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lead as turmoil swept through west_german politics and the north_atlantic alliance , one man seemed to stand serenely and triumphantly content . for hans_dietrich_genscher , this was a moment to savor . as turmoil swept through west_german politics and the north_atlantic alliance , one man seemed to stand serenely and triumphantly content . for hans_dietrich_genscher , this was a moment to savor . after 15 years at the helm of west_germany 's foreign_policy , scarred from battles with coalition partners and from the stings of crossed allies , he had pushed through a weakened government his personal formula for future dealings with the east . though labeled a compromise by chancellor helmut_kohl 's coalition as a way to save face , there was little question that the call for opening early talks with moscow on short range missiles instead of replacing them was the foreign_minister 's . the proposal was the product of his ardent conviction that a new era has dawned in east west relations , one that requires a new thinking also in the west . presented new policy if there was grumbling in washington and london about violated understandings and threatened unity , nobody accused mr . genscher of inconsistency . according to der_spiegel , when he presented the new policy in washington , secretary of state james a . baker 3d had said ''we are disappointed at the government stance not at you , herr genscher . you have always said that . '' with the dust still high , mr . genscher a minister legendary in bonn for being in constant motion , despite a youthful bout with tuberculosis and reported heart problems was already hard at work to preclude any backsliding by the government and to press his position on othe nato members . he reminded his bonn coalition partners in a newspaper interview that they had agreed to the policy ''word for word , '' and today he was in paris drumming up support . a potent lever for the 62 year old foreign_minister , the victory was both political and personal . as a dominant figure in the small but well connected free_democratic_party , he had parlayed a bloc of seats rarely reaching 10 percent of parliament into a potent lever . his prize was the foreign ministry , first under helmut_schmidt 's social democrats , and then , after a dramatic change of allegiance in 1982 , with mr . kohl 's christian democrats . his tenure , his experience and his energy fashioned the ministry into a potent instrument of his policy , while his keen sense for public moods enabled him to maintain a popularity that his coalition partners had to respect . for years , mr . genscher has ranked among the most popular politicians in west_germany . even as mr . kohl has slid to new lows , mr . genscher maintained his customary approval rating of about 75 percent . gorbachev to scholz it was the rise of mikhail s . gorbachev , with the attendant spirit of detente , that brought mr . genscher 's policies to new levels of influence . his weight in coalition councils was further enhanced last fall by the death of franz_josef_strauss , the formidable bavarian conservative who resisted mr . genscher in coalition disputes . then two weeks ago , when mr . kohl felt compelled to dismiss his unpopular and conservative defense minister , rupert scholz , mr . genscher emerged virtually dominant . still , mr . genscher 's seizure of the initiative came as something of a surprise . the foreign_minister had sat out most of the preceding turmoil in the government recuperating from a urinary tract infection . but he returned leaner and tougher and in time to push his cherished arms control policy past the weakened chancellor . by some accounts , his continuing allegiance was the price . a personal victory the fact that the shift was to some extent a result of mr . kohl 's political problems did not diminish the fact that it was also a personal victory , and a popular expression of a national sentiment long in gathering . public opinions had long tracked a strong enthusiasm among west germans for the new kremlin under mr . gorbachev and a matching enthusiasm for maintaining the momentum of arms control . mr . genscher had caught the mood early , arguing in february 1987 that ''it would be a mistake of historical proportions if the west passed up an opportunity to achieve a turning point in the 40 year confrontation between east and west . '' in a major address to parliament just after mr . kohl outlined the new policy last thursday , mr . genscher ranged broadly and sometimes emotionally over his vision of a europe . it was a vision of a new , benevolent germany assuming its mission to heal the rift that an earlier , demonic germany had inflicted on the continent . ''the turn of the tide in european international_politics is irreversible and unmistakable , '' he declared . ''nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come . '' 'part of our fatherland' then , his voice dropping , mr . genscher touched the heart of his vision . the debate on ' 'modernization , '' he said , was really ''about short range nuclear_weapons systems that can reach the other part of our fatherland . '' the responsibility assumed with his oath of office , he said , ' 'does not stop at the border cutting through germany . '' he added , ''the responsibility for the nation established by that oath does not exclude my native region , the town where i was born , nor the people in the german_democratic_republic . '' mr . genscher was born in 1927 near halle , in what is now east_germany , and he still goes back regularly . that link is often cited among mr . genscher 's friends as a formative influence , feeding the urgency with which he has pursued detente and arms control . but mr . genscher 's consistently high ratings and the appreciative applause that frequently rippled through parliament indicated that his vision was one with broad resonance . impatience over arms one reason was that west germans were becoming increasingly impatient with the extraordinary concentration of foreign armies and arsenals on their soil . after 40 years of democracy , the sense of constrained sovereignty was becoming increasingly resented , and a newly benign east raised hopes that the burdens could at last be lifted . there was also another , more subtle strain that the foreign_minister seemed to touch through his repeated invocation of a german mission to soothe the east west tensions , to heal europe 's divide , to insure that war never sprang again from german soil . mr . genscher himself had been swept up as a youth by the third reich . like 10 million other children he had joined the hitler youth and at 17 he was drafted , and soon taken prisoner . after the war he saw his hometown transferred by americans to the russians , had fled west and had taken part in the dramatic reconstruction . on a reunited europe for men of mr . genscher 's generation , old enough to know the shame and suffering of the third reich and young enough to have shaped the prosperous new federal_republic , that sense of special mission had become part of a national identity , often supplanting war damaged feelings of patriotism and national pride . implicit in it was the notion that only in a reunited europe could the germans reunite . but those sentiments often made him the object of disdain and suspicion among some in the west , making genscherism a synonym in more hawkish circles for kowtowing to the east . ''his sense of vocation in the east is often suspected as cover for seeking economic advantage , and he gives a sense that he 's working several agendas at once , '' a western diplomat in bonn who admits to an admiration for mr . genscher . ''he is a man you feel is never quite showing you all his cards . he does n't quite fit the model of what some allies think germans are or how germans should behave . '' mr . genscher 's sense of a special mission sometimes came across as righteousness , and his yearning for detente was attacked sometimes as a lack of resolve . he seemed to represent the fear , most strongly felt in paris , that west_germany was always secretly yearning for neutrality . but mr . genscher denied any ambivalence in german loyalties . ''we germans , this we say to all our friends , are not trying to follow our own separate road into the future , '' he told parliament . ''by opting for democracy , the western alliance and the european_community , we have irrevocably committed ourselves . ''on the other hand we germans also have neighbors who do not belong to this community of western democracies but who suffered terribly during the second world_war . he added , ''it is neither presumption nor arrogance on our part but rather a deep awareness of our historical task when we germans feel we have a special responsibility for confidence building between east and west , and act accordingly . ''

has a location of germany

germans love to go to school . it is not uncommon here to find someone well past 30 who is still an active university student and has no interest in leaving academe . over the years this german syndrome has become well known across europe , and there is even a colloquial name for its victim the " ewige student , " or the eternal student . now the government is trying to adopt new policies that will push students into the working world more quickly . in various states and in bonn , politicians are urging shorter courses of study and cutbacks in subsidies . in germany , the equivalent of high_school lasts 13 years instead of 12 , the norm in the united_states . men must then complete a year of military or alternative service . so , most students are at least 20 years old when they embark on a two year or four year university course . some are eager to begin their working lives as soon as possible , but a substantial number become comfortable with campus life . with most universities free or nearly so , and with students eligible for bargain prices on everything from subway fares to health_insurance , incentives to stay in school are considerable . german law guarantees everyone with a high_school_diploma the right to study at a university . this has been interpreted to mean that students are entitled not just to a single course of study , but to as many courses as they care to take . some choose to pursue training in a second or third career without ever having practiced their first . and foreign students often seek to prolong their studies as long as possible in order to maintain their visa status . this year , the government said , overcrowding at universities meant that 1.8 million students were not able to pursue the course of their choice . " we have to get the length of time people spend in school back to a reasonable level , " said hans uwe erichsen , director of an association of college deans . but student leaders , supported by some professors , are resisting limits , arguing they will ultimately produce a less intelligent nation . " it seems that there are only three mantras in german politics these days , " sighed a weary albert von mutius , head of a large student organization . " do more research , sell technology , and make students leave school sooner . " stephen kinzer international reports a changing world of education

has a location of germany

lead after meeting with chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany , president_bush said friday night that ''we 're making progress'' in easing soviet fears about a united germany in the north_atlantic_treaty_organization . mr . bush said he and mr . kohl agreed that moscow has ''understandable interests'' in the military future of after meeting with chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany , president_bush said friday night that ''we 're making progress'' in easing soviet fears about a united germany in the north_atlantic_treaty_organization . mr . bush said he and mr . kohl agreed that moscow has ''understandable interests'' in the military future of europe . mr . bush and mr . kohl met for more than two hours over dinner at the white_house to discuss german_unification and soviet objections to a new germany 's belonging to the nato alliance . the meeting , their third in three weeks , came after mr . bush 's summit meeting with president mikhail s . gorbachev of the soviet_union , who expressed opposition to nato membership for a united germany . mr . bush said western leaders , at a nato_summit meeting in london early next month , would explore ways to allay soviet fears . mr . kohl said germans ''also are going to bear in mind soviet security , '' adding , ''it 's going to be important that nato and the warsaw_pact meet in a good atmosphere . '' mr . gorbachev has proposed that the new germany be a member of both the warsaw_pact as well as nato , or a member of neither . he also has suggested limits on the size of the german_army , an idea opposed by both mr . kohl and mr . bush . ''any singling out and neutralization always means isolation , '' mr . kohl said . ''out of the isolation of germany which we had in the '20s , a lot of bad things came about . we want a unified germany as part of nato . '' evolution in europe

has a location of germany

lead a leading member of chancellor helmut_kohl 's party proposed today that west_german planes be outfitted with american nuclear tipped missiles to demonstrate the solidarity of the nato alliance after the new missile treaty . a leading member of chancellor helmut_kohl 's party proposed today that west_german planes be outfitted with american nuclear tipped missiles to demonstrate the solidarity of the nato alliance after the new missile treaty . alfred dregger , chairman of the parliamentary group of mr . kohl 's christian democratic_party , advocated the idea to reporters after a meeting with president_reagan and defense secretary frank c . carlucci . mr . dregger emphasized that the american nuclear_weapons would remain under american control . he said equipping german tornado planes with american missiles was just one of a number of steps that the north_atlantic_treaty_organization should take to compensate for the new accord banning medium_range and shorter_range_missiles based on land . other steps , he said , include deploying medium_range cruise_missiles on other types of aircraft and at sea , which would be allowed under the treaty . an administration official said the proposal to put missiles on west_german planes was among several ideas under discussion by alliance military experts . the aircraft can also carry conventional bombs . some favor , some criticism mr . dregger said that his proposals had received a generally favorable reception in the reagan_administration , but that some proposals on short range systems had encountered criticism . in particular , mr . dregger questioned plans for deploying new nuclear_artillery shells in europe , arguing that such weapons would be ' 'self deterring'' because nato nations would not want to use very short range battlefield arms that could devastate the west 's own territory . the united_states , in contrast , has stressed the need to deploy new nuclear_artillery shells in europe . in a speech thursday night at johns_hopkins_university , mr . dregger said the alliance should ''consider whether the nuclear_artillery is necessary and expedient . '' he added , ''if our allies say these weapons are needed in order to protect their forces , then i must point out that protection of the civilian population is just as important at least to us as the protection of our own and allied forces . '' in another proposal that runs counter to american thinking , mr . dregger said the alliance should move to negotiate reductions in the number of very short range nuclear_missiles . the united_states and britain have resisted entering early negotiations on this systems , arguing that efforts to negotiate a strategic arms treaty and a ban on chemical_weapons should come first .

