European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 25, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Ii a a .-�?�jj4 end of the German honeymoons amps Vico Crowley the disillusionment among East and West germans is Felt most intensely in the East by Terrence Petty associated press local housewives in Muhlhausen East Germany silently curse Pushy West germans who grab All the seats at the Beauty parlor. And the natives Are tired of seeing carloads of state subsidized goods a from schnapps to Sledge hammers a heading permanently West. The two Germany Are finally getting to know one other after a four decade separation but they Don t always like what they see. A a in a say 80 percent of them West germans Are really Good people. But then there s that other 20 percent a said Uwe Fritsch who runs an electronics store in that drab East German Border City about 300 Kilometres 186 Miles West of Berlin. Wandering around Muhlhausen or towns on the other Side of the Hilly Frontier you d have a hard time finding anyone who thinks the opening of the Border was anything Short of the most important event in Post War German history. East germans have their Freedom and Good chances for future Prosperity and West germans will Likely be increasing their own wealth and International clout after German unification. Close friendships have sprung up on both sides of the Border and in some ways the Frontier has ceased to exist. But As in a marriage it has t taken Long for the germans to discover that people on both sides of the Border Are Only human. Some East germans see Western visitors As Brash rude characters who like to show off their wealth while viewing themselves As humbler germans who Haven t been consumed by greed. In West Germany one popular View of the East germans is that they Are backward Lazy and lacking in refinement. A shoplifting Boom in West German Border towns has also dampened some of the unification euphoria. The Hamburg based Stem Magazine said that a fall along the Border from Schleswig Holstein to Bavaria department store and supermarket managers Are unable to Rescue themselves from Long fingers from the  but the disillusionment is usually Felt most intensely on the Eastern Side of the Frontier. Young West German men often head East on the prowl for Young women easily impressed by fast cars motorcycles and Deutsche Marks. This is a source of aggravation to East German men. Many others come because of the generally Low Cost of state subsidized goods and services. For example prices at a reputable restaurant in East Germany might be one third the Cost of a Good restaurant meal in the West. Another bit of icing on the East German cake is the official Exchange rate for tourists a three East Marks for every West German Mark. The rate is even better on the Black Market a six East Marks for a single West German Mark. Consequently West germans have been mobbing Border towns like Muhlhausen buying up All kinds of bargain priced goods a from Wurst to tire Irons. Quot it s not fair when you have to wait in a Long line and then find out everything you wanted is gone Quot said Barbara Weber Uwe Fritsch s sister who works with him at the electronic goods shop. On one recent Day a West German family loaded up their Mobile Home with armload of meat and trucked it Back Home presumably for freezing. What really irks Many Muhlhausen housewives said Roswitha Vogler who works at the local Butcher shop is stiff Competition for seats at the Beauty parlor. Quot on saturdays there Isnit a single place left Quot she  go for German by Katharine a. Schmidt United press International when it comes to foreign languages americans Are hesitant teachers say and generally shun tongues with Complex grammar rules a such As German. But since the Berlin Wall crumbled americans have been overcoming their fear of German. Enrolments in classes at cultural centers and universities in the United states have been swelling. Some of the students Are exploring their roots. Others officials say Are betting that they will need the language to further their careers in business. Quot As soon As the changes at the Berlin Wall started to happen we got Calls a people wanted to join our classes but they were almost Over Quot said Gabriele Landwehr head of the language program at the los Angeles Branch of the Goethe Institute a cultural and educational organization supported by the West German government. Quot right now we get people who say you know my German Mother was from Bingen and now i want to go see it Quot Landwehr said. The number of classes at the Institute named for the German poet and scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe has doubled since the Berlin Wall started tumbling last november she said. German cultural centers in other cities report a similar Rise in interest. The Goethe Institute in Chicago doubled its language classes and in Milwaukee where German traditions Are still carried on by 40 cultural groups the Goethe House increased its number of German history classes by 25 percent director Ernst Edlhauser said. Quot when the Wall Story happened Many More americans very often people not of German descent came and wanted to learn something about German history a Edlhauser said. Students in the Chicago Goethe Institute Are primarily businessmen and women plus a Large number of travel agents and airline attendants director Walter Breuer said. In los Angeles a significant minority of students Are business people from asian and latin american countries Landwehr said. At Pennsylvania state University and the University of Southern California in los Angeles students majoring in subjects such As economics business and political science Are already swelling German course enrolments Quot we re beginning to see students who Are pragmatically oriented toward Europe in 1992 when the economic integration of Europe is to take place Quot said Gerhard Strasser a professor in Penn state s department of German and comparative literature. He said professors at his school and other universities have noticed a Rise in interest Over the past year. Quot now with events in the East Europe the liberalization of Trade that is definitely driving up enrolment Quot he said. Quot the Hole in the Wall is a Symbol Quot of economic and political liberalization in Europe he added. Quot i would t be surprised if we Start to hear about Young american adventurers who go into East Germany to sell their technological know How Quot Strasser said. At us the German department has seen enrolment Rise 10 percent since last fall and has gotten More Calls about courses and minor concentrations in German studies said Shannon Thurlow a clerk. Quot Germany is seen More in the papers now. It seems to affect our lives More Quot she said Quot i think students take that into consideration when they re choosing courses a they want to Lake something that will Benefit their  Quot it seems the word is out there that German is still the most difficult of the three languages that High school students traditionally take Quot Strasser said students prefer either French or Spanish he said and do not yet see the usefulness of German. For the older students who Are filling German cultural centers however recent events seem to have added to a current of interest in German language and culture that officials link to two factors the 1983 tricentennial of German immigration to the United states and West Germany a economic strength within the european Community. The Goethe Institute in Houston reports a steady increase in language course enrolment since 1983, and this year it has had Many More requests than usual for an exam in business German. Friday May 25, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 17