European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                A amps Norm a sitar from left Jakob Reimchen Bertha Reimchen and Kristian Reimchen at the resettlement Center in Oberre Fenberg. Ethnic germans begin a new life in the West by Norm Zeigler travel outdoor writer they come from Romania. Poland the soviet. Union some of them Are old enough to recall the first decades of this Century others Haven t seen their first birthday. But they All have one  common they Are Quot germans Quot. A they Are Quot reset lors Quot Gorman ube Siedler from the former communist bloc descendants of German settlers who  Over proceeding centuries. Last year More than 397,000 of them left their Homes in the East to Start  in Germany the greatest number 147,000, came from the soviet Union. Next was Poland with. 133,000, followed by Rumania with 111,000. Several thousand More came from Hungary Yugoslavia Czechoslovakia and other countries. Though it has been More than a year since the Berlin Wall fell the collapse of. The Iron curtain has had Little effect on the influx in 1989 the number of re settlers was 377.000. Prospective. Candidates May apply through authorities in their countries of origin and at German embassies and. Consulates abroad. They must submit documents. Proving German ancestry which Are chocked by the \   administrative Agency. In Cologne. Once they arrive in Germany they receive assistance with housing employment language raiding a and other areas. A a Many of Tho re settlers have lost the language of their ancestors in Poland and parts of the soviet Union after. World War. Ii it was forbidden to speak German in Public or teach it in schools. According to Irene Habon. An a administrative officer at. The Darmstadt Germany a resettled affairs office Quot a e have Many Young people who have German ancestry who can t speak Gorman Quot. Most of the re settlers come trom c net r res frat for decades were controlled by lol. Dim m in fines Wiere a. Whispered accusation was enough to Flung lire secret. Police to their door. Many have a wanness of Oltie rals. A the fear does riot go away right away.1 said Rudi Eichhorn. A social worker in Darmstadt and a stranger asking questions is sometimes As. Welcome As a Wolf in a Shepherd s fold. Many of the re settlers suffered terribly in the East but. They show a surprising tack of bitterness they Mark the i Date they came to the West like a second birthday. Most give the same reason for emigrating a because i m  for Many this was not easy. They have their disappointments the Long wait for permanent housing finding a Job. Also because of the strains on the Federal budget and social services not All germans Are Happy with the immigration. But almost. Without exception the re settlers Are very Happy to be in Germany. _. A a. A not Only Happy. To must thank Kohl German Chancellor Helmut that he arranged that emigration for ethnic germans with  said 68-year-old Kristian Reimchen. Reimchen arrived with his family eight months ago from pavlodar in the kazakh soviet socialist Republic. Now he lives with his wife Bertha his 81-year-old Mother in Law Emelia Weigand and his son Jakob 41, in a resettlement Center at Oberre Fenberg in the Taurus mountains North of Frankfurt. , a former Bunde Spost German postal service vacation Retreat now houses More than 100 resellers. It is part hotel part College dormitory Long Harrow corridors lined with Small bedrooms pay telephones in the hallways a communal Kitchen and dining room. Reimchen had Little Concrete information about the West before he came. But on arrival he was pleasantly surprised. In the soviet Union he worked on the Kolk Hoz the local collective farm driving a tractor and during the Harvest a Combine. He was unequivocal in assessing his previous life. Quot it was like forced labor. Barbarous Quot Reimchen does see a few negative aspects to his family s life in Germany. The resettlement Center is a comparatively isolated. He wishes they were in a City. And he  idea when they will get an apartment but he is still thankful to be in the West. He said thousands of a. Others would come if they could. Quot All the germans want to get out of . A. A another resident at the Center a 69-year old Mari said who was just As glad to have gotten out of Poland Quot we.  against As germans Quot he said in 1964 he spent six months in prison after being accused 0 Anilsa Benzler and her husband Heinrich share a Small Kitchen with three other families. A amps Jim 0�rheim a amps Jim Der Treim / pm everything is Good Here. A a a in a Happy with Mam everything Heinrich Benzler of listening to the Deutsche Welle the German Public radio station. Quot in Poland it was very bad in the first years after the War. Somebody Only had to say something and you were done for Quot he  october 1989 he and his wife were finally granted an exit visa1. Even today a Little of the old fear remains. He did not want his name published Heinrich Benzler tried for nearly 15 years to leave his Home in Tashkent in the uzbek soviet socialist Republic there was no Chance Quot he said. Quot they would t let me go. Benzler said his profession Metal Smith made him too valuable to the soviet state. But at age 69,the. Approval came and on nov. 26, 1990, he finally arrived in Germany with his wife. A visa. ,. The Benzler Are in Darmstadt in a temporary Home for re settlers in conditions