has a location of germany

lead west_germany and its principal nato partners are heading for a confrontation over the alliance 's commitment to replace an aging short range missile system , western diplomats and german politicians say . west_germany and its principal nato partners are heading for a confrontation over the alliance 's commitment to replace an aging short range missile system , western diplomats and german politicians say . while the united_states and britain want to move ahead and replace the 88 lance missiles that are mainly deployed in west_germany , chancellor helmut_kohl 's center right coalition is trying to postpone a decision . the missile has a range of 60 miles , but nato commanders would like to replace it with one with a range of about 150 miles . short range missiles are those with ranges under 300 miles . the lance is the first conspicuous weapon modernization issue to confront the alliance since 1983 , when it deployed medium_range pershing 2 and ground launched cruise_missiles in the face of emotional street protests in western_europe . the vacillating reaction of the kohl government on the lance has suggested to some nato officials that the 1983 episode has left german politicians with no stomach for new deployments . strauss assails u.s . in the last year , an embittered and faintly anti american mood has gripped several influential politicians in the chancellor 's normally pro american christian democratic_party . led by alfred dregger , the party 's parliamentary floor leader , they argue that fickle and abruptly shifting american arms control positions have exposed them to domestic humiliations and confused the german public . at a defense seminar in munich over the weekend , franz_josef_strauss , the conservative premier of bavaria , lectured an audience that included defense secretary frank c . carlucci on what mr . strauss said was the waywardness of american policies . the premier declared flatly that a majority of the west_german parliament would oppose lance modernization . at the munich conference , mr . kohl , mr . dregger and other germans surprised and alarmed non german participants by repeatedly voicing fears that the abolition of the superpowers' medium_range weapons and the lance modernization could mean that west_germany was being ' 'singularized'' as the battlefield for a nuclear_war . 'psychosis on the right' in west_germany , this fear has been sharpened by a recent study for the pentagon called ''discriminate deterrence , '' which seemed to revive the idea of endowing the north_atlantic_treaty_organization with a capacity for fighting a limited nuclear_war . mr . carlucci cautioned that the commission that prepared the report was ''purely advisory'' and that its conclusions did not signal ''a basic change in u.s . policy toward nato , particularly the linkage with our strategic deterrent . '' the cumulative effect of the turmoil on the west_german right , aggravated by poor showings in state elections , has been to move the christian democrats toward positions espoused on the left by the opposition social democrats , who are saluting the emergence of a ''new consensus'' on foreign_policy . an experienced american diplomat observed that ''we 've got the same sort of psychosis on the german right that we had on the german left five years ago when they were panicked about nuclear_war . '' a senior british colleague who attended the munich gathering said the germans were encouraging ' 'self singularization , '' wildly exaggerating nuclear risks shared by all members of the alliance . in this roiled climate , mr . kohl and his lieutenants evidently fear that a public discussion about lance modernization could revive the dormant protest movement that spearheaded the battle against american medium_range_missiles in 1983 . congress imposes restrictions mr . carlucci made clear at munich that the reagan_administration would regard any backsliding on the lance decision , which was adopted by nato defense ministers in 1983 , as eroding the american commitment to western_europe 's security . but decisiveness is called for not just in bonn but in washington , where congress has imposed restrictions on the development of a successor system to the lance . the absence of a clear american decision on what kind of missile should replace the lance has encouraged mr . kohl to stall , since neither he nor any of his fellow christian democrats wish to go out on a political limb for a weapons system that does not yet exist . they already have bitter memories of publicly insisting last year that 72 west_german controlled pershing 1a missiles would not be sacrificed only to abandon them under what they portray as blunt pressure from secretary of state george p . shultz . paradoxically , it is the west_german foot_dragging that has suddenly made the lance a central issue on the nato agenda and a test of alliance resolve in the wake of the soviet american accord that would banish medium and shorter_range_missiles , those with ranges between about 300 and 3 , 400 miles . mr . kohl will almost certainly be asked about his government 's wavering stand when he meets with president_reagan in washington next week .

has a location of germany

the space shuttle discovery and its seven astronauts are to roar into orbit on saturday afternoon on what nasa managers called ''a rather pedestrian mission'' that nevertheless has a great deal riding on it . liftoff is scheduled for 3 49 , when earth 's rotation will put the launching_pad at the kennedy_space_center here in the orbital plane of the international_space_station , the shuttle 's destination . for now , the national_aeronautics_and_space_administration 's biggest concern is the weather , with a 60 percent probability of thunderstorms that would force a postponement of at least a day . the 12 day mission is mainly dedicated mainly to carrying food , water , spare_parts , oxygen and other supplies to the international_space_station , along with a new crew member , thomas reiter of germany , who will be the first astronaut from the european_space_agency to serve on the orbiting laboratory for a long term . but far more important to the future of the space_program is the issue of flaws that doomed two previous missions , those of the challenger in 1986 and the columbia in 2003 . this is only the second flight since the loss of the columbia and its crew of seven , caused by a 1 . 67 pound piece of foam that fell from the shuttle 's giant external fuel tank during ascent and punched a lethal hole in its left_wing . nasa spent two years redesigning the tank and developed potential repair methods . but shortly after the discovery 's liftoff in its return to flight mission a year ago , several smaller but still hazardous pieces of foam fell from the tank . andrew s . w . thomas , an astronaut aboard that flight , recalled in an interview on friday that as it circled the earth , ''there were people saying , 'we 're the last shuttle flight . ' '' for that reason , saturday 's launching will be closely_monitored by batteries of cameras both at the space center and at other locations along the flight path . there is also an escape plan if damage is detected during the flight . the shuttle would dock at the orbiting space_station and the astronauts would move into it for weeks or months until a rescue mission by a second shuttle could be launched . a combined crew of nine would have to live under relatively cramped conditions in 1 , 800 square_feet of habitable space . ( the average new american home is more than 2 , 400 square_feet . ) michael t . suffredini , the manager for the international_space_station , said that under this ' 'safe_haven'' plan , the space_station was well stocked with the food , water and oxygen that the combined crew would need , with ''quite a bit of margin . '' but nasa would then be faced with the unhappy prospect of flying another shuttle with the same design flaws that caused the damage on the discovery flight . for all of the concerns about falling foam , however , many officials and astronauts say the biggest worries are the oldest ones , most prominently the shuttle 's main engines and solid rocket boosters during the crucial , bone rattling eight and a half minutes of flight before the main engines cut off . ''flying the shuttle is not without risk for many reasons way beyond foam , '' nasa 's administrator , michael d . griffin , said friday at a preflight news conference , ''and in fact , i worry that we spend so much time worrying about foam that we wo n't worry about other things that could get us . '' the three main engines burn more than 500 , 000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen that is pumped in from the external tank . and while they can at least be turned off if something goes wrong , the two solid rocket boosters flanking the huge fuel tank burn until their propellant is used up . the initial ascent is ''a controlled explosion , '' said mike mullane , a former astronaut , and ''the most terrifying part of the flight . '' by comparison , foam damage is a problem that affects re entry . ''if i was aboard that rocket , '' he added , ''i would n't be thinking at all about re entry . '' a storm on saturday afternoon , in the 10 minute time window when the launching_pad is in alignment with the space_station , would force a postponement because of the potential for other kinds of damage . at the enormous speeds of launching , raindrops become bullets that can damage the shuttle 's skin . nasa will not launch if there is rain on the launching_pad or in the flight path , if lightning has been detected within 11 . 5 miles of the pad , or if winds are more than about 34 miles per hour . high anvil shaped thunderclouds that are likely to produce lightning must be at least 20 miles away . if weather or a last minute technical problem causes the space agency to put off the flight on saturday , a second attempt will take place on sunday . if the weather proves uncooperative on sunday and right now the weather for sunday looks much like the weather for saturday , with the same 60 percent chance of a scrub then nasa will probably stand down until tuesday . if problems persist , or if a new issue emerges that requires more study and repair , the current launching window will last until july 19 , with the next opportunities coming between aug . 28 and sept . 14 . in nasa 's preflight review this month , some leading engineers argued against launching the current mission until areas of the fuel tank that still shed small amounts of foam could be redesigned . but mr . griffin , the head of the space agency , overruled the engineers , saying he did not agree with their assertion that a foam incident was ''probable'' over the life of the program and that the result would be ''catastrophic . '' he also said that the risk was to the vehicle and not the crew , who could wait aboard the space_station for rescue if the shuttle was damaged during ascent , and that he wanted to leave time to complete the 17 missions planned before president_bush 's deadline for ending the shuttle program in 2010 . on friday , mr . griffin defended that decision , contrasting the open discussion with the process that led up to the columbia_disaster , in which managers were found to have squelched dissent . this month 's preflight review was a healthy exchange of ideas and decision making about difficult issues , he said , adding , ''what you 're seeing is a good process . '' ''i think sometimes people mistake the desire to hear all of the opinions with the ability to agree with all of the opinions , '' he said . ''agreement is not offered . what is offered is a willingness and a desire to hear , and an obligation to speak . '' after the columbia_disaster , nasa was widely accused of letting scheduling pressures override safety concerns . but mr . griffin said schedules could not be ignored . ''this may be politically incorrect , '' he said , ''but there are no activities that humans undertake that do n't have a schedule associated with them . it matters if you finish a job this year or in the next decade . '' trying to work in 17 flights before 2010 , he said , was ''a schedule we can meet , but we need to get on with things . '' and he added ''i do not think i absolutely do not think and do not accept that we are being unduly influenced by schedule pressure . but we pay attention to schedule because time is money , and that matters . ''

has a location of germany

lead the united_states and the soviet_union have significantly narrowed their differences over the place of a united germany in europe but have apparently failed to make much progress on major arms control issues , the two sides indicated today . the united_states and the soviet_union have significantly narrowed their differences over the place of a united germany in europe but have apparently failed to make much progress on major arms control issues , the two sides indicated today . after three days of talks , secretary of state james a . baker 3d said the soviet foreign_minister , eduard a . shevardnadze , had signaled that moscow was prepared for the first time to drop its demand that a unified germany be neutral . mr . shevardnadze , however , rejected the western insistence that a unified germany belong to the north_atlantic_treaty_organization , a concept also endorsed by many warsaw_pact nations . he said moscow was open to any number of proposed pan_european security structures , and even to the idea that a united germany would belong to both nato and the warsaw_pact . summit meeting may 30 but given the tension between the united_states and the soviet_union over lithuania and their failure to overcome the remaining obstacles to treaties reducing long range nuclear_weapons and conventional forces in europe , this week 's meeting to prepare for a summit meeting in washington starting on may 30 seemed to mark a slowing of the momentum of american soviet relations after a year of steady progress . speaking of the arms control negotiations , mr . shevardnadze , who also met with president_bush today , said at a concluding news conference ''i will not hide from you the fact that here in washington we have encountered certain difficulties . this is a time of hard choices , hard choices that one has to make in the concluding stages of the talks . '' excerpts from the baker and shevardnadze comments , page 6. another meeting in moscow mr . baker and mr . shevardnadze scheduled another meeting in the soviet_union for may 16 to may 19 in hopes of making enough progress in arms control negotiations so presidents bush and mikhail s . gorbachev could announce agreements in principle in washington two weeks later . with only seven weeks to go before the summit meeting , however , several officials said that even agreements in principle would be extremely difficult , although not impossible . on the issue of germany , mr . shevardnadze said he was not persuaded by mr . baker 's argument that once east_germany is united with west_germany , perhaps by early next year , the united germany should keep bonn 's seat in nato rather than be neutral between the soviet_union and the western alliance . the soviet foreign_minister , referring to the american position , said ''we have pointed out that such an approach was one sided , and we have spoken in favor of a qualitatively new security system in europe to be achieved through a consistent transformation of the existing military political alliances and , subsequently , establishment of non bloc collective structures . in such a system the future germany , as well as other states , would take a place of its own . '' american officials said they were encouraged by the fact that the soviets seemed to be backing away from the german neutrality idea , and while they were not yet prepared to accept the notion of a unified germany in nato which is the preferred solution not only for all nato members but most warsaw_pact nations as well they were clearly moving in the right direction . ''i think it 's fair to say that there was a recognition that perhaps neutrality is not the best route to go , '' mr . baker said of the new soviet position . ''they were quite clear , however , in their view that a unified germany as a part of nato presented a problem to them . we were equally firm in our view that a unified germany must remain a member of nato , and that that would indeed provide stability , which is , after all , one of the major results that we all seek from the unification of germany . '' alternative european security frameworks will be at the heart of the negotiations about german_unification that are expected to begin at the end of april with the foreign ministers of the two germanys as well as those of the four victorious wartime allies the united_states , soviet_union , britain and france . ''i think it is possible that we will be able to find a mutually_acceptable way , '' mr . shevardnadze said , ''a way that will make sure that a united germany is a factor for stability in europe and that it never threatens anyone . i think that such a solution can be found . '' the pall cast by tensions over lithuania 's claim of independence last month may have affected some of the arms control negotiations , perhaps because the kremlin could not focus on some issues or because it felt that it has conceded enough to washington at this time of domestic vulnerability . when mr . baker and mr . shevardnadze last met in moscow on feb . 7 9 , they made major strides toward concluding a strategic_arms_reduction_treaty . but some thorny issues remained , like the range of air launched cruise_missiles to be included and the range and type of sea launched cruise_missiles that would be covered . the two sides failed to overcome those differences here . a senior administration official argued that some issues that had been considered resolved appeared to have been partly reopened by the soviet side , like the nature of assurances that the united_states is prepared to give on the size of its sea launched cruise_missile program . washington opposes formally codifiying such assurances in the treaty and american officials thought that the russians had agreed to this in moscow , an administration official said . u.s . floats missile proposal an administration official also said that the united_states had ''floated'' a proposal to ban mobile land based missiles that carry multiple_warheads but that this was not accepted by the russians at this time . mr . baker refused to discuss any details of the two sides' discussions on this subject , indicating that the discussions would continue . senator sam_nunn , the georgia democrat who heads the armed services committee , had been urging the administration to propose such a ban because he and others believe that it would difficult to verify limits on mirv 's , as such missiles are called , and because congress cannot afford to finance both of the mobile mirv systems the administration is seeking . progress was made on some very minor issues , like the duration of a start pact , which is to be 15 years , with the possibilty of a five year extension . regarding the conventional_arms talks , the two sides also failed to resolve their longstanding dispute over aircraft , the major issue holding up a conventional_arms accord . mr . shevardnadze suggested that one reason arms control talks were now so difficult was that not only the united_states is required to submit the treaties to the legislature for ratification , but also moscow . speaking of the negotiations , he said , ''let me say that it is increasingly being affected by the need to guarantee ratification of the future treaty in our parliament . '' earlier today , mr . shevardnadze interrupted his talks with mr . baker white_house for a two hour meeting with mr . bush at the white_house , during which he delivered a letter from mr . gorbachev . the bush_administration is clearly feeling somewhat vulnerable politically about going ahead with the summit meeting at a time when the kremlin seems to be ignoring repeated warnings not to suppress the baltic independence movements . bush refers to lithuania mr . bush and mr . baker repeatedly emphasized in their public remarks today that the administration was not turning a blind eye to the situation in the baltics , and that any violent soviet crackdown there could put the entire american soviet relationship at risk . they declined to elaborate , though , on what that might mean . the president said he ''urged the soviet_union to begin a good faith dialogue'' with the lithuanians to avoid any use of force ''because we have an awful lot at stake in the u.s . soviet relationship . '' pointing to that relationship , mr . bush said ''it gets into arms control , it gets into human_rights , the exodus of soviet jews , it gets into regional questions . this is a major relationship that affects the lives of people all over the world . i want to keep that going . so we 're not dictating , or attempting to could n't do that anyway but we are saying we want it to be peaceful . '' upheaval in the east

