There were about four reasons why I felt close to the GDR, why I really felt
myself a part of it. One basic reason was because right starting in 1945, under
pressure from the Soviets who occupied it, they got rid of all of the war
criminals who had been guilty of Hitler's crimes in the war. That's where
these big industry, banks and so forth, who had built Hilter up and profited
from his war. They were all thrown out. And that for me was, as a Jewish
anti-fascist, especially important. The second thing was because East Germany, as
opposed to West Germany, supported Allende in Chile, South African freedom movement,
the anti-Franco movement in Spain, North Vietnam. These were things which were
part of my upbringing, always for the underdog and I supported it. A third
reason was because the GDR in its way, which was very complicated that I would
come to with the bad parts, but it was trying to establish a society where
nobody was poor, where poverty was done away with. And it largely succeeded in
this. In fact, one of the main things I think of when I go through the streets
coming now to visit the States again, in all the years, 38 years I lived there, I
didn't see one single person sleeping in a street or one single beggar. And to add
to that they succeeded with a certain basic tax that all medical
expenses were covered. Everything including all prescription drugs, you never
paid a penny anymore. And education the same. I went to college. My two sons went
to college. We didn't not only pay no tuition, you got a certain amount every
month to cover basic expenses. Things like that. The same with maternal leave,
and child care was free. These were good things that I that I liked. As for the
bad things... Because they chased out
all these big shots and huge economic things and because a lot
of people never really appreciated or some people took it for granted
after a while that they didn't pay only a tenth of their pay for rent, for
example. They were constantly under pressure from the West, constantly. And
little East Germany, which is only a third of Germany, could never compete
with rich West Germany with all its modern commodities and his Marshall Plan
money etc. It could never compete. It was able to make sure that everybody had
enough to get along but an awful lot of goods were missing: good, nice cars even
many fruits (bananas were short for example) many other commodities. And this
put them at such a disadvantage that many people thought 'we want to
go across'. And this forced or this meant a degree of repression which was the
main basic negative part of East Germany. - Repression in terms of... Give us a little
sense of what that meant. - Well, there was no freedom of the press, for example. The
press, the publications, all the media were basically directed by the
central party. There were variations and there were phases where
it was stricter and less strict but by and large there was no freedom of the press.
And also people were not afraid of the Stasi and everything, where they said this
secret state security. They talked freely in private terms and generally
but in public, at meetings and so forth people were careful as to what they said.
They wouldn't be thrown in jail but they might not get a bonus, they
might not get a promotion, they might not get this or that perk or advantage.