By RITA HOPPE
Berlin Correspondent
BERLIN — Kristallnacht,
beginning of the end.

infamous

Lessons of the past
Starkly different in
the two Germanys

munity, was refused permission to speak
before the West German Bundestag does
much to illuminate the motivational dif-
ferences between the commemorations in

ne

The transparent fragments of glass
found littering the streets of German vil-

both countries and between the ideologi-
cal differences of the two social systems.
How successful have each of the two

_ Ybjective is to help them build up their small
- Manufacturing sectors.
To be sure, reality is something else, with
nadian “fly by night” corporations oper-
iting in the Caribbean, packing their bags
_ 4nd leaving when the workforce gets unio-
Nized

|
|

| | lages, towns and cities gave the night its

euphemistic name. “Crystal Night,” Nov.
9-10, 1938, foretold not only the horror of
Nazi Germany’s mass murder of the Jew-

Germanys been in learning the lessons of

the past?

The fact of two German states in itself

country was plunged.

aken the dormant virus of nationalism.

sion specials.

ish people in Europe, but the beginning of
a new barbarism into which the entire

Fifty years later, the agony remains
chillingly clear for some. For others itis an
orchestrated opportunity to dispense with
the horrors of the past in order to reaw-

The 50th anniversary of the Nazi
pogrom was marked by both Germanys
with a broad range of commemorative
events throughout the week, including
memorial services, concerts, special exhi-
bitions and theatre performances, feature
newspaper articles and numerous televi-

provides an answer. From its inception,
the GDR proclaimed itself an anti-fascist
state and pledged to never again allow war
to emanate from German soil. Of the two
Germanys, only the GDR can attest that
its leaders, in the past as today, stand
firmly rooted in the tradition of anti-fascist
struggle. The obligation to teach the coun-
try’s youth the lessons of naziism is taken
seriously.

That these are not just phrases was con-
firmed by Edgar Bronfman, President of
the World Jewish Congress, who during a
visit here at the end of October paid tribute
to the GDR’s “sincerity in having lived up
to its responsibility in coming to terms

Here in the capital of the German
Democratic Republic, a special exhibition
on the history of Jews in Germany opened
in October, and in November thousands

of Berliners watched as the cornerstone for

with history.”

And how well did the Federal Republic
of Germany learn the lessons of history?
The scandal caused by Phillip Jenniger,

Jewish Communities in the

a special commemorative session.

what will be a newly-restored synagogue
was put in place. On Nov. 8, Sigmund
Rotstein, president of the ajar -

| addressed the country’s parliament during

That Heinz Galinski, leader of the West
German and West Berlin Jewish com-

president of the Bundestag, advertises the
sad truth. I shuddered in disbelief on hear-
ing his speech on behalf of the FRG
government during a special commemora-
tive session in which he virtually justified
and defended Hitler’s rise to power.
Although Jenniger was forced to resign
as parliamentary president, his govern-
ment’s leadership continues to uphold that

The aftermath of Kristallnact, 1938 .

same tradition of German nationalism
responsible for the fascists’ rise to power
50 years ago.

It was for this reason that Chancellor
Helmut Kohl was jeered by demonstra-
tors, who objected to his presence at a
memorial service for the victims of Kristall-
nact and who reminded him of his hom-
age in 1985 (along with Ronald Reagan) to
the Bitburg war cemetery where SS troop-
ers are among the buried. In the name of
German nationalism it remains the West
German government’s official policy to
incorporate the territory of the GDR into
one “greater Germany.”

We should not forget: it was German
Communists who first emphatically de-
nounced the anti-Jewish pogroms by
exposing fascist racial ideology. That Nazi
propaganda bracketed together Jews and
Communists from the very beginning is no
accident, for this created a people imbued
with racist mentality and blinded by anti-
communism who were eventually led to
perpetrate the wholesale slaughter of
World War II. How can the world not
fear the motivations of the Kohl govern-

.. the beginning of the Holocaust.

ment which continues the “legacy” of hav-
ing brought no more than one per cent of
those responsible for the Nazi atrocities to
justice? ;

In his resignation speech, Jenniger
would have us believe he learned his his-
tory lessons well: “Throughout my politi-
cal life I have done everything I could for
reconciliation with the Jews and to pro-
mote the vital interests of the state of
Israel.” The disgraced apologist for the
Nazis can only mean by this that he sup-
ports the genocidal Israeli state policy
towards the Palestinian Arab peoples.