has a location of germany

lead the weimar_republic was born in 1919 , one month after the treaty of versailles , and lasted until 1933 , when it was deposed by the nazis . except for a few years prior to the world depression , the period was one of political and economic chaos that was in large part the result of the harsh terms imposed on the weimar_republic was born in 1919 , one month after the treaty of versailles , and lasted until 1933 , when it was deposed by the nazis . except for a few years prior to the world depression , the period was one of political and economic chaos that was in large part the result of the harsh terms imposed on germany by the treaty . nevertheless , the weimar government gave germany the most democratic constitution that it had received so far and presided over what was probably the most influential culture ever to arise there . this was the era that produced the far from objective new objectivity of otto dix and georg grosz and the more substantial realism of max beckmann , as well as the german branch of dada , pioneered by kurt schwitters and max ernst . it was also the heyday of walter gropius 's bauhaus , where everything required for a whole new society was taught , from architecture to typography and from painting to photography . one of the six weimar photographers that are now featured at the state university 's neuberger museum in purchase is laszlo moholy nagy , who taught at the bauhaus . most of the images representing him were taken during his tenure . the futuristically angled bird 's eye views of figures and landscape epitomize the school 's avant_garde optimism . albert renger patzch , although he belonged to the new objectivity movement , was more the esthete than the social commentator . a print by this photographer , whether it be of essen smokestacks or a grove of conifers loaded with snow ( he evidently could not resist towering verticals ) , is invariably a deep focus exercise in design and exquisitely graduated grays . as they are hung here , renger patzch 's pictures relate to each other like the lines of a sonnet the view of a railway viaduct supported by blind round headed arches next to a study of perpendicular style vaulting in a danzig church the fleshy leaves of a succulent close to portraits of clear eyed young country women . stephen jarecki , the organizer of the show and a curator of photography at the worcester art museum , where it originated , notes that hugo erfurth ''carried over into the late 1920 's the best german art traditions of the pre world_war i era . '' this and his frequent use of oil pigment as a printing medium makes him seem more old fashioned than he was . in fact , nothing could be more of its disaffected time than his portrait of the blond , cross looking otto dix ( who could be a forebear of robert rauschenberg ) or , for that matter , the companion study of the painter 's dark_haired wife , who is as plump as he is lean . erfurth pounces upon the dark slanting eyes of the young konrad adenauer , making him seem to have just arrived from the steppes of asia . his lovis corinth has the air of a fugitive from justice ( the painter never fully recovered from a stroke sustained in 1911 ) and his gropius is a mid 1920 's ''j . r . '' ( both prints are included in the catalogue but not the show . ) it is these likenesses more than any other that bring germany alive not just as the perennial villain of history but also as the embodiment of the spirit that bedeviled the empire builders of rome but that contributed so much to the civilization that they inaugurated . and it is just as well , for such a show inevitably arouses an almost prurient need to search for the causes of nazism as if images could reveal them . there are plenty of pictures guaranteed to fan the flame of obsession but none are more mesmerizing than august sander 's portraits of a student and a lawyer , both of whom are marked by dueling scars . not a beauty in the first place , the student wears a quasi military_uniform with a pillbox hat and the scars meander across his face like stray hairs . but it is the lawyer who makes the blood freeze , perhaps because he is a mature man posed in his robes of office . the cicatrixes that initiate an african tribesman into manhood are usually organized into a becoming pattern . the scars clustering around the lawyer 's mouth and biting into his hairline are as random as those on a street wise tomcat . sander , a pioneer of the disinterested approach made notorious by diane arbus and her followers , stops the show with his laconic record of humanity . still , it is not detachment that makes his picture of a little blind girl explaining something to a smaller boy with a gesture that he , being also blind , ca n't see so memorable . werner mantz captures another aspect of the period with his crystal sharp photographs of interiors and exteriors , many of them bauhaus in style , and with softer focused portraits of architects and other celebrities . even so , the pictures that will arouse the greatest interest in american viewers will most likely be those by dr . erich salomon . the son of a banker , salomon became the scarlet pimpernel of photojournalism by virtue of the adroitness with which he could conceal his camera when necessary . a major coup is the literally black and white shot of a witness testifying at a murder trial that he took through a hole in his bowler hat . generally , though , salomon 's prints are more impressive for their content than their appearance . for instance max planck , ramsay macdonald and a smiling einstein consorting with a mr . schmitz , of i . g . farben , and assorted politicians mussolini and dr . heinrich bruning in a caucus that manages to look conspiratorial despite being perched on foolish little 18th_century chairs upholstered in a floral design . sad to say , salomon 's resourcefulness did n't save him from auschwitz . making their last stop at the neuberger , these wonderful photographs remain through march 29 . by the way , visitors should know that the catalogue , though informative , was designed for a another , smaller version of the show and , as such , is not the greatest buy at 15 . art

has a location of germany

president_clinton arrived in germany for a three day visit today and faced immediate criticism of his administration 's plans to build a limited missile_defense system . in a 90 minute meeting with mr . clinton in the official chancellery , chancellor_gerhard_schroder added his voice to the chorus of european allies criticizing the administration 's plan , telling mr . clinton that it could touch off a new arms_race . standing beside mr . clinton following their meeting , mr . schroder told reporters that the american president presented his views on his administration 's position ''in a very frank way . '' mr . schroder added , ''i then went on and stated my concerns , concerns that we have to be very careful that any project does not re trigger the process of a renewed arms_race . '' in an interview that will appear in friday 's berliner_zeitung , mr . schroder was even more forceful , saying , ''neither economically nor politically can we afford a new round of the arms_race . no one can dispute the americans' right to develop what they believe is right for national defense . on the other hand , we are partners in a common alliance . '' other german officials have warned that the missile_defense would weaken military ties between the united_states and its european allies . and they have accused the united_states of overstating the threat . in his own remarks to reporters , mr . clinton did not respond to mr . schroder 's assertions . but in briefing reporters later , the national_security adviser , samuel r . berger , acknowledged the criticism . ''he expressed his concern that we proceed with due consideration for the impact on others , including europe , '' mr . berger said in summing up mr . schroder 's remarks . a number of european leaders are concerned that a missile_defense system could upset existing disarmament accords , particularly the 1972 antiballistic_missile treaty with russia , which must be amended to allow for the missile_defense plan . neither mr . clinton nor any of his aides have made the point at least not publicly that the administration 's plan is far less ambitious than one proposed by george w . bush , the presumptive republican nominee for president , who is ready to abandon the abm treaty as a relic of the past . but mr . berger stressed that the discord was ''not at all sharp , '' adding , ''it was a very intelligent discussion of a very complicated issue . '' for his part , mr . clinton laid out the american conviction that it must find ways to counter dangerous emerging nuclear threats like north_korea . ''i 'm concerned about how we proceed with europe and their sense of comfort level with this , '' mr . berger paraphrased mr . clinton as telling mr . schroder . ''but ultimately , i 've got to make a decision in terms of national_security . '' mr . schroder 's criticism slightly tarnished the opening of mr . clinton 's visit to berlin , the first by an american president since the city became the capital of a united germany following the end of the cold_war . on friday mr . clinton travels to aachen , the ancient capital of charlemagne , to receive the charlemagne prize , awarded annually to a person who has worked toward european unity and prosperity . on another area of contention between the united_states and germany , mr . clinton expressed concern over germany 's handling of child custody cases involving american parents . according to the state_department , germany favors german parents in custody cases and prevents american parents from gaining access to children living in germany . two prominent cases involve lady catherine meyer , the wife of sir christopher meyer , the british ambassador in washington , and joseph cooke , a new yorker . lady catherine 's two sons from a previous marriage were abducted by their german father she has been allowed to see them for a total of 24 hours in the past six years . mr . cooke has been fighting to regain custody of his two children , who were handed over to foster parents in germany seven years ago after his wife , a german , fled there with them and declared she was mentally ill . mr . schroder announced today that germany would set up a working group of experts with the united_states to investigate custody disputes involving american parents , but warned he could not interfere directly in the court system . mr . clinton has recently come under pressure from an organized lobby of american parents who complain that germany has violated conventions guaranteeing the return of kidnapped children . last week , the house of representatives endorsed the effort in a resolution , voting 416 to 0 .

has a location of germany

lead foreign_minister hans_dietrich_genscher of west_germany urged president_reagan today to press for the elimination of chemical_weapons and for reductions of battlefield nuclear_weapons in europe . administration officials said that cuts in battlefield nuclear_weapons with ranges under 300 miles was a low arms control priority and that there would be little progress on the chemical arms issue until the united_states can verify the destruction of the weapons . foreign_minister hans_dietrich_genscher of west_germany urged president_reagan today to press for the elimination of chemical_weapons and for reductions of battlefield nuclear_weapons in europe . administration officials said that cuts in battlefield nuclear_weapons with ranges under 300 miles was a low arms control priority and that there would be little progress on the chemical arms issue until the united_states can verify the destruction of the weapons . mr . genscher is visiting washington as a representative of the european_community .

has a location of germany

lead the state_department today criticized a soviet demand that american warheads for west_german missiles be destroyed as part of missile accord in europe . the state_department today criticized a soviet demand that american warheads for west_german missiles be destroyed as part of missile accord in europe . the soviet demand was made in a formal statement monday at the geneva arms talks . the russians also presented a draft treaty on medium_range arms at that time . but today charles e . redman , the state_department spokesman , criticized the demand . ''the soviets had never previously raised the question , '' he said . ''for them to raise this issue now suggests a lack of serious intent . '' on monday some officials said that they had expected the issue to be raised and that the elimination of the warheads should be considered . the united_states has taken the position that the nuclear_weapons of its allies should not be covered by a soviet american treaty . but while the british and french have their own nuclear_warheads , the warheads for the west_german missiles are under the control of the united_states . mr . redman and other officials had a mixed reaction today to verification proposals in the soviet treaty draft . ''the soviets have noted that they will be seeking seeking a verification agreement in some of the basic areas which we require , '' mr . redman said . but he added that ''the devil is in the details'' and that an extended , technicial discussion was still required . for example , an american specialist said there were potential problems with the language in the soviet draft saying that inspection would be carried out at ' 'declared'' sites . under the draft , reductions of medium_range_missiles will be carried out over five years and each side would ultimately keep 100 warheads outside europe . the draft treaty reportedly says that inspections should be carried out ''where necessary . '' government experts said that this language would have to be clarified . they said the language suggested that each side might have to make a case for carrying out specific inspections . the united_states has proposed that each side carry out a limited number of inspections without having to justify them in advance . the americans said the soviet draft was more demanding in one respect . the russians suggest on site inspection for missile test sites and training ranges , while the united_states has not proposed this . the americans have proposed that each side have the right to make a limited number of visits to ''undeclared'' sites that could be used to produce or keep medium_range_missiles . the soviet draft contains no such provision . the americans said the two sides also disagreed about how the reductions were to be carried out . the russians reportedly talk about two stages , with a 50 percent reduction in the first stage . this would leave them with a temporary advantage in europe until all medium_range_missiles are eliminated since the russians have about three times as many medium_range missile warheads as the united_states . the united_states has been considering a three stage process , with each side being left with the same number of warheads after the first stage . this would require the russians to make almost all the reductions at first . aleksei a . obukhov , the soviet negotiator , today complained that under the american draft , the soviet_union alone would be making reductions ''over a considerable period of time . '' administration officials said the question of how to schedule the reductions was not a major issue and would eventually be worked out .

