Word: erfurt
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...both Brandt and Stoph. It also seemed that the Communist leaders were not eager to welcome Brandt in East Berlin; they probably feared a repetition of the embarrassingly enthusiastic chants of "Willy, Willy!" that greeted the architect of Ostpolitik on his trip to the East German town of Erfurt in 1970. In the wake of Brandt's reelection, his popularity in the East is at a peak-which is why the Stoph regime is not likely to let him visit the German Democratic Republic until next year, at the earliest...
...Germany's Communist Boss Walter Ulbricht fears that closer relations with West Germany might undermine his regime's grip on its 17 million walled-in inhabitants. That anxiety was buttressed only two months ago when Brandt drew spontaneous cheers from East German bystanders on his arrival in Erfurt for the first meeting between the leaders of the two Germanys. Last week, as Stoph came to Kassel for the second session, the Communists clearly were determined to outshine Brandt's reception...
...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...
...East Germans also tried to camouflage the feelings of their people. To avoid an overly enthusiastic reception for West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, authorities ordered workers to remain at their jobs and students to stay in class. To discourage an influx of visitors, Erfurt-bound trains were canceled and roadblocks were set up on all roads leading to the city...
Nonetheless, as Brandt stepped from his special train in Erfurt one morning last week, 3,000 East Germans had gathered. When Brandt, accompanied by East German Premier Willi Stoph (see box) walked across a square to the Hotel Erfurter Hof, the cheers began: "Willy! Willy! Willy!" When the two men stepped inside, the crowd broke through the police lines and surged across the square. Then, as if to make sure that nobody mistook which Willy they meant, they shouted: "Willy Brandt ans Fenster [Willy Brandt to the window]!" Moved to tears, Brandt briefly appeared at a third-story window...