European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 05, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse An army of nutcrackers awaits Arm and other finishing touches at a factory in stiffen Germany. 8as Michael Abrams by Dan Fesperman the Baltimore Sun s another Christmas season creeps onto the cobblestones streets of the tiny Hamlet of 1_ stiffen Germany known As to town the Winter Sun sets Early and Holiday lights Burn late. In the warmth of workshops whole families gather for a few More hours of hammering sawing sanding and painting. It has been this Way for More than 300 years in the Eastern German Mountain town near the czech Republic Borderland in window after window you can see the locals at work they stand before lathes and benches turning blocks of Wood into toy nutcrackers animals trains whimsical smoking men and. Whirling Christmas pyramids. Stiffen s elfin ways have survived War depression nazis and four numbing decades of East German communism. But the worrisome . A if it can be heard above the whine of Power tools is whether the town can maintain the Huj by Burly Pace of capitalism without losing its heart and soul. Four years after the return of free Market economics older residents worry that local traditions Are losing. Their grip on the Young letting them slip away to the brighter lights and bigger paychecks of Dresden and Berlin. And if that continues who will build the next generation of stiffen toys Young people who might be inclined to stay meanwhile worry that the competitive pressures of cheap asian woodworking will never in ease enough to let local wages Rise. This is a big problem because elsewhere there is More Money said Wolfram Wiedemann assistant director of stiffen s showpiece toy i museum. The goal now is to interest the kids in working at Home to Tell them How much Freedom there is in work Ike this. But the Young people s attitudes have changed in the last few years. Now they want big. _. Money there is no doubting the importance of toy making to stiffen. In a population of 3,200, about 100families run their own workshops employing sons daughters grandparents about 700 jobs in All. Then there Are a handful of larger factories such As the erzgebirge Fiche Volk Kunst with its 150 employees. Throw in he numerous toy stores Pirisima Strops cafes and inns. Catering to tourists and about 80_ percent of the local population makes a living off the toy Trade. One of stiffen s fam ily workshops is run by 43-year-old Volker Fichtner. He is part of a family tradition that stretches Back to when the out of the tin mines and into woodcarving shops in the late 17th Century. In the 1970s, Fichtner said the communist government mildly pressed them to build items More politically Correct for communism Angels should be called year end �n8 figures the state said arid a would t it the nicer if those hand carved figures in Koh iday scenes were. Youthful communists in red scarves instead of Mary Joseph and the baby Jesus v a -v-7 .--.,. It was suggested but nobody did it Fichtner said. Christmas was our whole reason for existence so they finally just dropped the idea.". Now even though Eastern Germany s Economy has revived stiffen s wages have stagnated. Many jobs still pay $3.80-$4.50 an hour in a nation where the average wage is about three times that 7 _ now it s hard finding a new apprentice Fichtner said. The can get More for construction work or working in a l a. "2 still business is booming. A retailer who wanted something from the Erz Geb i Gische Volk Kunst factory had to place his order months ago and the Post Christmas slumps have disappeared. Well have to Start _ _ producing for next Christmas in january Fichtner said. Otherwise we won t finish in nowhere Are the vast changes from communist Days More evident than in the company s Glossy Catalon for retailers where More than 400 products Are displayed in vivid color. Such variety was unheard of five years ago now the Bright red nutcrackers of Olden Days stand alongside such items As Union and Confederate Soldier nutcrackers Adelor the . Markel Short subject Femme a tales latest twist in Kickback City by Daniel the associated press the Tail actress tossed her Cascade of tight braids and spoke of her Friendship with the reputed King of Bagman in Italy s Marathon scandal drama. He was a Man Worth seeing we spoke of music and Art claimed Dom Zlana Giordano during a television interview on a roman Street while her Friend Ferdinardo Mach do Palmstein sat in a Paris jail cell. Knew that Ferdinando was in trouble sure said Giordano who is appearing in the Tom cruise movie interview with the Vampire. I m not a Moron. But nor am i a woman 6f Tangen Topolin or a Lover Giordano said using the italian for Kickback City As the scandals known. I m Only a but whether she likes it or not Giordano has become the latest female Lead to take the stage in a hew act of the Tange Topoll epic. For 32 months italians feasted on All the elements of a Juicy corruption scandal big Money Power suicides. But in past weeks they have a new spice in the mix glamorous women linked to scandal tainted politicians and businessmen. Hovering Over them All is the possibility they could spill the Beans and open new avenues of investigation. Giordano offered to cooperate with authorities but said she knows nothing of do Palmstein s business affairs. Do Palmstein who had been staying in Giordano s apartment in Paris was arrested in october. He was one of the most wanted men in the scandal accused of handling millions of dollars for the now disgraced socialist party. In another example a recent Issue of the newsweekly l europeo ran a photo of 53 year old Marina Ripa do Meana wife of a former government minister on the cover Baring her right breast and threatening to Bare it All in an upcoming Book. Inside she talked about being in the inner Circle of then socialist Premier Bettino Praxi in the 1980s. Crawl lives in virtual exile in Tunisia under the weight of Many corruption charges. Another actress Philadelphia born Demetra Hampton captured Public attention earlier this year ago when her Boyfriend a former Milan commissioner fled a 5v-year prison sentence for taking kickbacks in Exchange for a cemetery building contract. Hampton 26, said she woke up one morning in the Swiss apartment she shared with Walter Armani no and he was t there and the week before that prosecutors on. The Trail of socialist slush funds issued an arrest warrant for the countess Francesca Agusta widow of a helicopter magnate. Handcuffs and White gloves symbolize the ongoing scandal. Monday december 5, 1994 the stars and stripes 15
