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PASTOR GENERAL'S REPORT, AUGUST 30, 1985
PAGE 9
last name and therefore not permitted under West German- regula
tions as a first name.
A couple in the Ruhr city of Moenchengladbach last November were
prevented by a similar court ruling from naming their son Heming
way. "You have to understand that there are certain rules here,"
the director of the Bonn city Registry Office, Rudolf Buechner,
explained to a foreign visitor. "Names help create a certain
order," he added• "If a name is on a 1ist and nobody knows if
it's a man or a woman, then difficulties can arise."••.
Many believe the West German penchant for over-regulation has
deep cultural roots. "It is a very old story here, a Prussian
tradition," said Dahrendorf, recalling that even Germany's indus
trial revolution was organized from the top by the government and
large banks, not by freewheeling entrepreneurs as in Britain and
the United States. "There is a long tradition here of not rely
ing on the individual," he added. "When anything happens, there
is a tendency to invent a new law to regulate it."
In an effort to counter the growing mountain of laws and regula
tions, Chancellor Helmut Kohl's center-right coalition ·govern
ment has established an independent commission for simplifying
judicial and adl'ninistrative procedures.... But reshaping German
public consciousness won't be easy•••. German mothers, for exam
ple, sometimes invent their own '�laws" to control their children.
One•••mother routinely coaxes her son from the television set
each evening with the warning that it is against the law for
little children to watch TV after 8 p.m.
While other countries also have numerous laws dealing with petty
s�bjects, officials' dedication towards enforcement of the rules
helps set West Germany apart•••• It was apparently a..• desire to
carry out the letter rather than the spirit of the law that led
Bonn police officers to issue stern warnings to pedestrians who
violated the "don't walk" traffic signals around the federal Par
liament during the recent economic summit--even though the area
had been blocked off to traffic.
"During my first weeks back here, I was amused by it all, but it
is beyond a joke," said Dahrendorf.
"ll
is�� of thing that
could make the country stand at attention again 1f the wrong per-
� came along.
11
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The above article reminded me of what Herman L. Hoeh said a few weeks ago
when some of us were discussing the differing approaches various nations
have toward law.
It goes something like this: In the United States,
whatever is not expressly prohibited is permitted.
In Germany, on the
other hand, whatever is not expressly permitted is forbidden. And in the
Soviet Union, even what is permitted is often forbidden.
On the issue of European defense, an important trend may be in the initial
stages of development. A very significant article appeared in the August 5
European edition of NEWSWEEK titled "An End to 'Fortress France'?: French