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Article: Goodbye to Berlin. (thousands of East Germans go to West Germany) (Europe)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- September 16, 1989
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Goodbye to Berlin
ON A cool evening last Sunday, thousands of East Germans crossed the border from Hungary to Austria, against the wishes of their own government but with full permission of the Hungarian authorities. Less than 72 hours later some 12,000 East Germans had wound their way up into West Germany, where they were hoping to start a new life. Young and well educated for the most part, they carried with them barely enough belongings to fill a shopping bag. Many chugged along in foul-smelling, two-stroke-engine Trabants. One of the first things they did on reaching neutral Austria was to change the country stickers on their cars, which read "DDR" for ...