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Wednesday, Octobers, 1990
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Reunification surprises
German A&M students
By CHRIS VAUGHN
Of The Battalion Staff
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A reunited West and East Germany may have been
inevitable after the collapse of the Berlin Wall last De-
:ember, but most Germans say it is nothing less than
unglaublich that the day is here now.
“Most of our generation never expected this to hap-
)en,”Bodo Kipper, a Texas A&M M.B.A. student from
tegensberg, formerly West Germany, says. “We have
been raised with the Wall and we never knew different.
;ot used to the situation. I didn’t expect this to hap-
ren because the conflict has always been so great that I
lever thought Germany would be reunited.”
Frank Karbe, another A&M M.B.A. student from
Koblenz, formerly West Germany, says he regrets not
jeingin Germany during this time.
“I didn’t expect this to happen so quick,” he says.
After the Wall came down, I expected it to happen
sooner or later, but not this year. It is such a joyful
vent.”
Formal reunification of West Germany and East Ger
many is today — 45 years after the nations were divided
iy the Allies after World War II.
Karbe and Kipper, exchange students from the Kob-
enz School of Corporate Management, and other Ger
man students at A&M are celebrating tonight in College
Station, while theii countrymen undoubtedly will be
partying in the now reunited Germany.
But joy over the two peoples being one again might
not last long.
Germany faces monumental problems in the next
ears as it tries to rebuild an East German economy that
l decades behind its western counterpart and at-
empts to forge a single government from all the confu
sion following the speedy reunification.
“Everyone was joyful when I left, but I wonder about
when I go back with all the problems,” Karbe says. “I
wonder what the attitude of the people will be when I
back.”
Dr. Wulf Koepke, a professor of German at A&M
and a native of Ltxbeck, formerly West Germany, says
many East Germans are insecure about their future.
“Everyone had a job in East Germany because of
their constitution,” Koepke says. “That will change and
will cause a lot of pain. They had a 100 percent secure
life and now that life is uncertain. There is a lot of anxi
ety."
Skyrocketing unemployment is expected to be one of
the largest problems for Germany because many East
German government employees will be laid off as the
nation’s businesses are privatized.
But Koepke believes unemployment might not last
long because eastern Germany’s industries, roads,
houses, telephone systems, banks and utilities all will
have to be rebuilt and modernized.
“Once they start rebuilding East Germany, they will
need a lot of people,” Koepke says. “I’m optimistic the
transition will happen in three to five years and East
Germany will be like West Germany.”
Karbe says he and many others are worried about
Germany’s immediate future.
“The West German economy will suffer because this
will be very expensive,” he says. “Tm personally worried
about how it will end and how people will deal with this.
West Germany is strong, but Tm not sure if it is strong
enough to pay for all of this.”
Perhaps more important than today is Oct. 14 when
East Germans elect governments of the newly formed
states their nation will become. Until then, eastern Ger
many will be a territory with only local governments
and the federal government in Bonn.
Many experts say the inexperienced local and state
governments in eastern Germany will render Germany
almost helpless for the next few years as it tries to pull
the eastern part out of Communism.
Despite all the problems facing Germany, many
countries, including the United States, are afraid of the
potential economic and political might of a reunited
Germany.
Koepke believes Germany will not wield any more
economic power in the world than it does now, but he
does see potential political problems.
“West Germany is already the most economically
powerful country in Europe and the difference with
East Germany won’t be enormous,” Koepke says. “Poli
tically, Tm a bit more skeptical at this point.”
Koepke says East Germany could bring a more na
tionalistic tone to the political scene, which could give
rise to a right-wing political group.
“I don’t mean Nazis, but a right-wing movement,” he
says. “It may go away if the economy goes well, but if
they have serious problems, you may not see it go away
for awhile.”
Karbe and Kipper, however, say fears of the United
States, France, Soviet Union and other countries aren’t
well founded.
“Forty years ago was a different time,” Karbe says.
“It’s just not the same now. Things have changed so
much.”
Kipper continues.
“I already hear the fears of a lot of people to a reuni
fied Germany,” he says. “The fact we are reunified
doesn’t mean we have more power. At the moment, we
are weaker than before.”
But for now, Germans, West and East alike, would
rather concentrate on the positive side of reunification.
Karbe, for one, says he cannot wait to return and face
the challenges of his new homeland.
“It will feel very strange, but Tm excited about it,” he
says. “The country will be totally different. It will be
bigger and it will be more difficult to find housing, used
cars and other things.
“But we have tremendous opportunities and chances
for our generation to overcome these problems, and
Tm happy to have the chance.”
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GERMANY
Guten Tag is the German translation for hello or good afternoon.
West Germany and East Germany officially reunified at midnight
today, or 6 p.m. Tuesday CDT. The city of Berlin was also reunited.
Bonn is the capital of Germany.
The Battalion intends to periodically focus on the countries and
cultures of international students at Texas A&M.
Oktoberfest brings revelry
Oktoberfest, which really begins
during the second half of September
and continues a few days into Octo
ber, dates back to 1810 when King
Ludwig I of Bavaria got married.
This festival attracts about 6 mil
lion visitors to Munich or Munchen
from Germany and abroad for two
weeks of parades, dancing, merry
making and beer-drinking.
Bodo Kipper, a Texas A&M
M.B.A. student from Regensberg,
Germany, says he has not yet been to
Oktoberfest in Munich because the
festival is too crowded.
Many companies (in Munich) in
vite guests during October so they
can attend the festival, Kipper says.
There are people from many coun
tries, especially Japan, he says.
It is Bavaria’s most important fes
tival.
Kipper said he thinks the festival’s
popularity in the United States has
increased because it is a Bavarian
festival more than a German festival.
A German festival would be al
most impossible to celebrate because
there are many different cultures in
Germany, Kipper says.
Beer provides
national flavor
By SEAN FRERKING
Of The Battalion Staff
Beer may not be the drink of the
gods. It may not even be the bever
age Germans drink the most — they
drink more coffee than beer.
But of all the ingredients that
make the German people what they
are, nothing is more dear than a
stein of beer.
It is said to be the drink of Ger
many and the country’s emblem. Al
though the type of beer has regional
variations, German beer is interna
tionally acclaimed.
Berliners drink, and apparently
enjoy, beer sweetened with fruit
juice. Bavarians quaff “hop-juice”
from over-sized liter mugs.
Beer in Germany, however, is not
only good, it is protected by a strict
purity code established in Bavaria
more than five centuries ago.
The age-old tradition forbids bre
weries from making beer with cheap
fillers like rice or impure water.
Modern technology slowly is replac
ing, however, some of the old tradi
tions.
Germans still celebrate many of
their festivals and holidays with
beer.
For example, in most Munich
beer halls, the minimum size beer a
person can order is a Mass, a “mea
sure” that means a 1-liter beer mug
— more than a U.S. quart. Else
where, ein grosses, half-liters, or ein
kleines, quarter-liters, can be or
dered.
Regular belle beer can be pur
chased. If a darker, sweeter beer is
desired, a dunkle can be had.
In Munich, several dozen brewe
ries have remained the same for
centuries. Weihenstephan was the
first German brewer, beginning in
1040. Other traditional breweries in
clude Lowenbru and Septenbru.
Among the several types of beer
stronger than the regular brew, ITie-
senbier probably is the most well
known. It is made for Oktoberfest.
Various kinds of Starkbier, or
strong beer, is brewed during Lent.
In fact, one of the breweries re
garded as the best in Germany is
owned by an Augustinian monk.
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