A tribute to vitality

What is particularly striking is the way the city has responded to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and, a year later, to the economic and political unification of Germany. A building boom is on both in what was West Berlin and in the eastern districts, where an incredible deficit in construction, redevelopment and planning is still visible today. Spandau, North Karow, South Biesdorf and Rummelsburger Bay are just a few examples of residential areas that are undergoing expansion or rapid construction. Berlin has been a cultural metropolis since the 1920s. Not surprisingly, new museums and art galleries are either being extended or renovated. Public transportation, which already serves 1,863 km of bus lines, 361 km of tram linesand 163 km of underground lines, is being modernised. Our transport authorities in India have much to learn from the scale and efficiency of the operations here.

But all that glitters is not gold. The emotional and material gulf between the `East’ and the `West’ has yet to disappear. In fact, West-German-East-German divergences are visible in many respects. If you visit Berlin, you still can see and feel where the Wall used to divide the city until 1989. The networks of social communication, including marriage circles, are still structured by this line.

The real problem, one that widens the psychological divide, is economic. The 17 million employees and workers of East Germany face the risk of open unemployment which, until 1990, was unknown in the GDR and other communist countries. Though rapid progress was achieved in East German restructuring, more than one out of three jobs were lost between 1989 and 1993. More than three million jobs disappeared between 1990 and 1993, unemployment reachedunprecedented levels — more than twice as high as in the West. It continues to be much higher today in the East than in the West: 18 per cent compared to 9 per cent in the West.

The pinch has been felt by people in the military and communist party bureaucracy, as also by many skilled and highly educated East Germans who are suffering a relative loss of income, influence and status. For them, as indeed for others, both posts and job requirements were redefined. Westerners frequently moved in and took leadership positions. Individual qualifications were re-evaluated in the light of Western standards. Easterners were more likely to be eased out of a shrinking job market.

The shock and trauma of the experience was reflected in a sudden fall in marriage, divorce and birth rates. In effect, the demographic breakdown was connected with the economic and social crisis caused by the abrupt transfer of West Germany’s capitalist system to he East.

Public opinion surveys indicate that 55 per cent of East Germanssay that they are better off now than before 1990, 20 per cent feel they have suffered a loss, while 25 per cent do not see much of a change. Nowadays, three out of four East Germans regard themselves as second-class citizens. A basic feeling of devaluation, of dependency, of second-rate status, of inequality, has been building up over the years. “We have begun to feel something of the price which has to be paid for the form of unification we have chosen,” comments historian Jurgen Kocka. Scholars and generalists talk about the unfinished integration — or rebuilding — of a nation. Some of the issues being debated are: are there still two cultures, two societies under one constitutional roof? Has the integration of West and East Germany succeeded or failed? Does present-day Germany differ fundamentally from the Federal Republic of Germany as it existed until unification in 1990? And what might all this mean for Germany’s neighbours?

All said and done, Germany is on the move. The earlier fears about theglobal repercussions of German unification, voiced by leaders like Margaret Thatcher, have been proven wrong. Recent events point to the momentum towards the evolution of a multipolar economic and political order without a clear-cut leadership position for any individual country or group of countries. Germany poses no threat to anybody.

In the former GDR, the switch to a market economy and parliamentary democracy is opening up new opportunities for the younger generation. Some East Germans may not read Die Zeit or Der Spiegel. Many others may not bemoan Germany’s shocking defeat in the World Cup. But they are nevertheless responding to the winds of change and adjusting to the new political and economic order. A meaningful rapprochement is taking place, while the bitter memories of a divided history are being slowly forgotten. The healing process is well underway. The city of Berlin, a vibrant place for the young and old, takes the lead. It is truly a city of joy.

India has a vital stake in the fortunesof this city, where so many of our leaders and intellectuals developed their strong anti-colonial views. Among them were Zakir Husain, Ram Manohar Lohia and scholars like Mohammad Mujeeb and K.M. Ashraf. These past links need to be strengthened. With investments of a good DM 200 billion between now and 2000, Berlin is the city of the future.