Germans Open Wall Crossing at Historic Hub

The East German government Sunday opened a new border crossing through the Berlin Wall at the historic Potsdamer Platz as the flood of thousands of East Germans flowed back and forth across the barrier.

The mayors of East and West Berlin clasped hands at a ceremony before thousands of cheering Berliners, celebrating the fifth and latest opening in the wall. Potsdamer Platz was once the hub of the capital.

In another concession to reformers, East German leader Egon Krenz urged the Communist Party Central Committee, meeting today, to approve a major party congress next month to set new policies.

At Potsdamer Platz, once the busiest intersection in Germany but now a razed space, West Berlin Mayor Walter Momper met Mayor Erhard Krack as a section of the wall--the demarcation line of the division of Europe--was broken through.

“This is where the old heart of Berlin used to beat,” Momper declared. “And it will beat again.”

Later, West German President Richard von Weizsaecker, a former West Berlin mayor, showed up to chat with East German border guards. He appeared at the 15-yard opening after a church service, where he declared that “the wall is finished as a symbol of inhumanity.”

But he added: “No one should allow himself or others to have any feeling of triumph over anyone else. Now we must stand together.”

East German officials said Sunday that the total number of visas issued to its citizens is now 4.3 million--or about a fourth of its population--since travel restrictions were lifted. However, West German authorities said only 23,000 newcomers have asked to stay.

West German leaders have been encouraging East Germans to remain at home, and Chancellor Helmut Kohl has pressed Communist leaders to enact reforms to persuade their citizens to stay.

West German authorities reported that many East German refugees are contemplating returning home--now that travel restrictions are lifted.

They said that counselors at four receiving centers will be available to advise those who are thinking of going back. Those considering returning, sources said, are worried about whether they would still find their old jobs and apartments.

By opening the wall, East Germany’s Krenz for the moment appeared to have won a gamble.

However, by calling for a Communist Party congress, the supreme authority in East Germany, he risks having the entire Central Committee voted out and might find his own job in jeopardy.

This is because the party rank-and-file members and their local leaders have been more insistent about major reforms in the country--and the party--than officials at the top in East Berlin.

With speculation about a party purge growing, one West German newspaper said three East German Communists, despondent over rapid changes, have committed suicide, wire reports said.

The newspaper Welt am Sonntag identified the three as Herbert Heber, a party leader from the Halle area; Gerhard Uhl, a leader from the Dresden area, and Helmuth Mieth, a politician from the Schwerin area.

The newspaper, citing local party sources, attributed the suicides to “mental pressures” resulting from the present political situation and the rapid pace of change. All three were believed to be hard-line conservatives.

The scene at Potsdamer Platz on Sunday was one of joy and confusion as people streamed through in both directions.

The closest East German building is the former Air Ministry of Nazi Reichsmarshal Hermann Goering, and nearby is the site of the infamous bunker where Adolf Hitler directed the final days of the war and killed himself. The ruins of the bunker were long ago bulldozed over so that no physical presence would be left.

The East Germans had removed several tall, concrete, graffiti-splashed panels from the wall and stacked them just inside their border--like strange figures from Stonehenge.

An East German senior officer said when questioned: “It’s been a good feeling all morning.” An East German police guard standing shoulder-to-shoulder next to a West German police officer sported a marigold he received as a gift.

The East Germans wore camouflage uniforms with dark ties underneath, while the West Germans donned regular uniforms with tan turtleneck sweaters.

A West German guard remarked: “We’ve been talking with each other all day. It’s been very open, surprisingly so.

“I was at the first crossing at Eberswalder Strasse when they opened it up, and now I am here today. I have the feeling world history is being made.”