has a location of germany

lead as secretary of state james a . baker 3d prepared for his trip last last month to vienna , where foreign ministers gathered to begin a new round of conventional_arms talks , state_department officials were considering ways to turn the tables on the russians . as secretary of state james a . baker 3d prepared for his trip last last month to vienna , where foreign ministers gathered to begin a new round of conventional_arms talks , state_department officials were considering ways to turn the tables on the russians . the americans came up with a plan they hoped would counter the ability of the soviet leader , mikhail s . gorbachev , to win west european public opinion through arms control initiatives . mr . baker would announce a significant speedup in the removal of american chemical_weapons from west_germany , the administration 's first unilateral move on arms control . but a funny thing happened on the way to vienna . the proposal , first considered as part of the administration 's review of policy toward moscow , then developed as a separate initiative , ran into objections from the pentagon . in the end , a watered down proposal called for withdrawing american chemical_weapons from west_germany by about 1990 , two years earlier than scheduled under an american west_german understanding . public_relations points the state_department officials said it would allow the united_states to score public_relations points by inviting the soviets to witness the destruction of the weapons and challenging them to remove theirs from continental_europe , including soviet territory . moscow insists it does not have chemical_weapons in eastern_europe . the officials said speeding the weapons' withdrawal could also bolster chancellor helmut_kohl 's position in west_german elections in 1990 . but officials in the pentagon felt the initiative suffered practical problems . the administration would have to prepare a new environmental_impact_statement , they said , to take account of the chemical_weapons transported ahead of schedule to johnson island in the pacific , where the united_states is developing an installation to destroy poison_gas . additional storage sites would have to be built quickly , and their safety would have to be assessed . further , the united_states would have to speed efforts to develop airtight containers to transport the weapons safely . a senior pentagon official observed ''it 's one of those ideas that looks great at first . but when you try to make it happen , you run into a host of very practical concerns . '' but where the defense_department sees practical concerns , some state_department officials see pentagon handwringing . ''any time you try to do anything , there are lots of people who think of the problems . there is no can do attitude , '' a state_department official complained . ''we 're paralyzed . '' significantly , state_department and pentagon officials even differ on how to interpret mr . baker 's remarks in vienna . ''i am happy to announce that as one of his first acts , president_bush has directed our new administration to explore ways to accelerate the removal of our existing chemical_weapons from germany , '' mr . baker said . ''the early removal of these weapons will require available safe storage and the development of practical plans to destroy them . '' a state_department official said that should be read as a commitment to accelerate the removal of the weapons and to explore how to do it . but a pentagon official argued that the commitment promised was to explore the more basic question of whether a speed up was feasible . withdrawing might be possible by late 1991 , he said . while the administration is still actively pursuing the idea of an early withdrawal of chemical_weapons , the pentagon continues to insist that the practical problems remain , and it looks like it is not going to be easy for president_bush to steal the spotlight from the soviets .

has a location of germany

three months after the germans celebrated their national unity with a holiday , teachers and students at universities in what used to be communist east_germany fear for the future . hundreds of professors and students packed into the big humboldt university in eastern berlin on friday to protest steps by government officials who are moving to sweep out remnants of marxist scholarship . the universities are fighting back , with charges of western german patronizing that they say is hindering a self purification process . at the meeting in the main assembly room , still called the marx engels auditorium , there was only thin applause when the dean of the medical_school , dr . harald mau , called for the voluntary departure of communist teachers who " distorted scholarship . " " i demand this , " he said . " renewal without this is impossible . " but there was stormy , rhythmic applause when the rector , heinrich fink , accused the government of stripping the school of its autonomy and pledged to test the constitutionality of the government steps . the history of the humboldt university stretches back to the glory days of german scholarship . situated along eastern berlin 's broad unter den linden boulevard , it was once known as the royal friedrich wilhelm university , but was renamed by the communists for the 19th_century scholars wilhelm and alexander von humboldt . after the communist takeover following world_war_ii , it became the showpiece of communist control of education , forcing dissident professors in 1948 to desert to west_berlin , where they founded the free_university . with the fall of communism , chancellor helmut_kohl 's conservative christian democrats say that since the universities have not done their housecleaning , government education planners will have to step in . but measures designed to push out former communist professors and rid the universities of institutes dealing mainly with communist theory and practice have bogged down in the intricacies of labor law and the resistance of teachers fighting for their jobs . government officials have reached an agreement with humboldt university to abolish and then re establish the law , philosophy , history and teacher training departments , affecting about one quarter of the nearly 20 , 000 teachers and students there . at karl_marx university in leipzig , the institutes of law and political_science are to be closed along with the journalism_school , whose training courses for communist propagandists earned it the nickname " the red cloister . " but prof . fink said humboldt university would go to court to fight government interference . " we now find ourselves in a state of law , " he said , " and we will employ all the means that we were once unable to use . " students have been organizing strikes and occupying university buildings in leipzig , halle and rostock , on the baltic_sea , to press demands for maintenance of their schools .

has a location of germany

lead secretary of state george p . shultz said today that a strong nuclear_arsenal was crucial for western security after intermediate_range nuclear_missiles in europe are destroyed . secretary of state george p . shultz said today that a strong nuclear_arsenal was crucial for western security after intermediate_range nuclear_missiles in europe are destroyed . speaking at a news conference after meetings with west_german leaders , mr . shultz seemed to be sending a strong message to those in west_germany who now urge the elimination of battlefield range nuclear_weapons . ''we all recognize that the nuclear_deterrent has kept the peace in europe for the past 40 years , '' he said . ''and so as far as anyone can see ahead , we 're going to have to continue to rely on nuclear deterrents . '' mr . shultz called predictions by conservative critics that the u.s . soviet treaty eliminating medium_range_missiles will lead to denuclearization ''nonsense . '' he added , ''people who say you 've eliminated one therefore we 're in danger of eliminating everything , i do n't quite get it . '' warsaw_pact a concern united_states soviet agreement on the elimination of medium_range_missiles has been met by increasingly public opposition to the shorter missiles in west_germany , where battlefield weapons would likely be used . many germans are also deeply concerned about the potential threat from the warsaw_pact because of its advantage in conventional_arms and from the soviet_union 's arsenal of short range nuclear_weapons . last week , chancellor helmut_kohl called the problem of short range missiles not covered by the treaty ''of special significance for our people in light of the drastic numerical superiority of the soviet arsenal . '' but west_german leaders did not raise the politically sensitive issue of short range weapons in their meetings with mr . shultz , according to a senior state_department official . and mr . shultz said that ''there was hardly much chance'' to discuss the problem . '' regional and rights issues the meetings focused instead on regional and human_rights issues discussed at the summit conference , trade and the united_states economy and priorities within nato , the senior state_department official said . although the short range missile issue remains a thorny political problem within germany , there is no attempt by bonn to break the unity of the alliance on how to proceed with further arms reductions , the official said . ''there are differences of views and i 'm not going to tell you there is n't concern , '' the official said , adding that in germany , ''yes , there is a public discussion of this issue , and no , it 's not an issue in the alliance . ''

has a location of germany

a sampling of opinion about the city 's future as a cultural_capital , compiled by kevin cote , editor of zitty , a biweekly guide to cultural events in berlin . thomas ostermeier theater director i think , yes , berlin will become the cultural_capital of germany . the question is what you believe culture to be , though . west_berlin was unique for a while an island city , no military conscription , a big university , lots of independent theater , a dream of an alternative life style come true . all this got a second wind with the fall of the berlin_wall . squatted houses , this time in east_berlin a new , impulsive music scene . theater was also part of it . it was possible to see a city emerging that was being created out of itself . but the official cultural policy today is more directed at drawing big names into the city . through this so called lighthouse principle , a kind of showcase culture is supposed to develop . in the theater business there is on the one hand a spreading hysteria , and on the other a certain overestimation of the value of what it might mean to produce works here . a number of theater people believe you 've got to be here because what took place here in the 1920 's when playing berlin was the goal of every provincial actor or director is being brought back to life . the situation is similar now . policy_makers are trying to create an image of berlin as the center of german theatrical life . anatol gotfryd art collector i 'm afraid berlin 's cultural scene wo n't amount to much as long as we do n't have a daily newspaper with an arts section that is influential across the nation . this has always been a problem in postwar berlin . richter and beuys first exhibited here , baselitz and lupertz lived here , but each had to go elsewhere to become famous . culture will not function in a city without influential criticism . another point is the presence of institutions that promote culture , and most of those in berlin have either disappeared or had their budgets reduced drastically . there was a microclimate of culture in west_berlin as long as there were subsidies . as a result of political lack of interest today , berlin 's culture is in a state of disintegration . it must be reorganized . you notice it most in the theater , where there have been closings . but the real problem is that there 's no real vision any more . in the 60 's and 70 's , there was upheaval straight across the board in the arts because there was a vision . and berlin , west_berlin , played a role impulses originated here . but today , what kind of vision can you expect from sponsors like the deutsche_bank ? jane garber fashion_designer berlin is definitely developing into a cultural_capital . i ca n't say much about the situation earlier in west_berlin i can only judge from the perspective of east_berlin 's former underground scene . and what 's happening now is a further development of what we were doing then . lots of people that i know from those days are still working , but under different conditions . sure , life has become more diverse in many respects , but it was also diverse back then . in comparison with paris , i 'd say berlin has lots more diversity in its arts and cultural life . i find paris much more conservative , stuck in a rut in a way . maybe it 's because here you had these two cities that suddenly came together , and in the process a clash of two fundamentally different cultures . the result was n't a unified german culture that could easily be interpreted . instead , you had two that complemented and advanced each other . a good example is on the club scene after all , that 's culture , too . you wo n't find anything comparable in paris . mirko heinemann rock musician berlin is on the way to becoming a cultural_capital . there are signs on the horizon . at the moment , the city is still off the beaten track in the pop and rock_music scene . we 're in the east , far from the music centers of london , paris and new york . the big record companies never paid a lot of attention to berlin , though that 's changing . columbia records is planning on moving here from frankfurt in september or october . the sony_corporation is moving its european headquarters here . these are signs that the music_industry will be placing more importance on berlin . virgin is expanding its presence here . columbia is searching for talent scouts . so it 's clear the big companies are looking more closely at the local music scene . a network of artists is just emerging from the underground and beginning to earn a bit of money . booking agencies are also becoming more important . earlier they were located in frankfurt or stuttgart or even smaller cities . now they 're moving here or working with local agencies , who are very busy at the moment . when the infrastructure is set up , it will draw talent . i already know of musicians from hamburg , cologne and munich who are all moving to berlin . sasha waltz choreographer in berlin the audiences are curious , and they are quite open for unknown performances and artists , so there is a lot of diversity on the cultural scene . but in other respects the city has changed a lot since i came here in 1990 . i had a grant and was looking for space , for opportunities to make things happen . there was plenty of open space in the eastern part of the city , in mitte . i had my first studio in the hackesche hof . a lot of artists from different countries were attracted there too they could feel the energy . then we all had to move out . the investors came in and tore the place apart , and now there is a huge new complex there . we 're hoping the sopiensaele , the space where i work now , will survive . the danger is that money is being redirected to bigger cultural projects . but when everything is too tightly organized , when funds are already apportioned in advance , it is very difficult to give a chance for something new . a city needs a free pool of artists and opportunities for the arts to take root and grow . i 'm often referred to as a ''young , up and coming talent'' but i 'm established now . there has to be something left over for artists who really are at the beginnings of their careers and need support . hans_joachim neumann film critic there is a lot of everything in berlin plenty on the stage , lots of film , lots of literature . quantitatively , there is much , but in terms of the quality that radiates out of berlin , it is less . compared with what was going on here in the first third of this century anyway , much less . quantity is always confused with quality here . there is no real metropolitan spirit in berlin . in paris , new york and london there are narrow minded , dimwitted people , but there are also business elites , artistic elites , technical elites . we do n't have any of these people in berlin . they have been eliminated in steps . it started with the immigration in 1933 , then the murder of the jews , and continued with the expulsion of the merchant class after 1945 in the east , and the exodus out of west_berlin after the wall went up in 1961 . berlin 's heyday as a cultural_capital cannot be reconstructed so quickly . barbara blickensdorff gallery owner everyone is living under the impression that the outlook is very good , that something is happening , developing . but at the moment , it 's more like marching through deep sand . you have to work incredibly hard to get anything organized . for visual_arts , berlin is truly tough going . we 're missing a broad , deep layer of private collectors . sure , there are good collectors and also highly cultivated people here , but far fewer than in other places like cologne or frankfurt or dusseldorf . in berlin , people like to look at art they are interested in artistic innovation . but buying is not necessarily the next logical step . so as a gallery owner you have it much harder here than elsewhere in germany . but at the same time , it is more exciting . there is all this creative potential just flowing into the city . a lot is taking place here , but only because of the extraordinary efforts of people behind the scenes . yotta kippe art student i 'm not sure berlin will gain in importance as far as the arts go . there is a lot going on , but the big things are somehow always subsidized , like the berlin biennial for contemporary_art . you can always do something with this kind of money , but it 's not the same as money from private individuals , from collectors . for that reason , it 's harder to make a living here as an artist than in other european cities . there is just not a collecting consciousness . even established artists here depend on their professorships for income . baselitz insists that he gets more for his teaching assignments . i also work in brussels , and there , people are truly interested in collecting . at every opening there you always see a few red dots on the titles of sold works , which is not the case in berlin . though it is difficult for artists here in general , i 'm not pessimistic . there is too much going on that is really positive . there are plenty of initiatives that are not motivated purely by profit , so we still have lots of idealistic galleries . volker diehl gallery owner there are few places in the world where so much is happening on the social and cultural fronts in such a short period as in berlin . the problem for the future is that the whole idea of location is not so important as it was 30 , 40 years ago . in those days , you could n't fly to anywhere in the world within a few hours for a few hundred dollars . in those days , the location , whether it was new york or paris , really was important . this is a danger because many people today wo n't decide for berlin , saying location makes less difference . the other problem is that development intervals have become so short , so tight , that if a place has n't evolved as expected in three or four years , people lose patience . there were a lot of investors with cultural interests in berlin at the start of the 1990 's . they looked around for a while , then said '''this is taking too much time . the politicians and bureaucracy are slow moving we ca n't make money i 'll invest somewhere else . '' today we hardly give a city a chance to develop . from the formation of the german reich in the 1870 's until the 1920 's , we had five decades to develop into a central , world class metropolis . the location issue and the compressed time factor are real burdens for the city 's future cultural development , and i do n't know what can be done to counteract them . the new berlin

