Re: Report from Germany

["Chris, London" <100423.2040@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Luciano forwarded an article from Workers World.

I knew that the birth rate in the former Eastern Germany halved
following the collapse of the GDR (DDR). I did not know that this
was continuing.

This is one of the most dramatic statistics of
a population under stress, with macro problems manifested in tens
of thousands of individual highly personal decisions.
Presumably there are now structural reasons with an emigration
out of the former DDR of young adults of child bearing age.
The magnitude of these statistics is shocking.

>In 1989, before it was taken over by capitalist West
>Germany, there were 199,000 children born in the GDR. In
>1995 there were only 80,000 children born there.


However although there is high unemployment in Germany now,
I understood it was now slightly less in West than former
East Germany, something like 17% versus 15%.
This may be connected with the massive German investment in
former East Germany to the tune of 150 billion marks a year,
one of the main features of the current political/economic situation
in Germany surely.

I hope German subscribers can comment if appropriate.

Chris B
London





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