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A TALE-OF TWO·GERMANIES
The Relllctant
WorldPower
Flexes lts Muscles
by
Victor
R~t
BONN: "And wbat do
you
tbink Germany sbould do if the
oil producing qountries impose
another oil embargo?"
I
asked
my taxicab skipper in Berlin.
Tbe-immediate answer: "Saddle
up the Buodeswehr, cbarge
down to the Middle East, and
knock aU
lhos~
sheiks off ·their
bigh horsl!'!"
•Outspoken words .indeed
from a citizeo of a oation bent
for thrce decades oo staying on
the outer periphery of the world
political arena. Yet tbey sym·
bolize, perhaps, · a signi6cant
change in attitude. West Ger–
.many, e«>nomic colossus yet
political dwarf, is at last awak–
enin,g ro a new poliiical aware–
ness.
Of course. not every German
breathes
as
much political fire
as lhe taxi drivers of Berlin.
coostitute thc world's largest
national savings account at
present - twice that of the
U.S.A. and Jarger than those of
Great Britain. France, and ltaly
combined.
But world 6nanciers envy tbe
Bono government's skillful han–
dling of the present recession
even more tha:n its considerable
assets. Bonn's troublc-sbooting
trio of Cbancellor Schmidt, Fi–
nance Minister Hans··.Apel an.d
Economics Minister Hans Fri·
derichs could boast of a
6.5%
rate of inftation at the end of
last year, Jowest in 1'he Westem
world. And, despite a 22-year
lúgh of over one millioll unei!J·
ployed, large-scale social con·
tlict is nonexistent (largely due
to cooperative unioos).
Suspicious Neigbbors.
.-.-._,.~-.nn-to
!>e a
ttflit¡tit
Yet Germany's long-1'1111Ding
breed. To most Germaos, the
WirtsduJftswunder
has triggered
very tbougbt of' tbeir nation no corresponding
pblitical
once again becoming
a
major boom. Finance Minister Apel
wodd power is repugnan!.
1t
still says, "For me, 'world
holds too many aching memo- power' means 'pay for the·
ries. After World War
II,
tbe others.' " Bonn's inftuence on
govemment in Bo.nn faitbfully the intematronal scene has for
charted a course leading to both the most part consisted
Óf
a bur·
a p)loeniJ<-like economíc resur- geohing export traile. eco–
recti.on and virtually total politi- nomic/6nancial
help,
and
cal disengagement. Both goals various aid prograros to the de-
bave been achieved.
veloping nations.
Yet an irresistible com-
Many German políticians,
bioation of factors
i.s
forcing tl¡e businessmen an\:1 tbinkers
Federal Republic willy-nilly . shrink from tbe tl)ought of in–
into the world political ·Jimc- creased world political respoosí–
light. The pressures have be- bility. 1)¡ey coosider the role of
come strong coougb to warrarit
a
"well-fed political dwarf with
a recent cover story in tbe lead- 88,000 biUíon marlcs in tlie
ing West German ne.ws wcekly bank" very comfonable. Most
der Spiegel
entilled "Germany share Foreign MiniSter Hads–
- World Power Against Her Dietrich Geoscber's. feu of
Will."
being pulled into hot foreign
squabbles (Genscber besitates
to vie for a United Nations
Security Council seat, as many
statesmen are encouraging
Bulging
Reserves
Basically
IWO
factors are
pushing the reluctant Federal
Republic toward a driver's seat
in world politics. Tbe 6rst is the
FRG's remarkable eoonomic
strength. West Germaoy ac–
COUJ).IS
today for 011.e third of the
total production of goods and
services of the nine-nation Eu–
ropean Community, or'
Com·
monMarket.
Among major natioos, Ger–
many is seoond only to the
Uoited States in per capita in·
come
($~.614)
and total foreign
trade
($159
billion in
1974).
West Ge rmany's 88 billion
Deutsch-marks ($34 biUioo) in
gold and monetary reserves
Bono todo).
·
Germany's neighbors bave
never quite trusted this "hesi–
tancy," however. France, in par·
ticular, baving beeo tbe front·
line tafget of past German
power aspir¡ttions, has for yeats
anxiously watched tbe German
economy
catch
up with and
fi.
nally pass her own. The Euro–
~an
press regularly publisbes
artícles expressing tbe French
fear tbat tbe Federal Republic's
growing economic might would
eventually relegate Freocb aspi·
ratioris toward Europe's politi·
cal throne to tbe also-rans.
WEEK Ell!DING OCTOJIER 18, 1975
~. ,
i"i
10
:...-
:,11' ,,
1 •• 1 "·
•
Three decades after lts
collapse and uncondi–
tional
surrender
In Wor1d
War 11, the German
natlon, though divlded
by the !ron Curtaln, Ís
playlng an irtc reaslngly
crttlcal role .ln European
affal rs. Two Plain Truth
correspondents In our
Bonn offlce take a l ook
al condltlons In both
East
and
West.Germany.
P ressure
fróm
Wltbout
Germany's inward reluctance
to go to the head of the class,
strengthened by the poorly
camouftaged bostilily of neigh·
bors Sllch as Fraoce, .bas up to
now squelched any German
power-thinking in tbe bud. Yet
a
signi6cant, unexpected factor
has come into play: pressure
from without, from elose aUies
as weU as distant trade partoers,
to join tbe international power
community.