has a location of germany

here 's something the internet did n't have a role in the fall of the berlin_wall . but making up for lost time , the web has an abundance of sites that pay homage to the event , which occurred 10 years ago this week . the national archives and records administration has a small exhibit on its web_site ( www . nara . gov exhall originals kennedy . html ) with a reproduction of a handwritten cue card from president john f . kennedy 's ''ich bin ein berliner'' speech near the wall on june 26 , 1963 , and a typewritten card from president_reagan 's 1987 address in which he implored mikhail_gorbachev to ''tear down this wall . '' a more personal look at the wall can be found at chris de witt 's berlin_wall page ( www . appropriatesoftware . com berlinwall welcome . html ) , which includes essays and photographs by mr . de witt , a briton . and the berliner morgenpost has the sad tale of chris gueffroy at ( www . go on . de bm international inhalt 0499 wallvictim . html ) , the wall 's last victim , who was shot to death less than a year before the wall came down . henry fountain news watch

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german officials heatedly protested remarks made by representative_tom_lantos , a democrat of california who is chairman of the house_foreign_affairs_committee , in which he described former chancellor_gerhard_schr_der as a ''political prostitute'' for taking a job with a russian state gas company . the government spokesman , ulrich wilhelm , said the comment , made in a speech at the dedication ceremony for a victims of communism memorial in washington on tuesday , was ''unseemly . '' the foreign_minister , frank walter steinmeier , said it had breached the bounds of decorum and was a ' 'discredit'' to mr . lantos . mr . schr_der has been criticized within germany for his new job , overseeing a pipeline project . mark_landler

has a location of germany

the new supreme commander for american_forces in europe , gen . james l . jones , is considering a plan to scale back the presence of american_troops in germany in favor of lighter , more mobile units that could jump from country to country on a moment 's notice , according to congressional officials who were briefed on the proposal . the plan , which appears to be in the early phases of development and has not been formally presented to secretary of defense donald h . rumsfeld , grows out of general jones 's experience as commandant of the marine_corps , where he championed the idea of having bare boned ''lily pad'' bases scattered around the world , rather than having american_forces tied down to a few sprawling bases . but the idea is sure to be contentious for two reasons . first , germany 's relations with the united_states have been deeply strained by the opposition of chancellor_gerhard_schr_der to the use of military force to disarm iraq . any talk of pulling american_forces out of germany , no matter how preliminary , is sure to heighten the impression that the two countries are pulling further apart . second , general jones 's idea would impose a major cultural change on the army , effectively asking it to behave more like the marine_corps . any such proposal would be sure to engender resentment within the army , which is already feeling embattled by pentagon planners who think it is too hidebound . members of congress and their aides who were briefed about the concept last friday before a nato meeting , said general jones had only presented the plan as something he was thinking about , and did not suggest that mr . rumsfeld was pressing for its adoption . ''my impression was that this was not yet a plan , but some preliminary thinking that , when completed , he would present for further consideration , '' said one senate aide . but there is little doubt among the members of congress that mr . rumsfeld is playing a significant role in pushing the proposal forward . the secretary has been an advocate of making american_forces lighter and more mobile . some of his closest advisers have argued that american bases overseas will become more and more vulnerable , and should be replaced by forces that can move quickly across long distances from more secure redoubts . furthermore , general jones was mr . rumsfeld 's selection for supreme commander of american_forces in europe , and it is likely mr . rumsfeld would have encouraged the general to develop his ideas . while general jones 's proposal might appear to grow out of recent german american tensions , pentagon planners have been searching for ways to restructure american_forces in europe , and particularly germany , since the cold_war ended . threats and responses military

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at a time of growing signs of neo nazism in the german armed forces , a government_agency has registered new apprehension about surging racism in the former east_germany . a report says that right wing extremists are using the internet to boast of ''foreigner free'' zones , threatening to keep foreign born residents out of certain discos and cafes . for several years , right wingers have used the internet and computer bulletin_boards to gain access to white supremacist web_sites in the united_states and elsewhere and to send encrypted messages between extremists in germany . but the annual report published last week by the government office that addresses issues relating to foreign residents was the first official allusion to the use of the internet to stir up ethnic violence in the east . racism there is widely ascribed to discontent over mass unemployment rather than the actual presence of a growing foreign population . germany has europe 's highest proportion of foreign born residents almost 9 percent of its population of 82 million . but most of them live in prosperous western cities . unemployment in the east is even higher than the national average of around 11 percent . the biggest group of foreign born residents in germany is some two million turks . but in recent years , there has been a huge influx of balkan war refugees and asylum_seekers and clandestine immigrants from eastern_europe and africa . cornelia schmalz jacobsen , the director of the office that issued the report , said that , in some areas of the east , ''foreign residents and visitors are advised not to leave their homes alone after dark . '' right wing extremists in at least 25 towns in the east , she said , had posted internet proclamations of ''foreigner free'' zones to be enforced by the extremists . typically , he said , an internet announcement would say that ' 'such and such a club has now been liberated . '' but , ms . schmalz jacobsen said , ''these are not liberated zones , but occupied zones . '' german authorities were deeply alarmed by a wave of violent xenophobia after unification seven years ago . in 1993 , the authorities launched twin crackdowns on right wing groups and on illegal_immigration hoping to suppress extremist politics and simultaneously to stem the flow of foreigners . but that has not solved the problem , the report said , even though the number of crimes attributed to racism has fallen slightly to 2 , 323 in 1996 from 2 , 468 in 1995 . right wing extremism is generally attributed to an estimated 6 , 500 hard core activists along with some 35 , 000 people classified by the federal office for the protection of the constitution as nazi sympathizers . the display of nazi emblems , like swastikas and stiff armed salutes , is banned in germany . but in recent weeks many germans have been stunned by disclosures chronicling neo_nazi activities in the army . one scandal erupted when the news_magazine der_spiegel reported last week that manfred roder , a neo_nazi with a criminal_record of bombings , had been invited to give a speech to the country 's most prestigious military academy in 1995 . the defense minister , volker ruhe , suspended a lieutenant_general and instituted disciplinary_action against a colonel because of the invitation .

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a report in the world briefing column on wednesday about a reward offered by the german police for information on the shooting of an american soldier misstated the amount . it is about 5 , 400 , not 4 , 600 .

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lawyers for the victims of a 1986 anti american bomb attack on the la belle disco in berlin requested life sentences for four people charged with the bombing . earlier this month the prosecution also demanded life sentences for the four , a palestinian , yasir shraydi , a libyan , musbah eter , and ali and verena chanaa , both german nationals . prosecutors said mr . shraydi , who worked for the libyan embassy in east_berlin , had organized the attack on behalf of the libyan secret services . the bombing killed two american servicemen and a turkish woman and injured more than 200 people , many of them american_soldiers . victor_homola ( nyt )

has a location of germany

klaus j . jacobs , a german born billionaire who lives in england and studied at stanford , came back to his hometown here the other day to announce that he was donating more than 250 million to the international university bremen . the gift is the biggest private donation ever made to a german university so big , in fact , that its only real parallel is the kind of mega philanthropy that periodically swells the coffers of american universities . that is precisely the point for mr . jacobs and for the newly appointed president of the university , joachim treusch . ''i hope that this sets a precedent , '' mr . jacobs , 69 , said . ''there is a lot of wealth in private and corporate hands in germany . it certainly would be desirable to see more of it going to institutions . '' mr . treusch aspires to vault the international university bremen into the front rank of german universities . to do that , he has decided to rename this five year old institution jacobs university bremen to honor its benefactor and to serve notice of its american style ambitions . ''stanford is not a place but a name harvard is not a place but a name , '' mr . treusch said in an interview after the announcement . ''international university bremen was a rather flat name . '' it was also on the verge of bankruptcy . now restored with the money from mr . jacobs , this fledgling institution is determined to chart a new course in a country that helped pioneer the modern research university in the 19th_century but has lost its edge in recent decades . mr . jacobs , a swiss citizen who was born in this bustling northern german city , said he hoped his gesture would encourage more large scale philanthropy in a land where it is largely unknown . private giving to german universities is limited by several factors , ranging from the lack of a philanthropic tradition to rules that limit the amount of tax free donations . the biggest hurdle , however , is the state , which has historically been the main financier of higher_education . one result is that german universities lack the resources of their american rivals . the united_states spends 2.6 percent of its gross_domestic_product on higher_education the germans , only 1.1 percent . germany 's most famous universities heidelberg , humboldt and munich are public institutions , largely financed by federal and regional governments . until recently , tuition was nominal . starting next year , they will be allowed to charge 500 euros ( 635 ) a semester . ''in germany , the call for the state is the easy one to make , '' said mr . jacobs , who inherited his family 's coffee company and expanded it into chocolate , amassing one of europe 's great private fortunes . ''it 's always there , and if you shout loud enough , you get the money . '' the bremen university , which teaches engineering , science , humanities and social_sciences , is private one of a few dozen in germany . though it received some start up capital from the bremen government , it has had to survive on tuition and fund_raising . tuition for undergraduates is 19 , 050 a year , and 550 a month for room and board . fund_raising has been erratic , apart from a gift of 10 million swiss_francs ( 8 million ) from the jacobs foundation in 2001 , which established the jacobs center for lifelong learning . without this new gift , the university would have run out of cash by next april . ''it 's about the minimum we needed to stay open , '' said mr . treusch , a theoretical physicist who negotiated the donation with mr . jacobs over three months . ''we still have to struggle , but that 's o.k . '' the decision to rename the university for a businessman was not universally welcomed . a few students complained that it was not dignified . in germany , extreme wealth is still viewed with suspicion rather than reverence . others countered that the jacobs name and money would help the university establish a distinct brand image , not to mention keep it afloat . it is to receive 15 million_euros ( 19 million ) a year from the jacobs foundation for the next five years to defray its operating expenses . in 2011 , mr . jacobs will turn over the balance of the gift 125 million_euros ( 158 million ) to support teaching and research ''at a competitive level . '' the notion of competition is also evolving in germany . since the early 1970 's , when admissions were thrown open by government decree , there has been a sort of artificial equality among german schools , which masked disparities in the quality of teachers and students . now germany is acknowledging those differences by channeling hundreds of millions of euros into so called elite universities , chosen last month by a panel of public officials and scholars . the international university bremen did not make it into that charmed circle , but the gift from mr . jacobs is double the amount that the three elite schools the university of munich , the technical university of munich and the university of karlsruhe will each receive over the same period . germany has other private universities , but they tend to specialize in disciplines like law or management . otto beisheim , a wealthy merchant , endowed a management school at witten herdecke university , germany 's oldest private university , in the industrial ruhr_valley . jacobs university is housed on a converted german_military base . three quarters of its 1 , 000 students come from outside germany , with half from eastern_europe and russia . classes are taught in english . that cosmopolitan mix appealed to mr . jacobs . ''there is no other university like this in europe , '' he said . putting his name on the door in bremen , mr . jacobs said , was as big a risk for him as it was for the university , since their fortunes are now publicly linked . still , he said , he would play only an advisory role . why did n't mr . jacobs give his millions to his own alma_mater , the university of hamburg ? ''they did n't ask , '' he said . correction november 17 , 2006 , friday an article on nov . 8 about klaus j . jacobs , a german born billionaire who is donating more than 250 million to the international university bremen , misstated the name of an institution that another german businessman , otto beisheim , endowed . it is the whu otto beisheim school of management in the rhine valley at vallendar . despite its use of the acronym whu , derived from german , it is not affiliated with the witten herdecke university in the ruhr_valley .

