European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 02, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Re unification one year later eyewitnesses to history their thoughts tech sgt. Vivien Richardson Berlin on the children a they seem to have no dreams no illusions. The main thing seems to be Christa Schmidt an Eastern German nurse on the pleasures of unification a i took my first vacation in 10 years. I went to the Black Forest. It was Gerald Mevs a bitter Quot Wessie a says a those a of Siesz want everything overnight that took us years of hard 1st it. Jennifer Reavis Berlin Quot they have a hard time believing they wont Wake up and find themselves Back where they Nancy Turman 16, a Berlin dependant a people used to be polite and everything is crowded its getting More new Lynn Bowers a . Painter in Berlin a third world people come Here in the evening because of the racial attacks on their Side of Mike Kessler 17, a former East German a it was quieter before reunification. Now everyone is into buying things. Uwe Engle a jobless easterner a a people Are less Friendly now. They Are Hll of envy of those who might be doing better. Manfried Hartkopf a hotel manager a a those people Over there have spent 40 years in jail. They think differently than we do. A 1 cup optimism 2 cups bitterness 1 United Germany the former Border villages of Philippsthal and Vacha Mirror a country s growing pains by Mary Neth staff writer for 40 years Hans Hoehn had a View from his window of a forbidden land. His River front apartment in Vacha looks out upon the White houses and Green Hills of Philippsthal. Until two years ago the towns were divided by the heavily mined and guarded East German Border. Quot my House was the last before the no entry zone Quot says Hoehn. Quot the guards marched along the Street each morning on their Way to their now the 77-year-old pensioner crosses the Werra. Footbridge every Day passing an abandoned guard Tower. In Philippsthal he walks his dog in the Park he had not been Able to visit for 40 years. Quot i wish my wife had lived to see this happen Quot he says. Quot she died just before the Wall Christa Schmidt a former practical nurse pauses on her Way Home with a bag of groceries to mention one of the True pleasures of unification a no longer having to stand in line to make Small purchases. Quot and just recently i took my first vacation in 10 years. I went to the Black Forest. It was wonderful Quot she says. The enthusiasm of the two Vacha retirees is not As obvious across the invisible Wall. In Philippsthal there is a great Deal of sourness. Quot As far As i m concerned they can rebuild the Wall a says Gerald Mevs. Quot not everyone will be that honest but that s the Way most people feel Mevs believes the West gained nothing with reunification. A fall it Means for us is higher taxes Quot he says. Quot those possies want everything overnight that took us years of hard Quot they have to be taught How to work a Chimes in his Friend and Lellow Philippsthal resident Markos Dralle. Mevs and Dralle Are not alone. A Survey in the German news Magazine Spiegel found that 46 percent of West germans said East Germany s lower productivity can be blamed in part on Lack of worker ambition. Only 27 percent of East germans agreed. Philippsthal with its Castle and Park filled with Orange Trees is a prosperous town of solid houses and modern businesses. Vacha is a sad contrast. In the Middle of the Village a string of Small dilapidated Gray Stone shops surrounds an old tin roofed Gas station. Liese Lotte who runs the station with her husband proudly shows off the old Gas pumps. Quot they Are better than anything modern Quot she says. Quot you just turn this Knob and they switch irom leaded to Quot reunification Quot she says Quot has brought More for 40 years the Bridge Between Vacha and Philippsthal was a fortified no Many a land. A amps Dove Didio the Gas station is booming. The townspeople of Vacha had been told for years that their Economy was Lusty second Only to the soviet Union in Eastern Europe. It is Clear to them now though that their status is. That of the backward poor relations. Being on the East Side of the River is like being on the wrong Side of the tracks. They Are not unaware of the disdain in which they Are held and find the westerners arrogant and unfair. Quot they come Over Here and take advantage of us. They have the Money. We can t compete Quot says Erika Brill who was Selling plants with her husband Kurt from a converted camper next to the downtown Wurst stand. Quot the Street is torn up in front of our shop. Our customers can t reach us Quot she explains the business has been in the family since 1924. Quot ii was t easy to operate privately under the socialist government Quot she says Quot but it s hard to say if things Are better now. Quot costs have gone up. We Lack capital. We make Little profit. There is lots of unemployment Quot she , we had Money but there was nothing to buy. Now there is lots to buy but no her husband adds Quot things weren t All bad Here before. If the Economy had held up Well there were Good things under Uwe Engle also has suffered the snub from the West like a number of local residents Engle has relatives across the River. He visited them a couple of times after reunification a but says he won t again. Quot they told me i had t worked All my life. I be been Laid off now since june but for 14 years i worked Here at the saw Mill. Sure the equipment was old but we worked but Engle has no illusions about the past and can t think of anything Good about the old East German regime. His main complaint is that the people who held Power Are still in their jobs. Quot the District attorney has just changed his title that s All. The same people Are sitting in City Hall that were there before. The people who were Able to keep their jobs where i worked Are the old party Engle voices his feeling while drinking a Beer in the Small Village restaurant where meals still go for As Little As 4 Marks $2.40. Its a cramped Plain affair with linoleum floors and yellowing Walls and Bare wooden tables. Angie a Rock music fan confesses to Loving americans. Quot the accent the funny r a Are super Quot he says. The restaurant s other customers Are listening. Engle does t care. Quot those people sitting behind us they All had City jobs before. They still do Quot he says. The women ignore him he says he feels contempt for the town and sees no Quot improvement since reunification. A people Are less Friendly now a he says Twisy Are full of envy of those who might be doing better. They All Are in he Isnit sure what he will do. Quot they Tell me my paperwork is lost so i can to collect unemployment. But i Don t want to leave i live in a nearby Village. I have a House the Young people of Vacha have varying viewpoints about unified Germany. Brit Goldbaum 16, says reunification has made her life much More difficult. Quot we have a whole new school plan a new subjects. That would be bad enough but the principal is determined that Well rate higher than the students in Philippsthal. He is really pouring on the her three girlfriends nod in agreement. One of them now tugs her Arm Quot done to give the woman your name Quot she advises quietly. Quot it might not be she is silent when asked what might happen what danger there might be Mike Keazer 17, who wears two safety pins in his ear and a studded leather jacket is an apprentice Mechanic by Trade and a Punk by inclination. Quot it was quieter before reunification Quot he notes. Quot now everyone is into buying things. In a a Punk. That s not important to me. For me nothing has changed. Quot i go to school i go to he says there is no worry about attacks from enemy skinheads. Quot there Arentt any in Vacha but there Are political leanings aside the people of Phillips Hal generally feel that More than a River separates the two towns Quot those people Over there have spent 40 years in jail Quot s Lys manfried Hartkopf manager of the hotel Konigshoff. Quot hey think differently than we Dos amps Dove Didio an old guard Tower Marks the Road to Vacha but the Only physical Barrier is a traffic Gate. A amps. A Oitim press for Many life has changed Little. Homes in Vacha sprout satellite dishes. A amps Jim Werheim Page 4 a the stars and stripes wednesday. October 2, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 5
