A WEE BIT OF AUTOBIOGRAPHY with a point at the end In November 1083 I had the opportunity to join other German teachers and professors to participate in a visit to Berlin, sponsored by the Goethe Institute. The purpose was to show us how a boxed in city functioned. It was a very informative three weeks. Most of the time was planned by the Institute, but we were given one free day which we could use to visit East Berlin. I had fallen in with three other colleagues from different parts of the US, including one who had been borne there before his family emigrated. I feel like I could write several pages about the 8-9 hour visit, but here are just a few things leading up to the point at the end. It was quite obvious that the GDR would not last forever. MONEY. So here goes; At lunch time our colleague with a bit of knowledge of the place, lead us to Restaurant Moskau. Entering, we found ourselves in a large room with no furniture, but with a large door leading obviously into the actual restaurant. After standing for a few minutes, finally the double door opened, and a well dressed man entered. “(In German, of course) Do you have reservations?” We answered, “No, we're foreign teachers, and we've heard that this is a nice restaurant, so we....” “Will you pay in western money?” “Yes.” The door was opened, and in we went, and were seated. The room was about the size of a basketball court, perhaps wider and not so long. The tables were at least 25 feet apart in both directions. Five or six, other than ours, were occupied. Most notable was that along the rear wall people were standing side by side along most of the wall. Our orders were taken, and of course I ordered my beer. (OK, but Western beer was much better.) After a few minutes, I watched a few glasses of beer on a tray (the wine came similarly a bit later) move from one wall standing person to the next until finally the tray was brought to our table. The foam had long since settled before the beer reached our table. I immediately ordered my second one, which never made it to the table, although I did see one move from person to person along the wall. When we finished, we paid in West Money, as we had promised, which went into one pocket of the money waiter's pocket, and from the other East German money came out to go into the restaurant pouch. A quick note about money exchange. The OFFICIAL exchange rate was one West German Mark for one East German Mark. In West Berlin (or other parts of Europe) the rate was something like 100 to one. We were warned that if we bought anything we would have do show that we had paid in West money, or that we had officially exchanged West for East at a bank when we crossed back to West Berlin. There would be much more to write about, but now for the point. The GDR constitution guaranteed a job for every person. No one was unemployed. A hotel lobby might have 10 people leaning on a broom, or in the case of the Restaurant Moskau, 45 table waiters. But there was another thing about the GDR: Berufsverbot or 'professional disqualification. I had to wonder about how many of the people lined up against the wall were teachers or professors who had talked about stuff that was 'verboten' in their classes? I had read about that in several places. Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union also kept track about what happened in classrooms. Here in Florida, as elsewhere, the 'Critical Race Theory is verboten. Why am I concerned?
@James Hintze I don't know if I'm getting your drift or am on a different wave length altogether. But here's my take on your point: When government and/or a political movement wants to rewrite history to distort documented facts, we're generating the seeds of fascism. When government and/or a political party dictates what can't be taught, we're on the road to fascism. When government and/or a political party limits who can vote, and which candidates can be declared winners regardless of official votes, we've taken steps forward into fascism. America has not done a good job of learning from historical precedent. The signs are all around us, and have been for a long time that interwoven forces are pushing us towards a fascist state. I am definitely concerned.
Well said, @D'Ellyn Dottir . That's what I was thinking but you said I much better than I could have.