Many americans would find at the least difficult. Their living space is a 10-by 12-foot Roo they share a bathroom and Kitchen with four other. Families. Quot i left my car and House and everything. I took my Wile by the hand and left i gave up everything Quot Benzler said. Quot you can t believe How hard it was for us in Russia. From the time we were Little. They tormented us. A a weren t allowed to speak  during world War ii in the soviet Union ethnic. Germans were automatically suspected of sympathy for a tote enemy. Thousands were rounded up and forcibly. Resettled thousands of Miles  East. Others mostly men were drafted into the so called workers army Quot Quot. Here they performed forced Tabor under armed guard i Longside German prisoners of War. A Reimchen a family was torn away from their Home in he Ukraine and carted to faraway Kazakhstan,.Benzler As forced into the workers army in 1940. It was. Not until 1953 that he was allowed to return to his family. A Benzler knows he is too old to work again. But he has. T a a wishes. To find an apartment and to have the rest of to Weir family join them in the West. Quot i still have a son and daughter Over there. They won t let them  it is a common theme among the re settlers whose concept. Of family  the extended family lot the nuclear unit. Children parents and grandparents often share the same apartment or House those left behind in the old country Are not forgotten though it May Jake years to get them out. Quot the family  stronger than Here Quot Haben said. It almost never happens that an Derly Parent a even one who is sick a is sent to a rest. A a me a. A. A despite the uncertainty of finding a place to live Benzler is far from disappointed with his new life what he St is Best is the cleanliness and order Quot it s not As clean in the restaurants in Russia As it  the streets Here. He said. He also likes the Prosperity and the Abundances amps Jim Dorheim a amps. Norm Zeigler of goods. Quot everything is Good Here s i m Happy with  \ -. A. A. A a a a while Benzler s age frees him from the immediate concerns of the workaday world these concerns a finding a Job transportation a Are very much on the minds of younger re settlers. According to Haben the biggest problem most re settlers encounter is finding an apartment. A few years ago she said the average wait for a social welfare apartment was two to three months. Now it is More than two and a half years. It is a Little belter on the open Market but most of the resellers cannot Alford the rent of a private apartment.,. In general Haben said it is Quot not a big problem to. Find work ironically those with the lowest education Levels have the easiest time getting jobs usually As Semi skilled or unskilled labourers in factories or Small businesses Quot us More difficult with those who Are More educated because the Western standards Are higher Quot Haben said Quot they. Need retraining  Oskar and Galina Keller were mechanical engineers in  Hometown of Karaganda in the kazakh soviet socialist Republic. But in Germany they soon Learned that their education and training were not up to Western a a above Oskar and Galina Keller in their one room  left Christina Bieganski has endured Many disappointments since emigrating from Poland. Standards for their profession both Are unfailingly upbeat despite the cramped quarters of their 10-by-12-foot Quot Homo Quot at the Darmstadt Center a visitor is amazed that there is still room to walk among the two single Beds a table with several chairs shelves and a hot plate for Lea ,.Keller a parents tame to Darmstadt in 1976 his brother and his family followed them in 1977 anti soon thereafter he and his wife applied to visit them on vacation. It took five years to get the approval and then it was Only Tor one of them Galina came for a visit in .1982, six years later in 1988, Oskar was allowed to make the trip each time Keller said with a Grin Quot people asked us Are you coming Back or not 11 on every application to travel abroad they had to get the of of their shop Foreman the factory director and the communist party representative. A a a. /. Finally 14 months ago they came to Germany. Quot at first it was hard for us Quot Keller said they had both taken a German course in the soviet Union but found Quot the. Language was very different the accent from what we  they understood very Little of what they heard. Either from people on the Street or on television. The kellers say they have hot encountered any animosity since they have been in Germany but Quot maybe we did t understand it Quot Galina said with a laugh but they have found it difficult to make friends. In general though they think that there is More openness Quot More Trust Here of other people Quot. What they like Best is Quot the climate the nature a Kazakhstan is cold and dry with few Trees in their Hometown there was a lot of pollution. Keller jokes about f not liking it in Germany because it Loo hard to Tell which a Way. The wind is blowing in the soviet Union he could always Tell by the Black Clouds trailing  the factory smokestacks -. A Keller and his wife have been Milf gently studying German in adult education courses his is Clear and Correct but she still Speaks haltingly reaching for words a a a. Continued on Pago 16 Page 14 the stars and stripes monday March 25, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 15