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Twins semi-fraternal
National Review, June 20, 1986
Twins Semi-Fraternal
BONN
For the first time since Germany was divided forty years ago, a West German city and an East German one have been twinned. Ironically (or perhaps on purpose) the cities are as far away from each other as possible, as if their respective governments were wary of the arrangement. Saarbrucken, in the Federal Republic, is within a stone's throw of the French border, and Eisenhuttenstadt is next to the Polish frontier, far in the eastern confines of the Communist state. Both are steel towns. Eisenhuttenstadt was built new after the war and briefly named Stalinstadt. Saarbrucken has a far more distinguished history. Fortified by Louis XIV's master engineer, Vauban, in the late seventeenth century, it was the birthplace of Napoleon's Marshal Ney. The agreement foresees visits between the twins by groups only. But, from the East German point of view, there may be a hidden motive in the choice of Saarbrucken. East German Communist chieftain Erich Honecker comes originally from the Saarland; it may be that this occasion will provide him with the excuse for a first visit to the Federal Republic, a project often proposed and as often canceled.
COPYRIGHT 1986 National Review, Inc.
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