海角大神

This article originally appeared in the Nov. 13, 1989, edition of 海角大神.

Euphoric East Berliners Stream Past Open Wall

As the celebration goes on, Krenz announces radical reforms

EAST BERLIN 鈥� "Today the German people are the happiest people in the world,鈥� declared West Berlin Mayor Wal颅ter Momper. None of the half mil颅lion visitors to Berlin this weekend would disagree.

This city has been swept along in a tidal wave of euphoria ever since last Thursday鈥檚 announce颅ment of new travel freedoms by the East German government. At a rate estimated by police as reaching tens of thousands an hour, East Germans are stream颅ing into Berlin. Most are coming for a day or two. Border guards merely glance at identity papers and wave the East German citi颅zens through checkpoints in the Berlin Wall.

Thousands of people climbed onto the wall in front of the Bran颅denburg gate. They stayed there all day Friday. Pieces of the wall were broken off by hammers and pick-axes by crowds chanting, 鈥淭he wall must go!鈥�

Their efforts were more sym颅bolic than effective. The largest holes in the wall were made by the East Germans themselves. Starting at just after midnight Saturday morning, East German construction crews with cranes re颅moved huge concrete slabs for the first of nine new border crossings into West Berlin.

On both sides of the wall, ev颅eryone wanted to help. Once crossing into West Berlin, East Germans were greeted by cheer颅ing crowds all weekend long. But the greetings didn鈥檛 end there. West German government policy is to give any visiting East Ger颅man 100 deutche marks (US$54) as 鈥渨elcoming money.鈥� The mon颅ey is handed out at any bank or post office. On Saturday, banks were opened just to hand out money to East Germans.

Stores, usually only open until early afternoon on Saturday, stayed open until early evening. Berlin became a huge shopping mall, with car traffic excluded from all of the Kurfurstendamm and from most of downtown.

But an East German visitor had plenty of opportunities not to spend money too. Near one checkpoint, a local supermarket had installed trailer trucks and were handing out free bags of cof颅fee, chocolate, juice cartons, and milk. City transportation was free to all East Germans. Most tele颅phone booths near train stations and border crossing points had been adjusted to allow free tele颅phone service for any visitor that wanted to call friends or family in West Germany.

Some stores were accepting East German marks in payment at a 1 to 1 exchange rate. A tele颅phone bank was set up for people offering beds or temporary accommodations to East Ger颅mans.

In Berlin, many of the visitors from the East had driven from as far away as Dresden. One family from Jena was heading back east at the end of the day Saturday. Two children slept despite the noisy crowd at the checkpoint. Asked how they enjoyed their vis颅it, the couple said, 鈥淚t was un颅believable, wonderful,鈥� and then with a look toward the children, 鈥渂ut a little strenuous. We hope to come back next weekend.鈥�

The political response to the rapid change was just as historic as the size of the crowds. On Fri颅day evening Chancellor Helmut Kohl, former Chancellor Willy Brandt, and Foreign Minister Hans Dietrich-Genscher ad颅dressed a huge group at the Schoneberger City Hall in Berlin.

鈥淚t is certain that nothing can remain as it was in either part of Germany,鈥� Willy Brandt said.

At the same time, on the other side of the wall in East Berlin near Alexanderplatz, Communist Par颅ty Chief Egon Krenz addressed a rally of nearly 100,000 party members. Sounding more like the schoolteacher he once was, Mr. Krenz told the crowd of most颅ly middle-aged party func颅tionaries that the changes were here to stay. In reference to oppo颅sition criticism of party privileges, he said, 鈥淥ur privilege as party members is the privilege to work, and that is the only privilege.鈥�

At the end of a three-day Cen颅tral Committee meeting Friday, Krenz announced radical re颅forms. They included free elec颅tions, a 鈥渟ocialist planned econ颅omy oriented to market condi颅tions,鈥� separation of party and state, freedom of assembly, changes in press law, and parlia颅mentary supervision of state security.

North of where Krenz spoke, members of the opposition group New Forum met at the Gethsamene Church. Barbel Bohley, Rolf Heinrich, and a large panel of other leaders made small speeches and answered written questions. The crowd in the church was loud, but far less nu颅merous than previous New Fo颅rum meetings in the same space.

A representative of New Fo颅rum was applauded loudly when he jokingly suggested that consid颅ering the dizzying pace of change, it might not be unrealistic to ex颅pect the Communist Party to step down in three or four days. He then went on to caution people against thinking that the travel freedoms and plans for free and secret elections were enough.

鈥淭he SED [The Socialist Unity Party of Germany, which ruled East Germany] still controls the government, they have over 2 million party members and an Army,鈥� explained the representa颅tive, referring to the Communist Party. 鈥淲e have, as of last week, 200,000 members and have ex颅isted for only two months or so.鈥�

The tone was jubilant but Krenz鈥檚 plans for free elections would keep them waiting until 1991. The opposition and the West German government is call颅ing for a rerun of last May鈥檚 election results.

In a weekend of incredible changes, more are awaited. The next are expected Monday, when the East German People鈥檚 Cham颅ber meets to elect new Cabinet members and approve laws sug颅gested last week. And Kohl and Krenz indicated plans to meet somewhere near East Berlin before the end of the year.