European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 25, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                German investment in Eastern Europe Germany s role in East  grew markedly Between 1989 and 1993.,. Cumuu01ve German investment in East Europe includes Only investments underwritten with German government guarantees in Joks or of tub a. $588and. It lags Only the United states in Overall investment since 1990 in the area. Proportion of foreign investment in East Europe since 1090 Washington past illustration by Richard Furno Germany reforming ties to Eastern Europe by Rick Atkinson the Washington Post or automaker Audi a Faith in Germany s future is demonstrated in a new $176 million Plant to build car engines. For forklift builder Jun Heinrich that Faith can be seen in a $24 million motor factory scheduled to open next month. And for the chemical conglomerate Henkel it s a new $9 million cosmetics Plant with 60 employees on the payroll. Yet none of these investments in the German tomorrow can be found in Germany itself. Audi v Plant is in Hungary Jun Heinrich s is in the czech Republic and Henkel s is in Poland. For these three enterprises like thousands of Simitar German ventures Large and Small the future lies to the. A East. A a v a. Pushed by economic necessity pulled by history and geography Germany is slowly reforming commercial political and cultural links with Eastern Europe. For younger Western germans the East is a new Frontier a Virgin land of Opportunity beckoning those with entrepreneurial panache. For Many the Prospect of a skilled work Force in a Region where labor costs Are a fraction of those in Western Germany offers salvation from the crushing expense of doing business at Home. Eastern Europe s less stringent environmental regulations come As an added advantage. Although this latter Day Drang Nach Osten Quot push to the East Quot has awakened ancient fears of German Continental Hegemony Germany s presence in Eastern Europe is still relatively modest. Total direct investment by German firms is roughly $2 billion putting Germany second to the United states among foreign investors in the East according to a recent report by Deutsche Bank. Research. Quot since the soviet Empire collapsed there has been a perception in Britain and the rest of Western Europe that Eastern Europe would become a German Colony Quot Werner Hoyer parliamentary whip for Germany s free democratic party said in an interview in Bonn. Quot but the figures do not substantiate that at All. We knew that because there was this concern about us or even a fear of German influence we had to say Fine come on in with us Quot Kurt Kasch senior vice president of Deutsche Bank s regional office in Berlin added Quot these Eastern european countries Are our natural markets. They re right next door. As for the fear that we will colonize them France which is also right next door is our biggest trading partner by far and nobody says of Germany is going to dominate France Quot nevertheless anxiety persists. Few doubt that Germany Quot is the 900-Pound Gorilla in the Europe of the future Quot As a senior . Diplomat in Bonn put it. French officials have hardly concealed their concern that German the attractions of operating in Eastern Europe Are apparent in the fortunes of the Henkel group a International maker of detergents shoe polish and other chemical products. In the last five years Henkel a operating mostly through its. Austrian subsidiary a has invested $150 million in a. Acquiring 1.4 subsidiaries or affiliates in Eastern Europe according to company figures sales from Henkel s business in the East have reached $300 million a year and Are growing by nearly 7 percent annually the company reported turning a profit in the East for the first time last year. At the same time Henkel Cut 1,600 jobs in Germany in 1993 and plans to trim another 1,000 this year. A Rick Atkinson preoccupation with Eastern Europe could weaken French influence within the european Union and shift the. Continent s Center of Gravity eastward. In Eastern Europe at least the Quot German Empire Quot is emerging slowly. Of More than 15,000 joint ventures now operating in Poland with $2.8 billion in foreign capital Only 1,500 a Worth $120 million a involve German firms according to polish Trade officials. Five of the 10 largest projects Are american a involving International paper Marriott coca cola Pepsico and Levi Strauss a with the biggest German Enterprise ranked 12th. In the czech Republic Germany accounts for 14 percent of $2.1 billion in foreign investment and ranks second to the americans. The germans Are also second in Slovakia behind the austrians. And of $6.2 billion invested by foreigners in Hungary since 1990, German firms account for roughly one Quarter of the total. However when measured by other yardsticks the German presence is More formidable As a consequence of geographic proximity Germany is the. Biggest Western trading partner with virtually All of the former Warsaw pact  a it is also the major provider of Aid to the former soviet Union and the rest of Eastern Europe since 1989, Bonn has contributed $73 billion in assistance although much of that is in the form of Export guarantees and projects that largely Benefit German companies. Most germans View this engagement with the East As a sensible fire Wall against nationalism and instability. A recent poll conducted by the Rand corp. Showed that germans now consider Eastern Europe and Russia to have supplanted France As pre eminent among Germany s Quot Vita  Quot Germany will immediately be hit if our neighbors to the East Are destabilized Quot said Karl Hermann Fink. An official with the Eastern committee for the German Economy a private research group Quot and if their economic and political status is weakened they might turn eastward instead of looking to the  1 Short subject medieval Krakow a x Ltd s it a by Jane Perlez the new York times the aesthetic guardians of Krakow Poland a gloriously intact medieval City Are determined that their main Market Square with its domes and statues and ancient town houses not go the Way of some of Europe a other landmarks like Paris champs-elys6es, the Center of Stuttgart Germany the heart of Bologna Italy. Fired by centuries of City Pride that glows. Ever More fiercely since the collapse of communism krak6w is saying no to Mcdonald a in the Square known As Rynek. Glowny. A you Don t put a  a Salon a said a Stanislaw Juchnowicz a professor of architecture and one of the City a most. Passionate defenders. A we consider our marketplace our  Mcdonald s is hardly unknown in preservation conscious communities in the West. But in Krakow a place of contemplative. Rhythms that Echo from Jage Lonian University and the City a religious and Royal antecedents the rebellion against the fast food Chain carries a special meaning. The fight is not so much about a particular building although that is part of it but about fending off what Many in the City see As the cult of Prosperity. Badly abused by the communist government which built a polluting Steelworks nearby that scarred priceless statues and architecture the City is now working hard to clean up its air water and Art. Many Krakov ians say they do not want what they Call another kind of outside vulgarity and will use their new found democratic Means to Stop it. A the activities of this firm Are symbolic of mass Industrial civilization and a superficial Way of life a declared Juchnowicz who is also the chairman of the polish ecological club. A Many historic events happened in this place and Mcdonald a would be the beginning of the cultural degradation of this most precious Urban  Mcdonald a which has 13 restaurants in Poland says that Krakow is being unfair. The company Points out that it already has one outlet in the City and went to great lengths to ensure that the restaurant melded with the facades of Florianski Street the old Royal Way where it was built. The red and yellow logos Are indeed discreet no bigger than any of the myriad new commercial signs on the Street a we have proved that Mcdonald s can fit in a said Timothy Fenton the managing director of Mcdonald s Poland. A we took a 14th-Century building that was devastated and restored it to its natural  Fenton asserted that Mcdonald a was being picked on saying a they have everything else on the Square a Adidas Kodak. Why not us it is an emotional  Mcdonald a request has twice been rejected by the architect responsible for approving changes to City buildings according to provisions of a National Law protecting monuments and Art the most recent one coming last month. The company has another Chance of Appeal this time to National officials in Warsaw the capital. The Golden Arches Don t fit in. 20 the stars and stripes wednesday May 25, 1994