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West Berlin's outdoor cafés on tbe
Kurfuerstendamm. Berlin bad to be
totally rebuilt after 1945. Tbe new
look is reftected in tbe lnternational
Commerce Center, a conYention
facility. Burned near tbe beginning of
tbe Nazi era, tbe Reichstag survived
tbe war. Tbe Allied checkpoint,
at tbe border separating tbe two
Berlins, is tbe official entry to the
East.
28
1945, Berlin was divided
by the Quadripartite
Agreement into four sec–
tors . Soviet Russia, the
United States, Britain
and France ruled one sec–
tor each. But in short
order the last three
merged into the city of
West Berlin.
Quite understandably,
G .D.R. authorities were
rel uctant to modernize railway
facilities in West Berlín even if
they had the ready cash. Fortunate–
ly, the two Berlins are well on their
way to solving this long-term rail–
way paradox. Extensive moderniza–
tion is in the works.
Beauty of West Berlin
T he railway station is untypicaJ of
West Berlín. A brisk walk in the
city center soon con–
fronts one with the
German genius. The
architecture is magnif–
icently modern-a de–
li ght to the eye by
day or night. Most im–
pressive is the Kur–
f u erstendamm- the
largest and main street
in West Ber lín.
Jt
is a
sheer delight to see
the Kurfuerstendamm
ablaze at night with neon
lights.
It is, as American writ–
er Thomas Wolfe wrote,
" the largest coffeehouse
in Europe." There are
some 100 coffeehouses
and restaurants on the
!
"Ku ' damm"- including
~
the historie Cafe Kranz–
~
ler. A stroll along the
¡
Ku'damm, with its
G
colorful advertisements
g
and decorative shops, is a
-.~
....
~
must for any Berlín
visitor.
The merchandise equals in ele–
gance most anything one can find
on Regent Street in London or
Fifth Avenue in New York.
All is not well with West Berlín,
however. The Ku'damm is also
punctuated with sex shops and porn
movie houses-a moral softness
permeating much of Western cul–
ture.
T his softness of cbaracter seeps
into other aspects of West Berlín
life. Sorne ride the U-bahn (the
underground railway or subway)
and do not pay- there is relatively
little risk of getting caught. No one
ensures that riders buy tickets to
begin the journey nor demands tbe
tickets at the destination. Spot
checks are ineffective and fines are
so small that a regular but illegal
rider soon makes up the difference
in frequent journeys.
Depressing Demographic Evidence
There are other serious and dis–
t u rbing trends affiicting West Ber–
lín. It spor ts the most extreme age
profile in Germany. About 25 per–
cent of West Berlin's inhabitants
are more than 65 years of age.
Of course, every West Berliner
has a different view of what it's like
to live in that city. [ met a French
immigrant on my outward train
journey who would live in no other
city in this world. Apparently many
do not share his feelings. More and
more young West Berliners are
opting for other cities in the Feder–
al Republic as a permanent place of
residence.
West Berlin reached its peak
population of 2,229,000 inhabitants
in 1957. Population has declined to
about 1,700,000.
Historian Gordon A. Craig
touches on sorne probable reasons
for these disturbing demographic
difficulties. He wrote in his book
The Germans:
" It was estimated
in 1971 that every third person
who was drawn to the city by
these advantages [tax and travel
inducements] changed bis mind
sooner or later and left it, either
because he was dissatisfied with
his working or living conditions or
because he was affected by the
Berlin form of claustrophobia, the
fear of being caught without hope
of escape if the city fell to the
forces of the East" (page 281 ,
New American Library edition ,
1982).
The citizens of West Berlín are a
courageous lot. They have coped
with crisis after crisis. The city was
blockaded in 1948 and 1949. The
wall was built to enci rcle the city in
the early sixties. And there have
been serious threats and minicrises
from time to time.
But there is such a thing as
a
The PLAIN TRUTH