has a location of germany

lead lothar de maiziere , east_germany 's first freely elected head of government and probably its last , conferred today with president_bush on german_unification and related issues . lothar de maiziere , east_germany 's first freely elected head of government and probably its last , conferred today with president_bush on german_unification and related issues . east and west_germany are preparing to establish monetary_union in three weeks and while political_union will take longer there is no question that prime_minister de maiziere 's part of germany will ultimately be absorbed by the federal_republic . he was elected in march on a platform of bringing about german_unification as swiftly as feasible . president_bush appeared to wish to enlist mr . de maiziere in a campaign to create full membership in the north_atlantic_treaty_organization for a united germany , a plan endorsed by chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany but opposed by the soviet_union . after a half hour formal meeting , mr . bush continued his discussion with mr . de maiziere over lunch . the white_house made a point of emphasizing that it was the first meeting between an american president and an east_german head of government . bush calls union essential marlin fitzwater , the white_house spokesman , said afterward that ''president_bush reiterated our firm position that a united germany , acting as a full member of nato , is essential to european security and stability . '' mr . de maiziere 's response was not immediately made clear , but in an address this evening at georgetown_university , the east_german prime_minister took a different tack , saying german_unification must ''take into due consideration the security interests of our east european neighbors , primarily those of the u.s.s.r. , poland and czechoslovakia . '' he also said german unity ' 'must stimulate progress of the c.s.c.e . process'' a reference to the 35 country conference on security and cooperation in europe , which began life in helsinki in 1975 . mr . de maiziere suggested that a strengthened conference in the form of a ' 'security and peace union'' could initially function as a complement to nato and the warsaw_pact and then ultimately supplant them . this suggestion is closer to soviet policy as articulated by president mikhail s . gorbachev in washington at the beginning of this month than it is to the thinking of president_bush and chancellor kohl . the east_german leader met briefly on capitol_hill with representative lee h . hamilton , democrat of indiana , and other members of the house_foreign_affairs_committee and subsequently with a group of american businessmen . this evening he presented the united_states holocaust memorial council with the keystone of an arch of the oranienburgerstrasse synagogue in berlin . the synagogue , one of the largest in the world when it was built in 1866 , was damaged by nazi storm troopers during the kristallnacht pogrom of nov . 9 , 1938 . evolution in europe

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lead defense_secretary_dick_cheney said today that political change in eastern_europe may eventually allow nato to scale back its plans for defending europe . defense_secretary_dick_cheney said today that political change in eastern_europe may eventually allow nato to scale back its plans for defending europe . in keeping with his recent statements , mr . cheney welcomed east_germany 's decision to open its border with the west while cautioning against making any immediate cuts in nato forces . but mr . cheney also suggested in an interview that continued moves toward democracy in eastern_europe may eventually lead the north_atlantic_treaty_organization to revise its military plans . for example , it may make less use of active units and more use of reserves . 'bolder set of assumptions' nato members are already studying what sort of military structure they might have after a new agreement cutting conventional forces in europe is concluded . continued political change in eastern_europe , mr . cheney said , will enable western military planners to ''factor in a bolder set of assumptions . '' one planning contingency , he said , is an eastern_europe that ''is dominated by noncommunist , democratically_elected regimes that are still part of the warsaw_pact . '' ''if you can assume such a europe , you may have more warning time and lean more heavily on reserves , '' mr . cheney said . ''you may be able to able to make different assumptions about the extent to which those governments might join with the soviet_government'' in a hypothetical conflict . 'seeds of instability' at the same that mr . cheney noted the longer_term possibility for altering nato 's military posture , he cautioned against any immediate cutbacks . ''rapid change also contains within the potential seeds of instability , '' mr . cheney said . ''you have got to assume that there are elements that are not enthusiatic about tearing down the wall , '' he said , referring to some east_german politicians . clamor in the east the balance of power

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lead president_reagan sought today to undercut europe 's perception of mikhail s . gorbachev as a leader of peace , bluntly challenging the soviet leader to tear down the berlin_wall . president_reagan sought today to undercut europe 's perception of mikhail s . gorbachev as a leader of peace , bluntly challenging the soviet leader to tear down the berlin_wall . speaking 100 yards from the wall that was thrown up in 1961 to thwart an exodus to the west , mr . reagan made the wall a metaphor for ideological and economic differences separating east and west . ''there is one sign the soviets can make that would be unmistakable , that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace , '' the president said . ''secretary general gorbachev , if you seek peace if you seek prosperity for the soviet_union and eastern_europe if you seek liberalization come here , to this gate . ''mr . gorbachev , open this gate . ''mr . gorbachev , tear down this wall . '' mr . reagan made the remarks with the brandenburg_gate in east_berlin in the background . an east_berlin security post was in view . the berlin police estimated that 20 , 000 people had turned out to hear the president , but some observers thought the crowd was smaller than that . the soviet press agency tass said that mr . reagan , by calling for destruction of the wall , had given an ''openly provocative , war mongering speech'' reminiscent of the cold_war . reagan peers into east_berlin before the speech , mr . reagan peered across the wall from a balcony of the old reichstag building into east_berlin , where a patrol boat and a gray brick sentry post were visible . later , when asked how he felt , he said , ''i think it 's an ugly scar . '' asked how he regarded a perception among some people in europe that mr . gorbachev was more committed to peace , mr . reagan said , ''they just have to learn , do n't they ? '' administration officials had portrayed the speech as a major policy statement . but the main new initiative was a call to the soviet_union to assist in helping berlin become an aviation hub of central_europe by agreeing to make commercial air service more convenient . some reagan advisers wanted an address with less polemics but lost to those who favored use of the opportunity to raise east west differences and questions about mr . gorbachev 's commitment to ending the nuclear arms race and his internal liberalization policies . ''in europe , only one nation and those it controls refuse to join the community of freedom , '' mr . reagan said . ''yet , in this age of redoubled economic_growth of information and innovation , the soviet_union faces a choice . it must make fundamental changes or it will become obsolete . '' shield of bulletproof glass speaking with two panes of bulletproof glass shielding him from east_berlin , mr . reagan stressed a theme of freedom and peaceful reunification of berlin . that was a point made by president_kennedy in his ''ich bin ein berliner'' speech two years after the wall was built . ''standing before the brandenburg_gate , every man is a german , separated from his fellow men , '' mr . reagan said . ''every man is a berliner , forced to look upon a scar . '' using this speech to portray moscow as the villain in the arms_race , mr . reagan said 10 years ago it had challenged the western alliance with a ''grave new threat'' by deploying ss 20 nuclear_missiles that could strike west european capitals . but , mr . reagan said , the alliance remained strong and had deployed pershing 2 and cruise_missiles , so the prospects for eliminating such nuclear_weapons is ''within the reach of possibility . '' ''while we pursue these arms reductions , i pledge to you that we will maintain the capacity to deter soviet aggression at any level at which it might occur , '' he said . mr . reagan , whose speech was broadcast to west european_countries , said it was unclear whether mr . gorbachev 's campaign of liberalization represented ''profound changes'' or ''token changes . '' the wall has been an attractive symbol to american_presidents , including mr . kennedy and jimmy_carter . taking note of that pattern , mr . reagan said , ''we come to berlin , we american_presidents , because it is our duty to speak in this place of freedom . '' the trip , in which mr . reagan also took part in a ceremony celebrating berlin 's 750th anniversary , provided the president with a lift at the end of the economic summit meeting in venice of the seven major industrialized_democracies . at the end of a second event in berlin , at tempelhof airport , miniature parachutes rained down as symbols of the 1948 49 airlift that kept the city alive during a soviet land blockade . greeted by kohl chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany greeted the president and then flew aboard air_force one to bonn to receive him there . speaking before the president , mr . kohl said that the countries of the soviet_bloc 's warsaw_pact ' 'must abandon their conventional superiority and their aggressive military_doctrine . '' suggesting berlin as a start for cooperation between east and west , mr . reagan urged international meetings , summer exchanges of youngsters from west_berlin and east_berlin , culture exchanges and sports events , including olympic_games jointly in the two countries . several times , mr . reagan addressed addressed the germans in their language . in one case , mr . reagan made a special appeal to east berliners by saying , ''es gibt nur ein berlin , '' or ''there is only one berlin . '' he began his remarks by quoting from a popular old song ''i come here today because wherever i go , whatever i do 'ich hab' noch einen koffer in berlin , ' or 'i still have a suitcase in berlin . ' ''

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lead in its first detailed comment on a soviet proposal that a unified germany belong to nato and the warsaw_pact , the bush_administration rejected the idea today as a guise for making a united germany neutral . in its first detailed comment on a soviet proposal that a unified germany belong to nato and the warsaw_pact , the bush_administration rejected the idea today as a guise for making a united germany neutral . during his talks in washington last week , foreign_minister eduard a . shevardnadze of the soviet_union signaled more clearly than ever that moscow was prepared to drop its insistence that a united germany be neutral . as an alternative , mr . shevardnadze and other soviet officials began to suggest in public statements here and in moscow that a united germany become a member of both alliances for a five to seven year transitional period that would lead to the formation of some new , undefined pan_european security structure . no hesitation for u.s . although the soviets have not formally submitted such a proposal to the administration , the white_house did not hesitate today to dismiss what they have heard of the idea . the administration also put forth ideas of its own on how to meet the soviet security concerns without accepting the plan . nevertheless , administration officials understand that if they want moscow to accept a united germany in nato , they are going to have to provide president mikhail s . gorbachev with some sort of political cover so that he can move from his present position to one acceptable to the west . more palatable to moscow they see that being done through a package of ideas that would disguise and make more palatable a united germany in nato . among the alternatives being discussed would be that nato become a more political , less military alliance and that the 35 nation conference on security and cooperation in europe , of which the soviets are members , would take on some functions , like serving as a clearinghouse for troop_movements and for other confidence building measures . other ideas are that the soviets be allowed to station troops in east_germany for a transitional period , that the united germany give the soviets specific security guarantees regarding what weapons it will maintain and where its army might be deployed and , finally , that nato agree not to extend its forces into east_germany . this ''new soviet suggestion that germany should be a member of both nato and the warsaw_pact is another formula for neutrality , '' said the white_house spokesman , marlin fitzwater , in dismissing the soviet plan . ''we are opposed to neutrality . '' rightly or wrongly , administration officials are quietly confident that the soviets will eventually recognize that with all nato members , virtually all warsaw_pact members and the west germans favoring a united germany 's becoming a member of nato , the kremlin will sooner or later have to fall in line . the underlying attitude in the administration toward moscow on that issue was described by one official as ''we won , you lost . your allies are asking you leave , ours are asking us to stay , so we are not equals . '' the idea of a united germany being a member of both alliances is dead in the water as far as the administration is concerned , since a germany that is in both alliances is a germany that in effect is in neither . on peace guarantees mr . fitzwater said the idea of a neutral germany floating between east and west was one that ''the germans themselves and their neighbors believe is undesirable . '' ''we believe that the preservation of nato 's multinational defense structures and the full participation of germany within the alliance is the best guarantee for longterm peace and stability in europe and for continued progress in arms control and in east west relations . ''all western nations and some of the eastern_bloc nations have also told us that they believe a unified germany should be a part of nato , and that it would be a stabilizing factor for germany and for the region . '' the soviets , said one state_department official , have been privately telling the administration for months that a united , powerful germany adrift in the middle of europe is not a good idea . they have also signaled privately that they would like to see some continued united_states presence in europe as a stabilizing force . called a bargaining position ''well , if you add those two things together , most political mathematicians would say they add up to a united germany anchored in nato , '' said the official . ''the soviets do n't like that math , though , so are looking around for some new math , something that adds up differently . '' administration officials say they realize that they are rejecting the public version of the latest soviet proposal on germany , which they view simply as a bargaining position and little else . the private soviet position may be more interesting . one official commented that if the soviets were insisting that a united germany be a member of both alliances as a transition to some nebulous 35 nation pan_european security structure , then they will never be interested in the idea . ''it might as well be the league of nations , '' the official said . ''but if this proposal is a way of making a transition to a united germany ending up in nato , then it may have some merit . '' a meeting of allies soviet and american diplomacy will take on a serious , concrete form in the first week of may , when foreign ministers from the two germanys , along with the four wartime allies the united_states , soviet_union , britain and france are expected to gather in bonn for the first ''two plus four'' negotiations about germany 's future status in europe . state_department officials said the white_house had decided to extend the tour of ambassador jack f . matlock jr . as ambassador to moscow . administration officials said the recent talks that president_bush held with the west_german foreign_minister , hans_dietrich_genscher , prime_minister brian_mulroney of canada , and those scheduled with prime_minister margaret_thatcher of britain and president_francois_mitterrand of france are primarily focused on forging a united western position before the opening of the talks . in another area of united_states soviet relations , president_bush today assured leaders of baltic american groups that he was firmly committed to the march toward independence in lithuania and other baltic_republics . but he rejected their pleas to extend diplomatic recognition to the self declared lithuanian government . ''our policy , we believe , is the correct one and it does not involve recognition , '' mr . fitzwater said at a briefing after the oval_office meeting . in an hourlong meeting with 14 representatives of the american communities of lithuania , estonia and latvia , the president indicated that the fate of the three states annexed by the soviet_union in 1940 is high on the administration 's agenda . one administration official said , ''we would look askance at any efforts on the part of the soviets to use force or intimidation in this process . '' upheaval in the east

