European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 17, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse I Ime of change and uncertainty in continued from Page 11. Stresses and strains in the Day to Day lives of former East germans. Despite the hardships and uncertainties the Overall attitude remains hopeful. Karl Heinz lout a a train Engineer in Wittenberg said Quot the people Are still optimistic they still believe in the Spring. Louzek is not so optimistic. As a dedicated communist he had misgivings from the Start. He was not against. German reunification. It was the timing that bothered him. The headlong Rush to return to a single Germany was like being aboard one of his locomotives with the throttle a stuck open. It All happened too fast with too Little control. Louzek s View is by no Means the prevalent one in the former East Germany but it is indicative of the second thoughts some Eastern germans Are having. Their concerns Range from hard issues such As pay Scales rent hikes arid unemployment a to intangibles like regional a a. From the fall of the Berlin Wall the reunification process took Only 11 months to Complete. It was accelerated in the face of a collapsing East German Economy. Louzek says because of this the terms of the unification agreement were largely dictated by the West germans. A a a a. A \. Quot we came As beggars a Louzek said. Because of this there were positive things about East Germany that Are being lost in the scramble for Western Prosperity. In the workers and peasants state he said class differences were virtually non existent. A Factor director and an Assembly line worker might live in neighbouring apartments. Also the necessities of life were priced very Low. The three room apartment where he lives with Nis wife Brigitte and their 3-year-old daughter Katarina Cost 78 Marks a month Day care for Katarina was Only 1.76 German Marks a Day for up to 12 hours 6 . To 6 now he knows both will Cost More but he does not know How much More ,. If the reunification process had been done step by step Louzek said More of the Good things about East Germany would have been should have taken 10 years Quot he maintained. / a. Markow did not share Louzek s nostalgia for the old Days or his wish fora slowdown in the Pace of change. For. Him change cannot come fast enough and he is impatient to get on with his new life. Quot we lived 40 years for Quot \. Nothing Quot he said. Under the old regime Markow was a bus Driver for a state owned tour company in april he opened his own travel Agency. He was unequivocal in his opinion that the change s Are Good especially Quot for All the people who Are ready to work for their contrast to Louzek Markow s View typifies an a emerging spirit of free Enterprise and optimism among. Some Eastern finally having control Over the a direction their lives will take. It was echoed by an i miss 1 Roadside snack bar operator in Hohe Bucko near Wittenberg before the change he had been a truck Driver for a stale owned shipping company but had in g his Job in the summer. \ the had opened the Tobiss in september and a now he not Only had More Freedom than before but was also making More Money. Lie was eager to travel and hoped to go to visit Canaria his wife s dream was to vacation in Florida. A. Markow was not Blind to tiie problems and acknowledged that there Aie May be some hard times especially Tor Quot people who think they can do Little work As they did before Anil get More Money Tor it Wiessmer agreed saying Quot this phase is difficult Quot Many people will lose their jobs or have to be retrained. But. Things can Only get better. Considering How bad the old system was Quot it would be crazy to complain Quot she said. \ even Louzek admitted the old system had flaws. One of a the most obvious was the absence of a work incentive. In the old Days he said when a worker went Home excited to Tell his wife what a great Day he had had on the Job it did not mean he had accomplished a lot. It meant he had drunk Coffee or played cards ail Day and had done no work. Job Security was virtually absolute and pay was. A not dependent on work. /1 c Wiessmer agreed. Private initiative was discouraged and Quot Many lived at the expense of those who Louzek saw the extreme example of this during a trip to the soviet Union. Quot i asked myself what does this huge land live from everybody just sat around. In a Way it was Paradise. Except there was nothing there Quot in East Germany the situation was not quite As dire. Quot we had it the Best in the socialist countries Quot Louzek said Quot the Basic necessities were taken care of but there weren t any a a unlike the soviet Union there was always enough food though the selection was meager. For vegetables a there was red cabbage and White cabbage. Fruit was apples. Perhaps once a year he said there would be a shipment of mealy cuban oranges fit Only for making juice. A a a a but Louzek insisted it was wrong to say East Germany. Progress in 40 years. People who say we lived 40 years for nothing that is Bull. Our living Standard did get better a a a a a a a. A a a Louzek admitted it was Quot a disappointment for Many Quot a when they Learned that in the so called Quot classless Quot society the top communist officials lived secret lives of luxury. But he countered that Money scandals Are not unknown in Western politics. most disgusted with those colleagues of his who. He said were the Quot Best communists Quot under the old. Regime and Quot shouted Hooray Quot in july when the powerful West German Mark became the official currency of East. Germany. Now Many of them Are the Quot Best despite the uncertainties Louzek conceded that. A Overall life for him and his family has gotten better since reunification. He recently bought a used car after i 4 years on a waiting list for a new trabant. \ one East German who did not think her life has improved was Ursula Nopper who with her husband. Frank runs shop in Lubenau. Before the Wall fell was prospering. But open Borders brought Competition from the big producers in the Netherlands. Quot the dutch came with masses of Flowers and plants and we can t get rid of ours at All a Nopper said. Now the business is on the verge of failing. Since april the toppers have supplemented their income by renting out two rooms in their House to visitors. Now after 20 years of building up their business they a a plan to tear Down their greenhouses eliminate the gardens and build a Motel. But though the change has been hard on her personally Nopper sees positive aspects to it. Foremost is the fact that it was peaceful Quot that was but a close second is Quot the tact that we got rid of Honecker and All the other Cement she Hopes they will tie put on trial. Nopper said there is a lot of dissatisfaction. Quot now we can travel we Hove a lot More things to Guy Guj every body s unhappy. Be it body s ail Aid of losing his a Job a Quot 12 j stripes Magazine january 17, 1991 Bui at the hotel Solidarity in Waren receptionist use Schumacher supported the changes despite the fact that she will Likely lose her Job the hotel a former communist party , will probably be sold or converted to a Home for handicapped children. A a a a a. Quot we re As Good As unemployed Quot Schumacher said. Quot we can t change that. We just have to wait and accept whatever . I /. A a. Quot a -. A h Overall throughout Eastern German the mood Beers to be one of uncertainty but guarded optimism. Brigitte Louzek who works As a receptionist at the v hotel Goldener Adler in Wittenberg will also Likely he out of a Job soon. Plans Call for the hotel to be sold and renovated but unlike her husband she wholeheartedly i supported both the Pace of reunite icat Iorland the specifics of the agreement. She was certain life would be Quot much better whatever comes Quot than under the old regime. Quot everything s like in the Middle Ages Here,&Quot.she said. Even Nopper conceded that things will improve though she insisted it will be "10 years at a Wiessner acknowledged that the Region is going through a very difficult phase now that the initial euphoria has passed Quot As the Border was opened everyone saw Only the Good Quot she said. Now Quot the most important thing is that. Everyone gets a the situation was perhaps Best summed up by Markow. Quot it is a time when everything is changing Quot he said. Different generations of women in Lubenau
