European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 1, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                M armed forces get Back in step with each other by de Reavis staff writer West German army officers Dieter Francke and Klaus Jirgen Engelien Are on the front lines of an unusual military Mission trying to turn enemies into friends. The enemies in this Case Are members of the East German armed forces which is being abolished and its remnants incorporated into the West German military. Both men Are finding that the animosities built up Over 45 years will be difficult to break Down. The East germans a were members of a highly indoctrinated army that until recently not Only considered us the enemy but has been taught to hate us Ever since kindergarten a said Francke a colonel. Engelien a lieutenant colonel said there a also a morale problem for the West German soldiers who Cio not want East germans wearin the West German uniform. A frankly Many Fin the entire idea unbearable a Engelien said. While Engelien understands those views he does no to share them. A these armies must become one for the future stability of the country and the continent a he said. A and they  the West germans have developed a two pronged strategy to help merge the two forces. The first prong relies on cutting troops from both sides so that the new country can keep its Promise to hold its Active duty Force to 370,000. Bonn plans to Cut about 130,000 positions from the 450,000-Strong West German Force by 1994 and All but 50,000 from an East German Force that recently numbered 176,000. East germans already Are doing their part. Since the Berlin Wall came Down the conventional strength of the East German armed forces has dropped to Between 90,000 and 100,000 service members said a spokesman for the West German defense ministry. East German officers and non commissioned officers who want to join the new Force will serve a double probation period. After the first four months a service member May be accepted As an enlisted or a commissioned officer. After no longer than two years the German armed forces will decide whether the service member May remain As a career military member. A we done to have any criteria for choosing worked out yet a said cmdr. Johannes born a staff member of the West German Center for leadership development and civic education in Koblenz. A every East German Over 55 years old and All military pay differences East germans who join the new German armed forces May find that integration will not mean equal pay for equal work. A West German plan Calls for grave differences in salaries Between former West and East German soldiers for the next two years. West be tenant colonel 5,qq0marks a Fri itch Rac Rulf 400 Marks a s a it v n \. S inv month East lieutenant Cotoner 1,500 Marks a month recruit .300 Marks a month learning the Law East German maj. Hans Jurgen Schumann hears about West Germany a Constitution in Furstenfeld Bruck West Germany. The political officers Are being kicked out a born said. The latter group served As the communist party a enforcers in East Germany a armed forces. A those who remain will be stationed Only on former East German territory for the time being. They will be needed to serve in military intelligence in their former country a born said. German military intelligence Milit Rischer Abshir Dienst has the Job of preventing penetration of foreign intelligence services into its sphere. It has no offensive Mission. The task of spying abroad is performed by the German intelligence service Bundsen Schrichten Dienst. The second prong of the Bonn plan involves teaching members of the East German armed forces about the system they were supposed to despise a democracy. For this task officials in Bonn Are relying on the leadership Center in Koblenz. The Center has been doing something similar for the West German armed forces for More than 30 years. Its guiding principle is building the a citizen in  a a military needs tradition a said Francke chief of the centers political Section. A your recent military past our nazi past is not our Only past. The idea is not to forget or gloss Over the bad but to face and improve upon the present for the  Francke said the Center stresses the supremacy of political authority Over the armed forces. The armed forces must not be a a state within a  instead they should be a constructive part of society at Large. The citizen must not be a slave to orders but must act upon his own judgment and must share responsibility. A the Job of trying to find a balance Between the Good and bad of our various military traditions Isnit finished. I doubt if it will Ever be finished if we remain honest. The important Factor is perhaps recognizing the Job will never be done a Francke said. Unceremoniously mustered out a amps Wes Booher by de Reavis staff writer capt. Holger Fitzner a 31-year-old East German knows his career is headed for the trash Heap on wednesday. On that Day his country and his future As a career political officer in the military disappear. The political officer has been the villian in countless Western spy novels and movies. He is usually depicted As a ruthless bureaucrat feared and hated because he a the communist party enforcer for his military unit. Every one of the political officers in East Germany 5,000 in All is to be fired according to a decree by Rainer Eppelmann the East German defense minister. However nothing prevents Fitzner and the others from trying to join the combined German army. Even though their prospects Are poor some will certainly apply because their skills Are not needed in the civilian Economy. A the political officers. Were responsible for indoctrination and propaganda of the troops a said Dieter Francke a West German army colonel who is chief of the political Section of the West German Center for leadership development and civic education Center in Koblenz. A very often they doubled As members of the secret police. They were the people who could break a career or ruin a Man s life  Fitzner however sees himself As a victim. A we Are not responsible for the system that ruled Here a he said. A a we be been cheated by our  Fitzner was one of 27 former East German political officers who recently attended a seminar conducted by the leadership Center. The conference was held in Grunau an enclave in Berlin and the former site of the communist party a prestigious political school for the military. The seminars purpose was to teach the political officers How democracy works in the West German armed forces. True to democratic traditions the East germans were Given an Opportunity to express their opinions. Maj. Rolf Sommer said he and the others really had believed in the communist party a infallibility. A the party was always right and the party did no to lie to you a Sommer said. A if someone tried to flee East Germany then he or she was a criminal. There were Legal ways of leaving the country a we believed. If the Economy Wasny to doing Well it was because we had to spend so much on defense against the aggressive capitalistic West. A and we believed we had to be Alert at All times because the West was so irrational that it could launch an attack at anytime even though the Warsaw pact forces outnumbered  capt. Klaus Peter Renneberg another political officer also defended the system. A were we entirely wrong with our Solidarity for the Downtrodden for the third world a Renneberg asked. A West German officer countered a you sent them arms. We Send them food and  Francke said Many political officers really were ignorant about Western political systems. A they were forbidden to read Western publications or to have contacts with westerners a he said. A they were spied on in their houses by the janitor to make sure they weren to watching West German television. If they wanted a military career they heeded those  a Rvl Lvpl Tuaua 1 a div Fly la uni it the plight of the former poli a a they re finished a absolutely at their ropes end morally a Engelien said. A i used to fall for their line of How they were lied to and cheated by the communist party. But when i hear them blaming others for their lot my sympathy gets turned  Page 12 the stars and stripes special report