months after the end of the Second World War, the German spirit broke free. ‘A hole was hammered in the hated. wall on November 9, 1989, and east Germans poured through the wall by the thousands. This, of course, raised the inevitable ques- tion of reunification. Not "If," that was never a question, but "When?" As the world watched, the Ger- man people, for the first time in four decades, debated the question of their own fate. The question was soon resolved, and the Ger- man reunification became a reality on October 3, 1990, On December 3, Germany will hold their first democratic election, an event never before experienced by most East German people. Can this reunification succeed? Or are the scars of two generations of Russian rule too deep? Schneider believes reunification will succeed, but not without a great deal of pain. Eventually, though, he predicts the emergence -of a new economic power with which Canada will either "pull up its socks" and compete, or stand still and be left behind. Schneider spent three weeks in Germany this summer and witnessed the devastation left behind by Communist rule, a . devastation that challenges the success of reunification. Following his visit, Schneider had many unanswered questions. Who was worse... Hitler or Stalin?, Which one leamed from the example of ithe other? Stalin, Schneider believes, was the worst _ of the two, but who first designed ihe fate of East German people is still unknown, The East Germany Schneider. Republic, and erected the infamous Willy Schneider: Deep incision better than a lot of band-aids. found was a country of puppets. He describes a country with, "People who have absolutely no ambition. Who have not motiva- tion. Who have no interest in any- thing and are totally apathetic." _And then he explains how this was achieved. When Russia first moved into East Germany, they first replaced the hated Gestapo with an even more hated police, the Stasi. The Staats Sicherheit Dienst, or State Security Services. The Stasi, like the Gestapo, knew everything about everyone and knew how to deal with enemies of the state. Next, they took everything of value and shipped it back to Rus- sia. Any equipment or machinery that was of questionable.value was left for the. German people to try to. repair and use in the maintenance and reconstruction of their cities and homes. All private property became the property of the state. It was called Volk Eigene Betriebe, the People’s Own Enterprise, and East Germany was called the workers’ paradise, "Don’t you worry about anything," was the word, says Schneider. "We'll look after you." And to some extent the com- munists did take care of the East German people. There was no unemployment, and no | one actually starved. But it was no paradise. Employed workers learned how. not to work. If the materials are sitting at the site for a particular job the equipment isn’t; or if it is, it’s tikely broken down. If the equipment is there, and has decided to work on that particular day, the materials are most often lacking. And-on those rare oc- casions where both operable equip- ment and materials were on-hand, it makes little difference, there will likely only be cnough of the required material to last workers a few hours, "After thal,” says Schneider, "you simply sit on your duff." 7 But this is only one problem created. by Communist rule. - In 1945, says Schneider, the East German economy came almost to a halt. The Communists froze ptices and wages at 1935 levels. And until their downfall in the Fall of 1989 that’s where they remained. With low prices and low ‘wages, though, there was a short- age of food. Women wandered downtown streets in search of a store with something on the shelf. East German youth has no idea what an orange or pineapple is, but have rarely gone begging, for very ‘long at ‘least, for ‘coarse flour or bread. Schneider has no explanation for food shortages in East Germany. Prior to the war, the western half. of Germany had been the tradi- tional industrial centre while the eastern half produced 90 percent of the country’s food. But under Communist rule, the cast was hard _pressed to provide for itself. According to Schneider, the cause for these shortages is appa- rent, but the reason for that cause still a mystery. East Germany simply didn’t maintain the agricul- tural potential they had. This sum- mer, Schneider re-visited a one-- time privately owned agricultural estate near Plauen where he learned his trade as an Agricultural Administrator before being sent off to war. "In the 1930's arid ‘early"1940's, ~ Schneider recalls a highly intensive and productive farm of about 250 acres. This farm was typical of hundreds in eastern Germany and was active in mixed farming, maintained a herd of 60 dairy ‘cattle which provided Plauen with 250 to 300 litres of milk a day, and 200 to 300 pigs which were eventually delivered to the market. In 1990, Schneider found none of that. "There were four scrawny ‘looking cows in the barn. There Terrace Review —- Wednesday, October 17, 1990 AIS was no hay. There was no straw. There was no grain. The pig stable had collapsed and was in a shambles and hadn't been used for years." Typical of technological advances under Communist rule are the automobiles still in use today: There’s the little Trabant,. known more commonly as the "Trabi® worth around 12,000 Marks, and the more lavish War- burg, or “Warbi" worth. around 15,000 Marks. Both are unchanged in design since 1948, they still have the smoking, over-sized, two-cycle lawnmower engine for power. And if you want to buy one, expect 10 to 14 years for delivery. "IT think, in summary," says Schneider, "it can be said that East Germany has been taken back anywhere between 40 and 70 years in history and advancement.” So it is with this economy, technology, lifestyle so well inbred, that East Germany faces reunification. And that’s only the beginning. Pollution in East Germany is a major problem. With only a soft, brown coal called “briketts" to fire industrial furnaces and residential stoves. Your eyes, nostrils and mouth began to water after only a few minutes exposure to the com- bustion gases. Buildings damaged in the war are- still marred with unpatched bullet - holes. Broken windows are still boarded’ up. Aid “added: to this state of disrepair, pollution has eaten away the outer stucco of buildings and brick structures slowly disintegrate. These build- ings, like the economy and East German people, are in a state of stagnant decay. West Germany has a lot of money, though, and West German money can repair some of the damage. Buildings can be repaired, new factories using new fuels can be built, aiding a sagging economy \ ermany: slow but sure resurrection — This is the conclusion of a two-part article by Terrace Review. staff and helping decrease air pollution. But money can’t repair the spirit of the East German people, and this spirit alone may be the greatest challenge to the success of reunification, Most of the Communists have disappeared, all but Erich Honecker, the East German Com- . munist boss for 18 years, but he’s - well out of the picture now. Still, says Scheider, one-time Com- munists are still there and there is corruption in the east. Thousands, if not millions, of West German dollars sent io revive the east simply disappear. . "However, the ball of reunification is rolling,” says Schneider. It will cost billions, but, "It is generally felt that a deep and painful incision will be better than alot of band-aids, and having looked at both sides of the coin I agree." Some, says Schneider, believe the best thing to do is to take a bulldozer, raze all the old East Germany industries and rebuild with new. But even at that, he says, it could still take four to seven years before the benefits are seen. But Schneider has a prediction, partly borrowed from the British press: "On the flight over there I read in a British newspaper that in ~ about 10 years East Germany - might be, as far as technology is concerned, one of the most advanced countries in the world. And that is quite possible. Once reunification is complete a united Germany could easily be one of the most dominating forces in the world. I think that we here on the North American continent have to wake up out of our lethargy and pull up our socks a little bit in order to compete with the rest of the world, especially Europe." And there’s a dream... a German dream. A boy playing. A boy with a future free from Communist rule. A boy playing without a gun. ACID RAIN from environmentally primitive heavy industry has inflicted extreme damage on the man-made structures and the countryside of East Germany. Years of effort lie ahead in rebuilding the country, but when it is whole again the reuinfied nation will probably be one of the dominant economic powers in the world.