Word: erfurt
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...deadly inhuman person," Willy Brandt said of Willi Stoph some years ago. Whether Brandt would like to revise that assessment after his meeting with East Germany's Premier last week at Erfurt remains to be seen. To be sure, the shy, introverted Stoph (rhymes with loaf) is not exactly the cuddly type. In a country where telling jokes about political leaders has long been a favorite pastime, no German-East or West-can readily recall any gags about the steely, erect and correct Stoph. But he does seem to inspire respect...
...citizens of the sleepy East German city of Erfurt could hardly recognize their surroundings. The ancient cathedral city, home of such medieval relics as an Augustinian monastery and St. Severus Church, was chosen last month as the site of the first summit meeting between the heads of government of the two rival German states. Soon afterward, hundreds of East German soldiers, police and road crews launched a giant Operation Face Lift. Façades along the main streets received long-overdue coats of paint. Potholes in roads were filled. Lemons and other scarce imported items suddenly appeared in food stores...
...most notably that Brandt travel to East Berlin without setting foot in West Berlin, the city he served as mayor for almost a decade. Refusing to take nein for an answer, Brandt suggested a meeting in any other city. To Bonn's amazement, the East German regime proposed Erfurt as the site...
...minimum of pomp. Brandt will not be required to inspect an East German honor guard or to listen to the playing of the two national anthems. Perhaps most important of all, the East Germans accepted Bonn's proposal for a second summit, to be held after Erfurt somewhere in West Germany...
Limited Progress. The mere fact that the Erfurt summit is being held represents a victory for Brandt's Ostpolitik, which aims at overcoming the obstacles that divide Europe. Last week there were also limited signs of progress in West German negotiations in Warsaw and Moscow. In the second round of negotiations between the Poles and West Germans, the two sides reportedly exchanged drafts of parts of a proposed treaty that 1) would end Bonn's claim to former German territories east of the Oder and Neisse rivers, and 2) might offer emigration opportunities to people of German descent...