In search of a better Germany – east of the Berlin Wall
Seal of the German Democratic Republic (1949-89)
A COUPLE OF YEARS ago, I was struck by what I thought was a wonderful idea for a book. Over coffee and cake in her tiny flat overlooking the Neisse River in Saxony, a relative of mine by marriage had just begun recounting her own experiences as an immigrant from West Germany to the communist-ruled German Democratic Republic in the 1960s. The Berlin Wall had gone up only a couple of years before. It seems that while the East German regime actively recruited new settlers, it hardly welcomed them with open arms. As my relative described it, the procedure involved spending several weeks in a Stasi-run relocation camp - a sort of crucible of the Cold War - where people like her were carefully interrogated and otherwise vetted before those deemed suitable were allowed to embark on new lives in “the better Germany.” The reasons her fellow applicants confided to her for wanting to make the move across the Iron Curtain provided a fascinating snapshot of the human condition. These motives ranged from a simple desire for gainful employment and moving love stories to (less frequently) genuine belief in the communist state’s Marxist-Leninist ideals.
What a discovery! This story combined the drama of the Titanic sinking with the philosophical speculation of The Bridge of San Luis Rey. All you’d have to do, I figured, was get hold of the files and you’d have a truly fascinating little volume on your hands. Not that I wanted to take on the project, mind you. I had other fish to fry. Besides, after living behind the Wall for half a year myself, I was still digesting my own experiences. And so I was truly excited to discover historian Bernd Stöver’s brand new book Zuflucht DDR. Spione und andere Übersiedler ("The GDR as a refuge: Spies and other immigrants").
Is this the book I’ve been waiting for? Not exactly, but it comes awfully close. Stöver spends relatively little time on the human interest stories that first aroused my curiosity and instead focuses on nine more or less famous personalities, including the Christian Democratic politician Günther Gereke, who had previously been the lieutenant governor of Lower Saxony, and Otto John, head of the West German version of the FBI, who both fled eastward in the 1950s. The book is most interesting when it looks at such spectacular cases as Günter Guillaume, the Stasi spy who served as Chancellor Willy Brandt’s right-hand man and who was traded back to the GDR after his release from prison in 1981, and also the retired Red Army Faction terrorists Inge Viett and Susanne Albrecht, who were given refuge and new identities in the workers’ and peasants’ state in the 1980s. They lived and worked there until their arrest and forceable return to the Federal Republic in 1990.
Stasi spy Günter Guillaume (visible behind Willy Brandt's
After two years in the East, author Ralph Giordano
decided the Party isn't always right after all
Today it is easy to forget that the GDR actually had much to offer prospective immigrants, particularly in the days when ex-Nazis held high positions in the West and before the Federal Republic's celebrated "economic miracle" kicked in: The GDR provided full employment, equal rights for women, liberal abortion rights, free healthcare, free childcare, a simple life, consistent anti-fascist policies, and also a noble cause to live for. But as Stöver shows, political idealism tapered off after the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, and the eastward flow of new GDR citizens eventually slowed to a trickle. The return rate among the settlers who arrived before the Wall lay at around thirty percent. And it is surprising to learn that the regime specifically excluded convinced communists from their relocation program. These comrades were expected to stay put in the West and keep fighting the good fight - preferably as Stasi agents.
Why did my relative choose to move to East Germany of all places? After all, she had been enjoying an interesting career as a nurse in Egypt when she decided to give it all up and settle back in her tiny hometown along the Polish border. Her reasons were straightforward: As much as she despised the East German regime, she wanted to take care of her aging mother, who was her only family. Most immigrants from the West had similarly mundane motives.
Germans are again on the move. Since the fall of the Wall in 1989, thousands of Westerners have made new homes for themselves in places like Dresden, Leipzig, Rostock, and Berlin. But they are at risk of being run down by hundreds of thousands of East Germans heading in the opposite direction as entire regions of the former GDR are sucked dry of citizens by changing markets and the dictates of globalization. Today one can relocate from one side of the country to the other without ever catching a glimpse of barbed wire and Stasi relocation camps. Of course, leaving one's native soil for a new start far away is a huge step for anyone, but at least nowadays it is easier to stop back for a visit - and a hot cup of coffee with friends.
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Comments
"Today it is easy to forget that the GDR actually had much to offer prospective immigrants, particularly in the days when ex-Nazis practically ruled the roost in the West..."
I always thought the entnazifierung policies that the allies put in place prevented Nazis from holding any significant offices, although I know low-level Nazis were used to keep the trains running and such. Is that something you can elaborate on?
They pretty much scrapped these policies in the early years of the Cold War. Sure, the bigwigs like Hess and Speer were locked away in Spandau prison, but plenty of former party members had high positions in the government and the Bundeswehr was largely made up of former Wehrmacht officers. The security services used Gestapo officers and Nazi officer Reinhard Gehlen, who had been a top intelligence officer under Hitler, organized the Federal Intelligence Bureau. Industrial leader Hanns-Martin Schleyer, who was later murdered by the Red Army Faction, had been a member of the SS. Lower level Nazis were practically everywhere. So it was easy to depict the West as "fascist." The East Germans had plenty of low-level Nazis around too, but the regime convincingly portrayed itself as an anti-fascist society. People who joined one of the political parties available for this purpose were forgiven for their past misdeeds. This let thousands of people off the hook and was one reason for the regime's appeal, particularly among idealistic young people.
Fascinating piece, as always, Alan. You are a treasure trove of amazing knowledge. Write a goddamn book already willya. R.