European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 6, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine East German tender Erich Honecker applauding Parade in july marking the 7solh anniversary Oberlin. High Hopes hinge on Honecker visit to Bonn associated Presse ast German Leader Erich Honecker will make a historic trip to West German this month bringing Hope to millions of germans whose families were separated by the country s division after world War ii. Honecker will become the Lisl communist party chief of the German democratic Republic to visit Bonn since the iwo German states were formed in 1949. Premier Willi slope in 1970 was the last High level East German visitor to West Germany formally the German Federal Republic but he did not go to the capital. Honecker s sept. 7-11 trip for talks Wilh Chancellor Helmut Kohl and other officials is a sign of improved East West relations and the culmination of years of diplomatic efforts. The East German Leader is to sign environmental agreements in Bonn that would pledge both sides to share information on measured radiation Levels and other ecology issues for West germans the visit offers Hopo thai Honecker will agree to ease travel restrictions on East germans who want to visit West Germany in Exchange for expanded Trade and increased financial credits. People have an emotional tie to East Germany and Hope Hal this visit will bring some changes Tor a photo Chancellor Helmut Kohl Lef Hanecker in Stockholm at 1986 funeral of murdered statesman lot palme germans  Edgar Piel a research analyst at the prestigious Allensbach polling Institute said in an inner View. Honecker who turned 75 on aug 25. Has Long wanted to to remembered As the Fisl East German Leader to Visil Bonn diplomats say he also wants to see his Birthplace again in the Wesl German state of Saarland. Sut the soviet Union angered Over developments in East West relations cancelled at least two previously planned Honecker trips to Wesl Germany in 1983 and 1984. It is generally accepted that Honecker could not make such a visit without at least tacit soviet approval said a West German official. Because the iwo German nations form the front Lino of the East West Divide their relations Are watched closely in Moscow and Washington. East Germany is a Cornerstone of the soviet led Warsaw pact and one of Moscow s biggest trading partners in Eastern Europe. West Germany is a close ally of the United Stales and plays a key role in nato and tha common Market. The population of West Germany including West Berlin is about 61 3 million people living in an area of 248,706 Square Kilometres 96,975 Square Miles East Germany has 16 8 million citizens in an area of 103,333 Square Kilometres 41,825 Square Miles. Wesl German officials worried about last minute hitches Are playing Down expectations for the diplomatically sensitive trip. Independent analysts agree. This visit will not really change anything says Michael Stuermer. A University of Erlanger historian and specialist in East West affairs. But conservative politicians say Honecker s trip will prove important in the Long term. It will keep the concept of a unified German nation alive in the German conscience Alfred or Egger the parliamentary Leader of Kohl s Christian democratic Union told reporters in july most Wesl germans however do not believe they will Ever see a reunified Germany and polls show that few seem to care whether or not they Ever do. The fact is reunification is an idea that West German Post icons pay lip service to but few people Hal As a priority m their daily lives said Allensbach analyst Piel. The division imposed on Germany by the victorious world War ii allies split towns and families and turned the germans into ideological enemies members of either the communist or capitalist Camp. One of the world s most heavily patrolled Borders now courses through the German Countryside. Sleet mesh fences and other barriers erected by East Germany split forests and Farmers Fields while armed East German guards peer from towers Hal loom above nearly every Hilltop. The division was expected to be temporary but As the years passed the two German states grew further apart. West Germany emerged As world Industrial Power while Easl Germany gained its own measure o Prosperity within the soviet bloc. It s a Loreign country there More foreign irian some West european places where they don11 speak German said Arne Neumann a 19-Yoar-ofd Bonn University student who visited East Germany for the first time this year. Annual Allen Aback polls show a gradual decline in the number of Wool germans who believe reunification should be a priority for Bonn s politicians. Interest