W. Germany Prepares for Refugee Influx

West Germany readied itself Thursday for a mass influx of East German refugees expected by way of Hungary and Austria, with the Austrian state railway reportedly being asked to make available at least 50 passenger coaches to transport the East Germans and preparations being made to set up tent camps in Bavaria.

Also Thursday, the Austrian government announced that it is suspending visa requirements for East Germans who wish to cross into Austria from Hungary.

Hungary has not said it will allow East Germans out of the country without proper exit permits issued by East Berlin, but East German sources said Hungarian Foreign Minister Gyula Horn was in East Berlin to confer with leaders there on the refugee problem.

West German and Austrian sources indicated late Thursday that a four-way deal is being worked out by officials in Bonn, Vienna, Budapest and East Berlin that will provide a formula permitting the East Germans to leave Hungary for the West. Austrian sources said they expect this formula to be completed by the weekend.

Yet, East German Foreign Minister Oskar Fischer was quoted late Thursday as saying that it would not be acceptable to allow East Germans to travel to the West or occupy West German diplomatic missions in Eastern Europe. The official East German news agency ADN quoted him as saying:

“Attempts to force emigration by staying in diplomatic missions or in camps run by West Germany cannot be accepted.”

Caught in the Middle

Hungary has found itself in the middle of a struggle between East Germany and West Germany over the disposition of hundreds of East Germans camping out in Budapest and in vacation areas near the Austrian border. About 6,000 East German “tourists” have slipped across the border from Hungary into Austria since May, when Hungary began dismantling border fences.

In Austria, the East Germans have been obtaining passports and travel money from the West German embassy there and moving on to refugee camps in West Germany.

About 200,000 East Germans are estimated to be “vacationing” in Hungary, and 2,000 or more are in camps in Hungary, hoping to leave either legally or illegally.

No one knows how many of the East Germans in Hungary would leave through Austria if given the chance, although West German officials estimate that as many as 20,000 might do so.

“All figures are speculative,” Hans Klein, a West German government spokesman, said Thursday. “But we have to prepare for something of major proportions.”

Klein said the situation poses a dilemma for his government and added, “We have a duty to make preparations for every eventuality, but making our plans known has the effect of encouraging people, which is not our intention.”

Additional East Germans are vacationing in Romania and Bulgaria, sources said. They added that most of them will return home through Hungary, but at least some may wish to join the exodus to the West.

Hungarian Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth and Foreign Minister Horn were in Bonn last week to discuss the situation with West German authorities, who urged the Hungarians to find a way to allow the East Germans to leave.

Hungary has an agreement with East Germany, a Communist sister state, under which it is not to allow East Germans to leave without proper documents. But Hungary needs West German financial credits and trade and wants to remain on good terms with Bonn.

East German officials reportedly were angered by the Hungarian officials’ visit to Bonn.

Reports circulating in the West suggest that the Hungarians might try to resolve the dilemma by persuading East German officials to agree to a one-time deal that would allow the East Germans to leave in return for a promise of strengthened border patrols and stricter frontier surveillance in the future.