New Atlas Shoulders Big Changes
The National Geographic Society is anticipating a reunited Germany and a decentralized Soviet Union in its new world atlas, officials said Friday.
The sixth edition of the National Geographic Atlas of The World will lack the red line that separated the two Germanys in past editions, and refer to only one Germany.
“We’ve had to look into our crystal ball and see that the unification of Germany is inevitable,” said John B. Garver, National Geographic’s chief cartographer.
The atlas will show both Bonn and Berlin as capitals, but only the West German flag.
Barbara Hand Fallon, speaking for the society, said that National Geographic’s first atlas since 1981 will drop “S.S.R.,” for Soviet Socialist Republic, from all Soviet states except Russia, to reflect independence impulses within the Soviet Union.
Also in the atlas, the Middle East map will be flagged with the notation: “On Aug. 2, 1990, Iraqi military forces invaded Kuwait.”
The new edition of 240,000 copies is to be released in November.
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