Germanys Drop Visa Requirement
East German and West German authorities announced Tuesday that visas will no longer be needed for West Germans to visit the Communist state.
The new rules mean that for the first time in 25 years, West Germans will be able to go freely to East Germany.
Additional transit routes across the inner-German border were also approved at a meeting in East Berlin between East German Prime Minister Hans Modrow and Bonn’s special emissary, Rudolf Seiters. The West Germans suggested that a fund be set up for East Germans to exchange their currency at a special rate--rather than lining up for “welcome money” when they visit West Germany.
Seiters said that West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl will meet with Modrow in Dresden on Dec. 19, a day after a special session of the Communist Party congress is expected to institute sweeping changes in East Germany’s leadership.
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