East Germany: Walter Walled In

The old woman from West Berlin got off the train at the scarred old East Berlin railway station, carrying a heavy suitcase filled with butter and cheese, along with a great sack of cabbages and potatoes. The young nephew who met her shouted: "Why are you bringing all this food? Don't you know that we have everything we need here in the German Democratic Republic?" His sarcastic words were greeted by loud guffaws from the bystanders, including Red German police. A few months ago, it could not have happened that way; the man...

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