In contrast, we heard GDR leader Erich
Honecker reiterate to Bronfman_ his
government’s position on the Middle East

_conflict. He explained that its resolution

depends upon both Israelis and Palestini-
ans being accorded the right to independ-
ent statehood. Only by such honest and
principled positions, Honecker said, can
we hope to combat the racism and con-
tempt for other human beings that lie at
the root of all wars. Only then will the
pledge, “Never Again!” become an irre-
versible reality.

_ BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — What
es the Reagan-Mulroney free trade deal
Mean for Canada-Caribbean trading ties?
Ostensibly, Canada is committed toa
'tading relationship and aid policy with the
lands and other developing countries. The

. The little trade the indigenous-owned
dustry in places like Barbados and
Jamaica has with Canada helps. It isn’t
Much — sales on the Canadian market
ftom the 13-member CARICOM grouping
of the English-speaking islands was only
a L-million (Can.) for the first half of this

But Caribbean exporters have been
tching carefully to see who takes over in
wa — the free traders, or those who
uld like to see the Canadian economy
-*Velop without being further overcome by

__'S wealthier neighbour, the U.S. (This arti-

“© was written days before the Nov. 21
ection — Ed.)

,, Take the case of rum. Check out most

| quor outlets across Canada and you will

lind Caribbean rum. It packs a bit less of a

ck — not like the more “authentic stuff
*0U get if you go on holiday down in the
‘ih, “because Canada’s liquor regulations
“tally demand a 40 per cent alcohol limit.

Norman Faria

But most of it comes from the Caribbean
which traditionally has sold products on the
Canadian market. Normally, these imports
don’t compete with domestic products.

Once free trade is implemented, there is a
good chance that cheaper — probably of
poorer quality — rum imports from the
USS. will force a cutback in orders for rums
such as that sold under the Mount Gay
brand name. “Once you have free entry into
Canada from the United States, we (in the
Caribbean) are put at a disadvantage ...
because apart from anything else, our ship-
ping costs are obviously higher,” said Bar-
bados’ High Commissioner to Ottawa,
Peter Morgan. “But the problem with any
item is this: the bigger volume you’ve got,
the lower price per unit you can produce at.
Obviously companies in the U.S ... deal in
much bigger volumes than we do in the
Caribbean.”

Observers also point to what is happen-
ing in Europe on the eve of the creation of
one big market of European Economic
Community (EEC) countries in 1992.

FROM THE CARIBBEAN

A campaign on the diplomatic front is
now being waged by the rum-producing
countries in CARICOM to save the niche in
the European rum market. Both the admin-
istrations like those in Barbados and
Guyana, along with the West Indies Rum
and Spirits Producers Association
(WIRSPA), have started a fight-back cam-
paign following the decision of the EEC
Council of Ministers to amend the regula-

tions regarding the definition of ram and
other spirits.

Apparently, preference will be given toa
West German concoction called “Rum-
verschnitt” (“rum mix”) made from five per
cent or less rum and the rest from an alcohol
made from sources other than the sugar
cane and molasses from which island rum is
traditionally made. A French liquid called

“Rhum Agricola” is made of synthetic
ingredients.

As Barbados’ Minister of Trade and
Industry, Evelyn Greaves, argued at a
WIRSPA meeting in Barbados, the further

Free trade: watering down the rum and Coke

“bastardization of Caribbean rum in
Europe will have disastrous consequences
for Caribbean producers.

“It is unfair, discriminatory competition
from cheap inferior product made from
residues in Europe,” he observed.

Caribbean rum producers have joined
with colleagues in other developing coun-
tries who export to Europe in urging the
EEC to retain duty-free access and other
forms of assistance.

The campaign by doctors and others to
make people drink more responsibly has
clearly led to decreased sales of distilled
spirits in Canada. According to Doug Rub-
bra of the Association of Canadian Dis-

tillers, who attended the WIRSPA huddle, |

sales have dropped some 25 per cent in
Canada since 1981.

This correspondent — whoisa teetotaler
— and the Tribune — join those who urge
moderation and responsibility in their
drinking. But the reality is that many Cana-
dians still drink beer, rum and other alco-
holic beverages in their socializing. For
those who take the occasional drink, there is
nothing like a good, cold beer on a hot
summer evening, or a rum and coke undera
boat awning on your holiday in the islands.

Clearly, any free trade agreement
between the U.S. and Canada will undoubt-
edly mean a shortage of good island rum in
Canada. And, even more important, much
needed assistance from a traditional trading
partner like Canada could be further stym-
ied.

Pacific Tribune, December 19, 1988 « 21

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