E. Germans Who Remain Opt for Security

While worldwide attention has been riveted this week on the thousands of plucky East Germans who have fled their country for new, uncertain lives in West Germany, nearly 17 million East Germans have stayed behind, resisting the lures of a flashy, catch-as-catch-can Western society for the often stultifying security of the German socialist state.

And as the numbers of East Germans taking advantage of Hungary’s open border to the West appear to be dwindling, the question has been raised by some in the West as to why more have not fled the gray, prison-like regime of East Germany.

“I was in Hungary with my wife on vacation a few weeks ago,” one East Berlin construction supervisor, a Prussian who gave his name as only Karsten, recalled this week while waiting for overdue building materials to be delivered.

“But we didn’t give it (emigrating) much thought. I think that is a decision for the younger people. I don’t think we resent their going--everyone in East Germany has a friend or relative that has at some time gone to West Germany. But this flight through Hungary might make it harder on the rest of us to travel on vacation to that country.”

He added that, “When you have personal contact with some of the people who left, it makes their decision more understandable.”

Karsten, who is middle-aged, is involved in a project in the Prenzlauerberg neighborhood of East Berlin, a district of four- and five-story gray-and-brown stucco apartment buildings constructed in the early years of this century.

On sunny days, the neighborhood seems to gleam in the northern light--but on overcast days such as this one, the mood is decidedly glum.

For nearly 40 years, the buildings here bore the pockmarks of Soviet shelling and Allied bombing. But now, the Communist regime has decided to give priority to new apartments and refurbishing many of the older buildings--often at a snail-like pace.

“We are ready to get to work,” said Karsten, pointing at the erected scaffolding with idle workers. “But the cement we need hasn’t arrived, so we can’t really get started.”

He stuffed some construction plans under his jacketed arm and said of his fellow citizens:

“We are all frustrated here at times. We can’t travel freely, and we can’t do as we please. But people my age have built up a pretty good life. We work to get a job, housing, maybe a car. I just hope things get better.”

The emphasis on job security was echoed by his deputy, a 25-year-old Saxon named Heinrich.

“What did the refugees in Passau (West Germany) tell you?” he asked a Western visitor. “They say they are going to get all sorts of jobs--but how about the high unemployment rate in West Germany? We don’t have any unemployment here.”

Little Unemployment

Most observers in East Germany say there is very little unemployment--although many people are working at jobs that they don’t like but must keep.

“Here, we have good jobs,” said Heinrich. “But there’s a shortage of building materials, which slows us down. But if you look around the city and figure out something, you can usually find a way to get around the shortages.”

A third member of the group walked up, a towheaded young man wearing a jacket, blue jeans and sneakers, and he observed, “If you have a place to live, a job, a TV set and you can get butter, eggs and milk at a low price, then it’s good to live in a country where you don’t have to worry about food, housing and education.”

West German television makes directly available to East Germans scenes of the affluent capitalistic society--but also scenes of drugs, unemployment and financial competition.

Many East Germans, observers here say, are obviously opting for a society based on security.

As one Western analyst based in East Germany said: “Why haven’t more people fled? Well, it’s a German trait to opt for security--to prefer a no-risk society for a more adventurous one.”

Nearby, a young waitress said she holds nothing--neither envy nor anger--against those who had left for West Germany.

At 23, she said she decided to get married, partly because couples have an easier time finding suitable apartments than do single people.

The construction supervisors and others suggest that the young people who are leaving East Germany for the West are doing so to shape a better personal economic future, rather than escape political repression by the regime of Communist leader Erich Honecker.

“I think it is important to understand that those leaving through Hungary are not political refugees,” said Hans-Klaus, a professional man in his mid-30s. “They may not like the system, but they left for economic reasons--to make a better life--and not because of political reasons.”

Hans-Klaus also said he does not believe that the departure of these East Germans will act as a safety valve by siphoning off the dissidents in East German society.

“These people were basically nonpolitical,” he observed. “The people who are the real dissidents want to stay in East Germany and oppose the regime--but they are often given a ticket directly to West Germany.”