Travel Story

by Karen Goldrick

In 1990 the world rode a wave of global optimism. It was the end of the evil power hungry money grabbing eighties. In South Africa, Nelson Mandela was released after nearly 28 years in prison. In East Germany the Berlin wall had come tumbling down. I was not the only one who allowed myself to think the world was going to be a better place.

The Berlin Wall had been built by Walter Ulbricht in 1961. It was a heavily fortified concrete barrier which sealed the last escape route for dissatisfied East Germans. Many died trying to cross over. In 1989 Communist rule started to unravel. Hungary opened its borders, allowing East Germans access to West Germany. Then in November the Wall came down, and in October 1990, the divided Germany reunited.

Despite the global backslapping, by the time Einheitstag arrived the Gulf War had darkened those optimistic skies. From our campsite in West Berlin, John and I could hear the hollow ring of hammers through the cold mist, as souvenirs hunters hacked at the wall.

No man’s land was quiet and eerie in the early fog. Coloured graffiti now covered the once blank white wall of the Eastern margin. Occasionally a child rode past on a bicycle. Only months before no man’s land had been empty. A space between two whitewashed concrete walls.

A large multinational festival was planned in Berlin as America welcomed ‘our friends in the GDR’ back to the fold. But John and I packed our ‘trusty’ VW Transporter, and headed East, to Dresden. We planned to celebrate unification with our friends Steffan and Dirk, two students whom we’d met “Drinking the retsina ... yes,” at the Athens Wine Festival a few weeks before.

In West Berlin, queues were already forming outside electrical shops, well before opening. Bargain hunters from Eastern Block countries waited with shopping trolleys, which would soon be stacked high with CD players, colour TVs and microwave ovens to take back home. Turkish peddlers sat on the foot paths, selling Russian fur hats and bits of concrete to American tourists. East Berlin seemed quite in comparison, still scarred by gunshot wounds to the grimy buildings.

150 km took longer to drive in the East than in the West. The roads were uneven and we lost a hubcap on the way. Petrol was haerd to find. My initial impression of the East was lots of smoke and lots of Travants. We collected a hitch-hiker on the way, who told us his Grandfather in East Germany, had been prevented from visiting his family in West Germany, unless he left behind his wife and children.

Three months before the end of World War Two, a series of allied air-raids had erased much of Dresden. Reconstruction under Soviet rule was slowThree months before the end of World War Two, a series of allied air-raids had erased much of Dresden. Reconstruction under Soviet rule was slow, and in the centre of town piles of rubble remained, most notably the Frauenkirche, once Germany’s most splendid Protestant churches. Amongst the ruins were new reconstructed buildings, and more Turkish peddlers.

In Dresden, we located the University of Technology. We were to spend Einheitstag with our friends Steffan and Dirk, textiles students, (whom we had met several weeks previously after sharing retsina at the Athens wine festival).

The atmosphere at the university was surprisingly subdued, if not sombre. Many of the students faced an uncertain future. The trades they were studied: papermaking, textiles ... would be largely obsolete in the new unified Germany. They had all grown up in a Russian state, learned Russian at school. parents of some of the students had already lost their jobs and houses as factories closed. The future was uncertain.

Students were used to state support. This particularly for the many single mothers at the university. Would this support continue?

We started our dubious celebrations with Steffan and Dirk with some of Dirk’s home made rice wine. This we washed down with bratwurst and chips at the student cafe. And then some beer. Communication was laborious, our combined Deutschglish initially faltering, but relaxing as the wine took hold. I could feel an undercurrent of suspicion and in some instances animosity towards us Westerners. Steffan, enthusiastic about the western economy, explained the misgivings of the students. Steffan himself would be unable to join us for the evening, he had to work his shift at the electrical goods outlet. making sure nothing was stolen on unification night. he was trying to find jobs for all his friends at the university, and trying to convince some of them to join him doing a pert- time computer course. he was prepared to embrace the change, and knew his textiles qualifications would be limited. His flexibility and optimism are to be commended.

After we had almost started to enjoy the taste of the rice-wine, Dirk, Nobeld, John and myself walked into the centre of Dresden for the midnight celebrations.

There seemed to be no structure to these. Just a scattered crowd walking around, shouting greeting at each other. Some drinking from bottles. Some throwing firecrackers. we passed one burning car, and in the distance could here the chorus “Auslanders Aus”.

I carried my camera over my shoulder, a move I regretted, and wished it were small enough to be discrete. A group of young boys, barely in their teens, objected when I took a photo of the burning car. They quickly surrounded us, pressing in on us yelling “Auslanders Aus”. They did not seem to be armed, but John and I had some nervous moments until Dirk explained we were from Australia. Apparently it was OK if we were not English, American or French.

The boys agreed to pose for a photo, arms raised in the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute, the German WW1 flag bearing the eagle draped behind (the neo-Nazis use the old WW1 flag, not the schwastica of WW2).

John and I left Dresden two days later to return to England. Despite promises of letters and a half hearted promise to meet at the 1991 Munich beerfest, we’ve never heard from Steffan or Dirk again. I often wonder how they’ve fared in the new United Germany. I like to think that Steffan is a successful entrepreneur for a large company in Dresden. I like to think they all made it. But I’ve heard of the Neo Nazi unrest and the high unemployment.

And we now know, the World did not become a better place when the USSR fell.

Since writing this report I’ve taken steps to try to find our East German friends. The University of Technology ion Dresden has web site. It leads to a notice-board specifically for ex-students. I’ve posted a note, in Deutschglish, seeking Steffan and Dirk. If anyone is abreast of modern technology, if anyone is keeping track of his student friends, it would be Steffan. I’m confident I’ll be able to finish this story soon.