Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 6, 1966, Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg free press wednesday july 6, 1966 e. Germans realistic daring a visit to East Berlin Canadian press re Porter John Best talked about Fife under Eom Rater ism with an unusually out spoken East German. Is Frank views Are related in this Story. By John Best East Berlin up he was born before the War but was Ito Young to take part in. H. As a lad he experienced the full wagnerian horror of the Berlin siege and can live you a running account of the Battle Between nazi and so Viet troops now he s a married Man reasonably Content Well educated and with a Good income by East German standards. He also has decidedly undo Trina re views on just about every aspect of the German and Berlin problems. He apparently does t be Lieve in communism certainly not for he s not notably anti communist either. More than any thing he seems to be a realist if he s not necessarily an average East Berliner he is at least a Well informed one and a person with definite opinions of his own Gutter not his real a me does t believe what the East government says about the Berlin Wall. The regime tries to spread the that the Wall was necessary to Stop provocations from West Berlin to halt currency speculation and other types of illegal trans Border trans actions. Gunter sees the Wall As people in the West see it a device for preventing East germans from running away. Aluminium combination windows doors windows for doors from 3g.oo Sheridan 704 Scotland ave. Cd 2-2805 sea us at the red River exhibition even government officials privately admit the truth of this. Let s face one official told me. It was a question of closing the Border or handing this country Over to the West itt the 15 years preceding the erection of the Wall in 1961, about persons fled the communist sector. At the same time Gunter the realist thinks the Wall was necessary so that East Germany could begin closing the Gap Between it and booming West Germany. This statement seemed to hint at a curious contradiction in the collective attitude of East germans to the system under which they Are forced to live. Although they have no love for the the government recognized this by building the Are consciously or otherwise applying their talents and their resourcefulness to make it work. Certainly As communist countries go things arc Well organized in the East German zone. The people probably live better than in most other communist states conditions still fan t compare with West Germany. East Germany s Economy is by communist standards though closely tied to that of the soviet Union. The emphasis has been on building ii heavy Indus try. The government is engaged in what appears to be a Campaign to make More convincing East Germany s claim to be an Independent nation wish. East Berlin As its capital. In different parts of the City new office buildings Are being erected to accommodate government departments located until now in makeshift quarters. The idea appears to. Be aimed at making East Ger Many look More like fished concern and less like a temporary phenomenon. Gunter is rather proud of the. Success East Germany has achieved in economic re construction. You just can t imagine it . Those Early Post War he says with feeling. He holds no grudge against the russians for. Stripping East Germany of most of its Industry forcing it to Start from scratch while the West Ern allies actually helped West Germany rebuild its Economy. His attitude is that since Germany lost the War it had to face the consequences. But he does resent the imposition of what he considers an alien system on the coun try. It May or May not have Beij Good for other East european countries he says but it suited to an advanced Economy like Ger Many s. He implies that the Gap be tween the Western and East Ern sectors would be much narrower if East Germany aver ii t held Back by communism. Driving around East Berlin one Day. He proudly showed me where workers Rose in re Bellion against communist authority in 1953 from the Square where the uprising be Gan to the place in Street near the East West Bor Der where it was crushed. It Vas the first of the big anti communist revolts that flashed across Eastern Europe in the mid-1950s. At the same time Gunter has a d e f e n s i v e attitude toward . Does t like the Superior attitude of those who come to the East bearing gifts for their Kin on the communist Side of the Iron curtain. And he remembers with a touch of bitterness that when East germans visited the West before the Wall went up they were treated As second class nevertheless he would like to be Able to go Back. I used to go to West Berlin frequently before the Wall went up. Naturally i Haven t been there since 1961." he resents the fact that foreign tourists and West bar liners can see both sides of his City while East berliners can t. Only retired people with relatives in the West Are permitted to visit. He has a vague fear that reunification of g or m a , should it come would mean commercial domination of his part of the country by the . Bui ask him Point Blank whether he feels Germany should be reunified and he answers with a quiet but firm summer drug needs East berliners Bead for Home along Karl Marx Alice the City s principal thoroughfare. Although it appears they have no love for communism they re applying their talents and resourcefulness to make the Economy work. Listerine Magnolai suppositories Alka Seltor tip top hair Spray Johnsons with lanolin 11 of. Site 99 value so hand Cream cd vhf Hanun 4 of. 1.50 value paper cups inflatable Pool sleeping bag 3 Wool fill flannel lining value toothbrushes Camp stove lantern fuel 48 of. 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