Calvin Synod Herald, 1997 (97. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1997-01-01 / 1. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD- 7 -AMERIKAI MAGYAR REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Enlightening fragments from a recent issue of “The World & I” A Still Divided Germany The economic division of the country has perpetuated a psychological division by Dr. Stephen F. Szabó On October 3, 1996, Germany marked the sixth anniversary of national reunification. Forty years of forced separation were ended in a euphoric Oktoberfest on a sunny November weekend in Berlin. The nation echoed the sentiments of “We Are One People.” The employers conclude that it will be at least 15 to 20 years before the east catches up with the west. According to U.S. Secretary of State, Warren Christopher, NATO is set to announce in the first six months of 1997 which applicants will be included in expansion and when enlargement will occur. Ossies and Wessies The economic division of the country has exacerbated the psychological one. Unification was and remains a largely western-run operation. The GDR was in ruins in early 1990. People were migrating in large numbers to the west, and the easterners lacked their own democratic leaders. West Germany was a success story and was three times as large as East Germany. West Germans are viewed as aggressive, materialistic and arrogant. Many eastern Germans see them as cold, domineering and short on social solidarity, with a know-it-all attitude toward Ossies. West Germans reciprocate, believing that the easterners are dependent, lacking in initiative and insufficiently grateful for what the west has done for them. About three out of every four eastern Germans believe that unification was a good thing and that the years since unification have been good ones. About two of every three believe that the reporting of developments in their part of Germany has been too negative. A majority now identify with unified Germany, although many retain an eastern identification and feelings of being second-class citizens continue to run deep. The young are the key driving force in the east’s coming revival. The former communist party, now calling itself the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), collects about 20 percent of the eastern vote. It draws heavily from the losers of unification: older people, former members of the Communist Party, the unemployed and young women. A striking example is the growing acceptance of both the European Union and NATO in the east, where six years ago, attitudes were either hostile or neutral. Toward the future Despite the deep divisions that remain, Germany is clearly moving toward unity. Another generation will be required to complete the transition but it seems highly unlikely that in 20 years Germany will be as divided as Italy is today. Parts of the east, as a recent study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) noted, “The transformation has been more profound and complete than in any other country in transition in central and eastern Europe.” Much will depend, as well, on the German economy’s ability to become more productive and competitive in a global economy, as well as upon the revival of the other states of east/central Europe and the former Soviet Union. As the east recovers, so will its confidence. Its new power should produce new leaders, both for its states and for the federal and European levels as well. While Ossies and Wessies may continue to foster resentments and irritations, they must depend on each other to make the future work. A new and united Germany is emerging and should begin to take shape within the next 20 year. Dr. Stephen F. Szabó is associate dean for academic affairs at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, and author of“ The Diplomacy of German Unification” and other works on German foreign policy and domestic politics. WARC “World Alliance of Reformed Churches” The global union of the Reformed Churches of the whole world, the body of all churches holding the Calvinistic Church government on this earth, decided to have its next General Council Meeting in Debrecen, Hungary in the month of August in the 1997. The theme chosen is “Break the Chains of Injustice!” It will be an history-making meeting, the 23rd such gathering since the establishment of that august world organization. The entire world is waiting in expectation for the true “advent” of the forthcoming Kingdom of God on this earth! “Thy Kingdom come!” ‘on earth as it is in Heaven!’ The selected emblem tells it all: WARC president, Jane Dempsey Douglass: We have learned in the last decades that respect for our fellow human beings and respect for all God’s creation are inextricably entwined, and sacrificing one in an attempt to protect the other will be destructive of both.' What you do to the earth, you do also to us. What you do to us, you do also to the earth. The time is most appropriate for the use of Bishop Kalman Csiha’s “Light Through The Bars”. It has a Hungarian version and an English version. (The German translation will also appear on time for the all-important meeting in Debrecen, Hungary later this year. Now it is indeed high time to pray for all chains of injustice to break at all corners and sections of this world of ours.
