European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Unease in the East in a Corner of Eastern Germany the Cost of unification weighs heavily by Norm Zeigler travel outdoor writer Herbert rink is a Man of Strong opinions. But the retired veterinarian is uncharacteristically ambivalent about one Issue is life in Eastern Germany better now than before the fall of the Wall Quot it s not so easy to answer Quot says rink who lives in Schmacht Hagen a Village near Waren in the northeastern state of Mecklenburg Vor Pommert. On the positive Side he says Are such things As a huge increase in available consumer goods and Freedom to travel. Among the negatives Are a jump in the volume of trash a breaking Down of personal ties and endless ownership Battles Over Homes and property. And of course lost jobs. Quot at the moment there s still a lot of unemployment Money being paid Quot rink says but the big problem will come in two or three years when unemployment benefits begin running out. Then Many May be forced into going on welfare. Quot imagine what that will be for explosive conditions Quot he says. Others in Eastern Germany share rink s mixed feelings about the changes and uncertainty about the future. In the three years since a peaceful Street revolution sounded the death Knell for the German democratic Republic the jubilation has faded there have been Many improvements including huge construction projects to upgrade the country s infrastructure but sometimes they tend to be forgotten in the face of massive unemployment the machinations of Western Geld Haie Money Sharks and the ugly phenomenon of nazis and skinheads taking to the streets Quot some things Are better some worse Quot says Horst Zachau an unemployed Seaman in Sossnitz on the Baltic Island of Rugen. Quot for example the thing with unemployment did no to exist in Sossnitz Zachau says the jobless rate is 40 to 50 percent. The reason is evident during a stroll along the Harbor. Rusty pipes crumbling buildings and rotting docks Slippery with Gull droppings Tell the tale of a once major fishing port that has fallen on hard times. Until 1989, Sossnitz was Home to one of East Germany s biggest High seas fishing fleets. Its seiners and processing ships sailed to most of the worlds major fishing grounds Georges Bank off the new England coast the Barents sea North of the Arctic Circle the West coast of Africa. For 27 years Zachau sailed with them. Now he and most of his shipmates Are stranded High and dry. Quot for my generation its hard. I m too Young for Early retirement 54 and too old to learn a new profession Quot Zachau says his wife Ingrid is retired from the Navy so they have her pension. They own their House and a Bungalow they rent to tourists others have it worse. For Sossnitz the collapse came soon after the two Germany switched to a single currency in july 1990. Much of the town s annual catch of 75,000 tons had been sold to East bloc countries under contracts negotiated during the cold War. When the changeover came most could not pay with hard currency. With the markets gone the Fleet had no future. "sal3nitz was a Fisherman s town Quot says Rolf Jacob a onetime Seaman and shipyard Foreman who now runs his own building renovation firm. Quot fifty percent of the population were fishermen and the other 50 percent lived from the Money the fishermen spent. The Baker the jeweler the watchmaker the the commercial fishing Fleet at Sossnitz was once the Pride of East Germany. Unification has reduced it to a few rusting hulks. Page 14 the stars and stripes monday december Quot we had 100 big fishing cutlers Here Quot Jacob says. Where Are they gone. Junked. Or sold. A handful Are sitting out there in the outer Harbor. Rusting . Standing on the Guay Jacob Waves his hand toward two men in Navy Blue Seaman a Caps walking out on a Dock. Quot they were fishermen now look at them. They re Al walking around with their hands in their pockets and collecting Quot we had a saying Quot Jacob says Quot i m a Seaman who is More no Quot now Many Are seamen no More and face the Prospect of having to seek new professions. Quot one either has to change or get left behind Quot says Jacob s wife Anna Maria. Tempering the nostalgia and scepticism of some Eastern germans is Hope for the future. Jacob is not doing too badly. He recently signed a Long term lease on one of the Large Harborside buildings and currently has 20 people working for him. All Are former seamen or shipyard workers. Many others in Eastern Germany have taken the leap into new professions or self employment. Christa and Klaus Kuske operate a combination Auto repair shop car Wash and i miss in Kittendorf about 10 Miles from Waren. She too gives mixed Marks to the new system but part of her criticism is that it is too easy for some to abuse it. Quot it s harder for some but it s More comfortable for others Quot Kuske says. Under the old system the government made sure virtually everyone had a Job. Now she says some work hard and others sit around and collect checks. She and her husband have been putting in 10 and 12-hour Days to make a go of their business but they have run up against some obstacles. A a we be been looking for a Mechanic for months and we can t find one Quot she says. Quot they All say they want to use up their unemployment benefits in addition to economic uncertainty there Are other less tangible concerns among Eastern germans. Quot the human relationships were totally different Quot rink says. With consumer goods scarce and travel sharply restricted ties to friends and neighbors were More important Village festivals neighbourhood barbecues and group outings were common now says rink s wife Berta Quot that s All kaput. The people Are distancing themselves More and More from each in the Countryside around Schmacht Hagen one of the years highlights was the annual Harvest festival organized and paid for by the local logo Farmers collective. This year there was no festival. The log disappeared with privatization. And now the rinks often go weeks at a time without getting together with any of the dozen families in the Village Quot there was More a feeling of Community before. Everybody helped each other Quot says Zachau. At times the nostalgia for the old ways is tinged with defensiveness and animosity toward Western germans. Jacob tells of being stuck with a Truc Ful of workers in a summer traffic Jam. When he asked a Western German to move his car so they could get to a Job the Man refused telling him Quot it s time you Learned How to work. For 40 years you did nothing Quot Jacob says if he had t stopped them his workers would have dragged the Man from his car. Quot we have a saying Quot he says. Quot whatever you shout into the Forest echoes Back to the implication that East germans were Lazy and inefficient angers Many. Rink proudly recalls East Germany s role As an economic Power among the Quot socialist despite Western scorn he says the country did make great strides he cites the Road network in Mecklenburg Vor Pommert. When he moved to the area in 1958, he says the roads were nearly All Muddy cart paths. Now most Are paved though Many arc not up to Western standards. Another sore Point is the unification process. Rink says West Germany should not have been allowed to Swallow up East Germany. Instead there should have been a unification of two equal states. And both he and his wife reject the current trials of former East German leaders. If Erich Honecker and the others were right wingers rink claims there would be no trials rink insists defiantly that the collapse of european communism Only proves that democratic capitalism is stronger not Betti. Quot How Long that lasts is another question Quot he says a problems of the third world can t be solved with the old capitalist when pressed rink grudgingly admits that the East German system had major faults Quot there were certainly Many inhuman things in our system that needed to be improved Quot he says citing the draconian travel restrictions As Quot one of the biggest mistakes Quot Quot but in the capitalist system there Are Many More. And it can to Zachau remembers the travel restrictions Well. The strange feeling of returning again and again to the Waters off Massachusetts of seeing the dunes and headlands of Cape cod and knowing he could not go there. The Eastern germans know there can be no going Back. Though sometimes it is not easy they must adjust. They know that their younger countrymen will have it easier. And despite the relentless influx of Western ways some Are sure a few distinctions will endure. Quot there Are still differences Between the East and the West. And it will remain that Way Quot Zachau says Quot we done to want to adopt All their ways Quot there Are still differences Between the East and the West. And it will remain that Way. We done to want to adopt All their Horst Sachau unemployed Fisherman Horst Zachau an unemployed Seaman laments the demise of the fishing Fleet. Herbert rink above with his wife Berta says capitalism is not better just stronger. Or to Quot to / v six Quot to a o w a f a ten Georgeo Berlin / j a pc of Milt it / or 1992 the stars and stripes Page 15
