Today we had a very interesting day in Dresden. It was about a 1 hour bus ride to Dresden from Freiberg. We first met with an advisor to Parliament on Finance and Universities, Dr. Dirk Orlamunder. This was a very animated presentation with almost everyone asking questions. The conversation on education in Saxony prompted many interesting conversations. In brief, students choose somewhere between 4th and 6th grade whether they want to pursue a college track or a trade trac. Although this seems very early to those of us in the United States the Germans seem fine with this concept. The one striking difference in the conversations was that those in the former GDR referred to East Germany and West Germany. Those in the former West Germany referred only to Germany when speaking of their country. It is obvious that although a lot of progress has been made the former East Germans see the country many times as still 2 distinct areas...and in many ways they are correct but the use of words in reference to reunification is certainly different.
We followed this up with a luncheon with the former Minister President of the Free State of Saxony, Professor Dr. Georg Milbrandt. In Germany they use both Professor and Dr. in titles as they are not the same thing as they are in the U.S. He spoke primarily of economic issues facing Germany, especially those in the former Soviet controlled states. He was educated and taught at the university in the former West Germany. After reunification he returned to Saxony as a Minister of Finance. He shared information about the differences in wages before and after reunification and the issues facing the restructuring of their region. He pointed to the existing infrastructure of the West as the difference in the transition for East Germany vs. other Soviet controlled nations. He stressed that although there are many problems facing the former GDR the answer is production and modernization of the economy. He also addressed land reform after the fall of the communist regime.
In the afternoon we visited the STASI Documentation Center. The STASI were the secret police of the former GDR. The number of STASI and contributors numbered more than 60:1. This is the one visit that left me more than a little agitated. There were over 600,000 people identified as spied on by their government and their neighbors. The presentation was more of a report and although they have made great efforts to document these issues I found no remorse from the East at all. In the West it is almost too much remorse for the atrocities of the holocaust...not so much in the East. I guess my cold war upbringing in American public schools kicked in as it seemed to bother me more than the presentations in the West about the Holocaust. I was glad we had an Atlantik-Brucke representative with us...she helped keep the perspective in order.
After this we toured Dresden...the city I wanted to visit very much. Only 26 buildings survived the firebombing during the closing days of WWII. Although many buildings looked as if they had smoke damage almost all of these buildings were built within the last 30 years. The Catholic Church has been rebuilt and has a beautiful interior and that is where the attached picture is from.
Be good...love ya, mean it.
We followed this up with a luncheon with the former Minister President of the Free State of Saxony, Professor Dr. Georg Milbrandt. In Germany they use both Professor and Dr. in titles as they are not the same thing as they are in the U.S. He spoke primarily of economic issues facing Germany, especially those in the former Soviet controlled states. He was educated and taught at the university in the former West Germany. After reunification he returned to Saxony as a Minister of Finance. He shared information about the differences in wages before and after reunification and the issues facing the restructuring of their region. He pointed to the existing infrastructure of the West as the difference in the transition for East Germany vs. other Soviet controlled nations. He stressed that although there are many problems facing the former GDR the answer is production and modernization of the economy. He also addressed land reform after the fall of the communist regime.
In the afternoon we visited the STASI Documentation Center. The STASI were the secret police of the former GDR. The number of STASI and contributors numbered more than 60:1. This is the one visit that left me more than a little agitated. There were over 600,000 people identified as spied on by their government and their neighbors. The presentation was more of a report and although they have made great efforts to document these issues I found no remorse from the East at all. In the West it is almost too much remorse for the atrocities of the holocaust...not so much in the East. I guess my cold war upbringing in American public schools kicked in as it seemed to bother me more than the presentations in the West about the Holocaust. I was glad we had an Atlantik-Brucke representative with us...she helped keep the perspective in order.
After this we toured Dresden...the city I wanted to visit very much. Only 26 buildings survived the firebombing during the closing days of WWII. Although many buildings looked as if they had smoke damage almost all of these buildings were built within the last 30 years. The Catholic Church has been rebuilt and has a beautiful interior and that is where the attached picture is from.
Be good...love ya, mean it.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.