Admonitions have come from
totaUy unexpected quarters for
the Germaos to wake up to the
responsibilities of their own
strengtb. As
der
Spiegel
re–
ported in its issue of January
6,
1975,
a bigh of!icial in tbe So–
viet Foreign Ministry advised
bis German
coun~erparts
tbat
"Germaos must oow assume
tbe great respon,sibility resulting
from tbeir being thc economi–
cally strongest, politically most
stable, and militarily most
i.m:
portan! state in Western Eu–
rope."
The strongest pressure, h9W·
ever,-has come from Washing–
ton. In February of this year the
Washington Post
ran an article
to the etrect that the Federal
Republic sbould shoulder the
political responsibililies devolv–
ing from its economic might
and take on a measure ofAmer–
ica's leadersbip role in world
af.
(Continued on page
4,
col
1)
Acrossthe
Oder-Neisse,
Life ls Better Now
Pta/n Truth corresponden! in
Bonn, Wolfgang Thomsen, re–
cently took a f/rsthand look at
condltions in communist Ea.st
German
y.
Here
ls
hi$ report.
11
you should meet an old ac–
q ualntance again alter, say,
about
13
years, you mlght note
wlth plaasant surprlsa a mellow–
lng In attltuda or an intarestlng ··
changa in hls bahavlor. The
same changes can occur In na–
tlons as well. One cÓuld take
East Germany - the German
, Democratlc Republic. or GDR -
as a good example.
Re<:ently, when l
~rossed
the
bordar lnto the GPR lrom West
Germany,
1
noticed that tha
people's police, or
Volkspol/zel
and the customs ollicers han–
d led thelr duties In a lar more
relaxed and lriandly manner
t~an
was the case over a de<:ade ago.
Many west Germans are
tak·
lng advantage ot the more re–
·laxed atmosphera prevailing
batween the two Germanies.
West Germans are now per·
mitted to use their own cars .to
visit their relativas dwelllng In the
East. Previously they had to
travel by traln to thelr destina–
tion; only In rare ·occaslons
could they
tra~l
by prlvate auto–
moblle. One ncil only sees cars
bearing West German llcensa
plates on lhe transit trip to East
Berlín and back, but aJI over the
GDR. As one East German citl·
zen pul it "lt's a result of Wllly
Brandt's Ostpolltik."
A Flat
by Any
Otl1er
~ame
.. •
One is also surprised by a ll the
obviously ltalian-designed caes
with East German licenses - but
with Russian or Pollsh brand
names on thent. An East German
l riend explained that lhey are in–
deed of !tallan deslgn, but are
actually built in various East Eu–
{Ope
cOuntries.
An example
i$
the "Polski Fiat" - an ltalian Flat
made In Poland. The Flat con–
cern has constructed .assembly
pfants in many olher countrles,
East and West , in·cluding the So–
viet Union. The !tallan caes bullt
under Ucense are judged to be
better in q uality and perlor–
ma.nce than -t•natlve" automo–
biles such as. lhe East German
Wartburg.
Cost and availabili ty, regard·
less ot the modal, are Importan!
lactors for the car-buying East
· German publlc to consider. An
automoblle in the GDR costs.be–
tween
17,000
and
25,000
East
German marks, which is only
about
$2,400
to
$3,500.
But
should an East German worker
with an average monthly lncome
want to buy one ol these rolllng
luxury items, he would have to
pwt asida the entirety of his
monthly salary lor the comlng
tw'o tÓ thr<¡e years. Not only thls,
but he would have to wait
5
to
8
years for lhe car to be 'dellvered–
So sorne people arder
a,
new car
at the time they gel their " old"
new one dellvered.
Whlle baslc loodstulls are, in
gent~tal ,
not very expensiye, the –
people have to pay very hlgh
pnces for "luxury" foods. Two
pounds ol a medium1Jrade col–
lee, lor example, cost about
70
marl<s
($1 0),
a bottle ol Ameri–
can whiskey
80
marks (aJ>Out
$12).
Prices for houslng, coal,
publlc transport, and certaln
olher basic necesslties are delib·
erately l<ept very Jow. Medica!
all!l dental sefVIces are genarally
supplled free.
Even with all these advantages
an East German famlly can oniy
exlst 11 both adults have a Job.
This ls because the average In·
come par worker ls about 850
East GeNnan marks a month
(about
$125)_
t:he attraction an'd appeal of
West Gerniany seems to be
somewhat less than it once was.
East Germalfs are living reason–
ably well now, and in sorne ways
lhe East German government
has gone lurther !han Bonn in
provldlng the security.and order
tha.t Germans seem to deslre.
The govemment has frozen
the rents for flats and apartments
at the leve! lhey were befare the
war. This ls good for renters but
not so good tor those who hap–
pen lo own renta! propertles.
(The state !s a big landlord too,
olcourse.)
An owner ol a tour-famlly
apartment·house told me that
the income he deñves from rent–
als ¡ust barely oovers ttie neées–
sary repairs ins ide ol the house,
leaving no money avallable .lor
exterior repairs or even for land–
scaping. Therelore, deterloratlon
ol o lder propertles is a common
sight . However, government
plans call for
2.8
mi lllon to
3
mll–
lion flats to be renovated or
newly built by
1990.
Overall, lile in the GDR is not
quite lhe sama as mO.t peopÍe in
Westem Europa· o r lhe United
States envlsion. Few In the West-1
· ern
wo~d
realize how · far East
Germany has come in the 26
(Continued on page 5, cbl. /)
3 ·,
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