has a location of germany

lead it is midday in this bavarian village , and otto huber is speaking with an intensity that makes his eyes squint . he tugs and twirls the shaggy black hair and beard surrounding his broad face . a few hours earlier , he had delivered the lines opening the morning segment of the daylong oberammergau passion play . it is midday in this bavarian village , and otto huber is speaking with an intensity that makes his eyes squint . he tugs and twirls the shaggy black hair and beard surrounding his broad face . a few hours earlier , he had delivered the lines opening the morning segment of the daylong oberammergau passion play . now he is expounding warmly on the problems of revising this world famous drama , for which he is deputy director as well as a leading actor . obergammergau is in fact the site of two dramas , not one . there is the passion_play itself , produced almost every 10 years since 1633 when village elders voted to retell the story of christ 's death and resurrection if god spared the remaining population from a plague . then there is the other drama , the efforts by villagers like mr . huber , prodded by christian theologians , church officials and jewish critics , to revise the passion_play , a presentation that many christians , in oberammergau and beyond , have regarded as semisacred . as the 43 year old mr . huber talks over his scarcely touched lunch , and continues his reflections over coffee after the afternoon segment of the play , that second drama becomes as compelling as anything seen on the village 's sweeping open air stage . the chief target for revision has been , of course , the play 's anti semitic themes and stereotypes . these were inherited from medieval prototypes , reinforced by 19th_century dramatic convention and commended by none other than adolf_hitler , who viewed the 300th anniversary performance with satisfaction in 1934 . one would think that anything carrying hitler 's endorsement would be immediately disinfected if not discarded until , that is , one recalls the pride and piety of an alpine village whose play predates the third reich by nearly three centuries . oberammergau is not an isolated backwater . when the town 's music teacher , rochus dedler , rewrote music for the play in 1811 , he did not produce folk melodies , but an oratorio leaning heavily on haydn and mozart . at the same time , oberammergau is enough of an enclosed society to bristle at the plentiful criticism , which since the holocaust has run the gamut from campaigns to boycott the pageant to patient proposals of detailed changes by christian scholars and jewish representatives . even the slightest change in text or costume needs approval from an oberammergau committee that includes the entire town council plus local clergy and specially elected delegates . the panel also chooses , using longstanding criteria , which oberammergau natives will play all the major roles . it takes only a passing familiarity with small town politics to imagine the problems . mr . huber said he and christian stuckl , the innovating director of the play , had only a one vote majority among the town council members , and shifting support among the special representatives . still , for the first time the production this year casts a married woman in the role of the blessed mother , opens major roles to protestants and enlists youths in important parts even though it meant relaxing the standard that major actors be devout churchgoing roman_catholics . the humanity of jesus is underlined in his genuine agony on the mount of olives . each of these changes is still the subject of debate and grumbling in the village of 5 , 000 inhabitants . from outside , people have warned that god would punish bavaria or unleash a third world_war because of the village 's unfaithfulness . in fact the village seems to take faithfulness very seriously . but some villagers , like mr . huber , recognize that they have to be faithful to more than a text written in 1850 . they also have to be faithful to the gospel , to which many of the passion_play 's details are imaginative additions , and to the gospels' message of love and redemption . does n't it even become ' 'dangerous , '' mr . huber wonders aloud , to present a passion_play that isolates jesus 's trial and execution from the deeds and teachings of his prior life ? what can be made of a medieval theory of redemption in which ''an angry god must be appeased'' by the bloody sacrifice of his son ? mr . huber 's eye tightened further as he mentions the modern theologians and early church fathers he has studied and the ways in which each generation inevitably reshaped the passion_play not only to make it meaningful to their lives but also to reflect passing ideologies . as mr . huber talks , oberammergau becomes a microcosm of the christian_churches as a whole . the struggle to be faithful , they are always discovering , is not at all a simple one . regarding the treatment of jews and judaism , that struggle is not yet resolved . dozens of changes in the text , the costumes and the staging have been made to excise anti semitic stereotypes and to remove the impression that jesus 's death was the responsibility of the jewish people . the role of pontius pilate is underlined . so is the jewishness of jesus and his disciples . but the ugly bones of the old plot show through . although scripture is rich in explanations , historical and theological , of why jesus was put to death , here the conniving defenders of jewish law overshadow everything else . mr . huber and his fellow revisers have done about all they can with the present text . theologically , its melding of the four gospel accounts into a single ''factual'' narrative contradicts what is now recognized about the distinct perspectives of the gospel writers . dramatically , the result is unwieldy , mixing the stylized and the naturalistic , interrupting the action to encompass a detail of scripture or sometimes of pious legend . there is an historical exhibit in oberammergau this year showing the evolution of passion plays . theoretically , the exhibit is for the benefit of the visitors , but mr . huber hopes it will also have an impact on the town residents . it may remind them that oberammergau 's play has passed through at least four quite different scripts over the centuries as well as dozens of minute changes . not only could the vestiges of anti_jewish sentiment be removed but the best religious and dramatic instincts of villagers like mr . huber could also be served if oberammergau 's officials authorized an entirely new script to start the new century .

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lead the soviet_union today welcomed the offer by chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany to dismantle 72 medium_range nuclear_missiles in west_germany if moscow and washington agree to scrap all medium and shorter range rockets . the soviet_union today welcomed the offer by chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany to dismantle 72 medium_range nuclear_missiles in west_germany if moscow and washington agree to scrap all medium and shorter range rockets . a spokesman for the soviet foreign ministry said the possibility of concluding a new superpower arms agreement was now ' 'realistic . '' ''of course , after the statement of helmut_kohl , the situation has changed for the better , '' the spokesman , gennadi i . gerasimov , said at a news conference here . 'no problems' on verification mr . kohl announced wednesday that once the superpowers reach an agreement to scrap all their medium and shorter_range_missiles and carry it out , west_germany would dismantle the 72 pershing 1a missiles that soviet leaders had identified as the last major stumbling_block to such a pact . in bonn , chancellor kohl 's proposal was generally viewed as something of a political coup . news analysis , page a7 . mr . gerasimov also praised the latest american proposal on verifying such a treaty , saying the soviet_union now sees ''no problems'' in assuring that both sides comply . he noted that minor differences remained to be worked out , but said , ''taking into account that the united_states has changed its position on the verification , we think that all these problems can be solved by the diplomats who are engaged in the negotiations in geneva . '' reagan speech is condemned but even as he expressed optimism that an arms agreement was at hand , mr . gerasimov condemned president_reagan 's speech wednesday on u.s . soviet relations as ''a heavy , cold rain'' at ''a delicate juncture . '' mr . reagan 's remarks at a speakers' forum in los_angeles included an upbeat_assessment of the arms talks , but he also challenged the soviet_union to publish its military_budget and open a domestic debate on its weapons policies , and criticized the soviet involvement in afghanistan and other regional conflicts . the soviet spokesman chafed at what he called mr . reagan 's ' 'didactic tone'' and accused mr . reagan of ''a primitive approach'' to international_relations . ''it has almost become a rule that before every important soviet american meeting , the american side starts to play up the hostility , '' mr . gerasimov said . ''it happened like this last year and the year before . now , unfortunately , the president himself has started to do it . '' chatting with reporters after his briefing , mr . gerasimov said , ''we did n't like the speech . it smelled of cold_war . '' mr . reagan 's gibes at the soviet_union were given more press and television coverage today than mr . kohl 's offer , suggesting that the soviet_union is being careful to avoid raising expectations before an arms deal is completed . three small hurdles ahead aside from the sharp response to mr . reagan 's remarks , the tone of mr . gerasimov 's remarks today was one of muted but unmistakable hopefulness . when asked about specific obstacles remaining to an agreement and a summit meeting , the soviet spokesman cited three , all apparently readily soluble he said the united_states must make clear that not just the west_german pershing 1a missiles but their 72 american controlled warheads will be destroyed . that is probably a formality since mr . kohl 's offer appears to make the warheads useless . the two sides must resolve remaining differences over how each side can verify that the the treaty is being obeyed . mr . gerasimov said the new verification proposal presented by the united_states in geneva on tuesday , reducing the number of intrusive on site inspections each side could demand , was a positive step . ''we see no problems in this respect , '' he said . negotiators must work out final details of a timetable for destroying the missiles . the american side contends that the soviet_union , which has more missiles , should begin the destruction process first and continue until equal numbers remain on each side . the soviet_union wants both sides to being demolishing missiles simultaneously . mr . gerasimov indicated this could be resolved without great difficulty by negotiators in geneva . 'a delicate juncture' ''soviet american relations are at a delicate juncture now , '' the soviet spokesman said . ''both countries recognize and welcome the realistic possibilities to conclude an agreement on the elimination of medium_range_missiles and of shorter_range_missiles . '' just a week ago mr . gerasimov and another senior soviet arms official , viktor p . karpov , were warning that the lack of progress in geneva might lead to cancellation of a scheduled mid september meeting between foreign_minister eduard a . shevardnadze and secretary of state george p . shultz in washington . but today mr . gerasimov said the meeting would definitely take place . moscow welcomes offer on missiles

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with remarks ranging from the frosty to the outraged , german officials today brushed aside united_states_government criticism of germany 's attitude toward the scientology movement . the officials said they would not be deterred from inquiries to see whether the organization should be placed under surveillance or outlawed . in its annual human_rights report on thursday , the state_department gave more prominence than before to assertions from the church of scientology , based in los_angeles , that the 30 , 000 members it says it has in germany are subject to harassment , sometimes with official approval . the scientology movement has stirred controversy among germans in recent weeks by renewing its comparisons between its treatment at the hands of the bonn government and the persecution of jews in nazi_germany . some hollywood personalities signed a full page newspaper advertisement this month criticizing the german attitude . the most vehement response to the state_department report came today from the predominantly roman_catholic southern state of bavaria , which bars scientologists from jobs in public service and wants the organization banned . ''we will not be intimidated by a massive smear_campaign , '' bavaria 's justice minister , hermann leeb , said , referring to the state_department report and an avalanche of advertisements , internet articles and news releases issued by the scientology movement in recent days . even in bonn , the government spokesman , peter haussmann , said at a news conference today that the german authorities saw no reason to be diverted from what he termed their ' 'duty to publicize scientology 's practices and protect citizens from them . '' the interior_ministry confirmed today that state officials were studying the possibility of placing the scientology movement under surveillance to establish whether it was engaged in unconstitutional activities . the legislation has been used in the past to ban extreme political groups on the right and left and organizations regarded as having terrorist aims , like the kurdish workers party . unlike the united_states , germany does not accord scientology the tax breaks and other rights of recognized religions . german critics of the scientology movement label it an exploitative sect harboring conspiratorial designs , saying it brainwashes followers and brings them to emotional and financial ruin . but in their firm rejection of scientology , german adversaries also reflect what mr . haussmann , the government spokesman , today called ' 'differing_views rooted in the history and constitutional traditions'' of germany and the united_states . the goal of the movement , according to its literature , is ''to bring an individual to an understanding of himself and his life as a spiritual being . '' although it likens the present german_government to the nazi_regime , german officials argue that it is precisely because of their history that they are sensitive to the perils of totalitarian movements growing from modest beginnings . last year young members of chancellor helmut_kohl 's governing christian democratic_party boycotted a tom_cruise movie , and a concert by the jazz pianist chick corea was canceled , because the two men are scientologists . on wednesday , bernd protzner , the general secretary of the christian_social_union the bavarian sister party of the christian democrats accused the scientology movement of ' 'slanderous rhetoric . '' heber jentzsch , president of the church of scientology , in turn , accused the bavarian party of ''teutonic arrogance and insensitivity . ''

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lead ten days ago , a handful of the highest ranking officials of the bush_administration gathered in george_bush 's kennebunkport home on a rocky promontory overlooking the maine coast . mr . bush told the group he wanted to take ''a bold step'' to deal with mikhail s . gorbachev 's initiatives . ten days ago , a handful of the highest ranking officials of the bush_administration gathered in george_bush 's kennebunkport home on a rocky promontory overlooking the maine coast . mr . bush told the group he wanted to take ''a bold step'' to deal with mikhail s . gorbachev 's initiatives . administration officials , in relating the events that led up to today 's announcement of mr . bush 's new arms control proposals , said that mr . bush told the group he was irritated at both his own agencies and at the europeans . he was irked that the defense and state_department bureaucracies had said that cuts in american_troops and planes in europe were unthinkable . and he was irritated at the europeans for complaining to senior american officials that united_states foreign_policy seemed improvised and foundering . he was also unhappy with the west germans for seeking immediate talks with the russians on reducing short range nuclear_weapons . and he was irritated at domestic critics of his foreign_policy speeches . annoyance with gorbachev above all , his closest aides said , mr . bush was annoyed with mr . gorbachev for privately sending to him what he believed were mixed_signals while preparing to make public a major proposal on reducing troops , tanks and artillery in europe . by the time most of the senior officials left , mr . bush had made his basic decision to cut 30 , 000 american_troops in europe , accept the soviet position that aircraft in europe should be included in a conventional_arms treaty in europe and fix a date within the year to accomplish the reductions by 1992 or 1993 . the initiative gave mr . bush , who is by nature very cautious , something that had eluded him for the four months of his presidency a foreign_policy initiative that rivaled those of mr . gorbachev . by all accounts , mr . bush decided to forge a major arms control initiative around may 10 , when mr . gorbachev , in moscow , indicated privately to the visiting secretary of state , james a . baker 3d , that the soviet_union was moving toward the framework of the western position for cutting conventional_arms . 'seriousness of intent' the north_atlantic_treaty_organization had begun conventional_arms talks in vienna on march 9 , proposing that an agreement be limited to tanks , artillery and armored_personnel_carriers . the soviet_union wanted to broaden negotiations to include aircraft and troops . now the soviets seemed to be moving toward the allies' position . ''gorbachev discussed with the secretary a general soviet response to our march 9 proposal , '' a senior administration official said . ''it was lacking in several respects as far as we were concerned , but nevertheless did show an overall thrust in the direction of the nato proposal , and did indicate a seriousness of intent . '' mr . bush quickly ordered defense_secretary_dick_cheney and the joint_chiefs_of_staff to shape an arms control initiative in response the secret one made by mr . gorbachev . but mr . bush 's enthusiasm was dampened by public comments by mr . gorbachev and his foreign_secretary , eduard a . shevardnadze , in the weeks that followed . the comments led administration officials to suggest that mr . gorbachev was grandstanding . private vs . public at the same time that mr . gorbachev was privately informing washington that moscow was moving toward the west on the conventional_arms issue , the soviet leader announced he would withdraw 500 nuclear_warheads from eastern_europe , a move described by mr . cheney as ''a pittance'' and a ''p . r . ploy'' that only deepened divisions in the nato alliance . mr . shevardnadze then threatened to retain ss 23 nuclear_missiles banned under the 1987 treaty on intermediate_range missiles ( although he later retracted the threat ) . it was then disclosed that mr . gorbachev had told mr . bush in a letter that he had stopped sending arms to nicaragua . this also annoyed mr . bush , because he saw it as another empty gesture in light of what washington views as cuba 's major shipments of soviet made arms to nicaragua . ''it was frustrating because gorbachev was getting a lot of credit but producing nothing , '' a senior administration official said . despite this , mr . bush and his senior aides , including brent_scowcroft , the national_security adviser , and secretary of state baker felt that the private gorbachev proposals on conventional_arms demanded attention . crowe heavily involved adm . william j . crowe , chairman of the joint_chiefs_of_staff , was heavily involved in drafting the american plan . several administration aides said that the decisions on the plan were kept to a handful of ranking officials , and out of the hands of arms control and defense specialists in the pentagon and state_department who have argued that reductions in manpower sought by moscow would be extremely difficult to verify . reductions in land based combat aircraft have also been opposed in the past by some influential officials in the government , partly in response to french opposition . a senior administration official said that the soviet proposal to include planes and helicopters posed a problem because they are regarded as ''principally a defensive part of our posture . '' he said the proposal to reduce troops was problematic because of the difficulties of verification . ''but the president decided it was important enough to try to exploit this opportunity , '' the official said , and that resulted in the proposal today . 'we 'll deal with both' another senior aide said ''the president felt we had a very serious negotiating position from them . we ought to come forward with a position that meets their concerns . '' ''he wanted something clean , easy to understand , '' said a white_house aide . ''he wanted to do something bold . why not focus on u.s . and soviet_troops ? it 's easy to implement and , besides , it responds to congressional pressure on the need for more burden_sharing by europe . '' coincidentally , the kennebunkport meeting took place on may 19 , the day before the visit of the french president , francois_mitterrand . mr . baker and mr . scowcroft stayed on for the mitterrand visit and discussed an element of the proposal designed to ease the dispute between the united_states and west_germany over short range nuclear_missiles . the united_states has resisted bonn 's call for talks soon on the missiles , arguing that they might result in the elimination of the weapons and leave western_europe vulnerable . 'accelerate the timetable' mr . mitterrand had suggested days earlier that nato await the progress of negotiations on conventional_arms before reaching an agreement on short range nuclear_missiles . the president told the french leader that he was working on a similar proposal . in his proposal today , mr . bush urged both sides to ''accelerate the timetable'' for reaching an overall agreement on conventional_arms reductions . the soviet_union had set a target date of 1997 . ''i believe that it should be possible to reach such agreement in six months or maybe a year , and to accomplish the reductions by 1992 or 1993 , '' said mr . bush . it was unclear if mr . bush told mr . mitterrand about the aircraft proposal , or if the french were offically informed later in the week by lawrence s . eagleburger , the deputy_secretary_of_state , who was sent abroad late last week to brief allies on the bush plan . last tuesday , the soviets officially placed their conventional_arms plan on the table at the talks in vienna . that night , mr . bush scrapped a foreign_policy speech he planned to deliver at a commencement ceremony the next day at the coast guard academy in new london , conn . speechwriters worked on drafts through the night , and mr . bush reviewed the speech at 6 30 the next morning . he was still working on the speech while flying to new london . ''the soviets are now being forthcoming , '' mr . bush told the coast_guard graduates . ''we hope to achieve the reductions that we seek . ''

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from the neck down , otto schily is very much the bourgeois gentleman pocket watch , tailored suit , elegant cufflinks , somber tie . but look up at the mop of hair and mischievous eyes of mr . schily , the german interior_minister , and some of the contradictions of the man and his country begin to come into focus . the official who represents law and order in this most ordered of nations , he is an iconoclast a defender of the revolutionary red_army_faction during the 1960 's , celebrated lawyer in the 1970 's , founder of the environmentalist green_party in the 1980 's , tough social democrat in the 1990 's and bon vivant with a love for tuscany throughout . germany is changing . in place of the monolithic figure of helmut_kohl , with his taste for sausages and his unswerving dedication to europe and the trans_atlantic alliance , a new class of germans have come to power . they are more checkered in their pasts , more nuanced in their allegiances more inclined , like mr . schily , to love olive_oil than wurst . germany is no longer a prisoner of the cold_war . it is ever less a prisoner of its past . it is learning , fitfully , to relax and is now full of people like mr . schily , who have walked a long german road to emancipation . to allies , including the united_states , this change is disorienting . it involves a departure from the scene of the predictable german solid , solemn , unsurprising . but to mr . schily and his colleagues it is a sign of democratic maturity . at the age of 66 , the interior_minister is the doyen of the new ''red green'' government of chancellor_gerhard_schroder . he is also , in his long journey from protest to power , a typical figure . like the chancellor , a former marxist , and like foreign_minister joschka_fischer , a revolutionary agitator in the 1960 's , mr . schily once flirted with the far left . he defended members of the baader meinhof gang in court . ''i am not of the 1960 's generation , '' mr . schily said . ''i had a steady job as a lawyer and family by then but i was drawn in . and i think that even if 1968 was a failure in the end , it contributed decisively to the birth of civil_society in germany . '' and what , then , was the germany that predated this civil_society ? ''for a long time after the war , '' he said , ''we had the old german system of being subject to authority . germany in the 1960 's was a repressive society . it took a long time even to talk of certain things , and perhaps it is only recently that we have achieved a true democratic opening and overcome our fear of change . '' as interior_minister , mr . schily will oversee one of the decisive changes proposed by mr . schroder 's government the scrapping of old immigration laws based principally on german stock or bloodlines and the introduction of legislation to enable many of the 7.4 million foreigners to become citizens . that number now includes many children born to immigrants in germany . this shift , with its implicit acknowledgment of the country 's multiethnic makeup , seems likely , over time , to alter germany 's self_image . for mr . schily , it is a step ''of historic dimensions . '' but he says this with a relaxed smile , one that says change is in the nature of democracy a normal thing , part of the ebb and flow of politics . he is among the many germans who have followed their country from allied tutelage to independent statehood , to the first stirrings of unrest , to willy brandt 's memorable call in 1972 for ''risking more democracy , '' to prosperity , unification and , at last , the freedom that lies in the conviction that the country has earned the right to chart its own course . but that freedom , for the interior_minister , clearly comes with a keen sense of responsibility . mr . schily is no starry eyed reformer . listen to him on the subject of admitting new immigrants ''we have reached the limits , the point where we have to say we cannot bear any more . the majority of germans agree with me zero immigration for now . the burden has become too great . i would not even dare publish the costs that stem from immigration . the greens say we should take 200 , 000 more immigrants a year . but i say to them , show me the village , the town , the region that would take them . there are no such places . '' in other words , as germany sets about offering citizenship to foreigners already inside the country who amount to about 9 percent of the population and constitute by far the largest number of foreigners in a european state it is not about to open its doors to others . germany , for mr . schily , must be tolerant but not permissive . the interior_minister has long walked such fine lines , formed by the tension between impulse and rigor . born into a distinguished family his father was a prominent industrialist and another forebear , victor schily , a close friend of karl_marx he spent his adolescence during the war in bavaria . the family opposed hitler , and mr . schily recalled the nazis storming into the family home in 1941 and ripping up books . after the war he moved to west_berlin , studied law and set up practice in a conservative law_firm . here , in the rarefied atmosphere of a city that became a magnet to artists and intellectuals , he found that the idealistic view of the united_states he had formed during the war was progressively eroded by vietnam and by american support for what he called ''the shah 's police_state in iran . '' on june 2 , 1967 , he went to a demonstration in berlin against the violation of human rights in iran . a student , benno ohnesorg , was shot dead by the police . shocked and outraged , mr . schily , then 34 , decided to represent the student 's family . ''at that time , '' he said , ''an egg on the boot of a policeman was officially called a breach of the peace . i felt very critical of the whole political situation , and compelled to make a stand . '' notoriety came from the ohnesorg case . as the red_army_faction extended its insurrectionary operations , mr . schily emerged as a natural choice to defend the likes of andreas baader and gudrun ensslin . he did so with energy and determination , but unlike other defense lawyers including klaus croissant and hans christian strobele he was never charged with involvement in the terrorist movement and never arrested . ''i could have refused , '' mr . schily said , ''but i still believe that people like ensslin deserved a defense . that was an antiliberal time and the atmosphere was very tense . we were under enormous psychological pressure , and i still say that these court proceedings had no value from the point of view of the rule of law . how can you work in court and be made to feel accused yourself ? '' peter glotz , the dean of erfurt university , who has long known the interior_minister , said ''mr . schily accepted the cases through a basic conviction that everyone deserves a lawyer . he was always a radical liberal , never a supporter of terrorist methods or aims . he also enjoyed being in the public eye , as he does now . but principle drove him . '' so , apparently , did ambition . a latecomer to politics , mr . schily worked with petra kelly as a founding member of the greens in the late 1970 's and was one of the party 's three spokesman when it first entered the legislature in 1983 . he had been moved to help forge the party by an interest in ecology and a desire to open up germany 's relatively closed political system , rather than by strong support for the pacifism espoused by the greens . ''we opened up a closed shop , '' he said , ''and that in itself was a critical catharsis for germany . '' but the sharply dressed lawyer , dealing in the real world with a strong streak of pragmatism , was always something of an anomaly among the tree hugging greens . mr . schily became impatient with the party 's egalitarianism ''promis'' ( or prominent people ) were always suspect and with the refusal of the party 's ''fundis'' ( or fundamentalists ) to confront the realities of the fight for political power . he finally abandoned the greens in 1989 and joined the social democrats . today , his relations with the greens are uneasy , strained by his hard_nosed statements on further immigration . ''how can you be liberal to foreigners who are here , and so hard to those who want to come ? '' said cem ozdemir , a green legislator of turkish descent . ''mr . schily 's policy is going to create the impression of a double_standard , and i fear that prejudice will be reinforced . '' but the interior_minister seems unlikely to change his stance to placate the social democrats' junior coalition partners . like mr . schroder , he knows that even in a changed germany , the middle ground remains important . to have struggled so long with the left is to know the power of german conservatism . ''it is not a question of being immigration friendly , or immigration hostile , '' mr . schily said , his eyes glinting . ''it is merely a question of reality . ''

has a location of germany

what exactly does it mean to be german ? few questions in our century have proven more formidable and fraught with strife . in " u ni ty , " an enigmatic but powerful new show at the museum_of_modern_art , michael schmidt , a photographer from berlin , addresses the puzzle of german identity yet again . he offers no easily graspable answers , but his stark installation of black and white photographs , some his own and others taken from the mass_media , set up a tense fabric of suggestions about the nature of germanness and the condition of german society . the immediate focus of mr . schmidt 's series of photographs is the recent reunification of the country , as his somewhat cutesy title makes clear . the hyphens are meant to suggest the uneasy assimilation of the formerly communist east into what was west_germany . but beyond issues of east and west , communism and capitalism , mr . schmidt creates a kind of meditation on history and identity by juxtaposing painfully familiar images from germany 's troubled past with scenes from its uncertain present . the results raise more questions than they answer , which is undoubtedly mr . schmidt 's intention . the work 's allusive meanings come not from individual pictures , but from the carefully sequenced whole . all the photos are verticals , printed exactly the same size and presented in identical dull metal frames hung in a single line around the room . this stark installation , suggesting a film strip or a series of photographic flash cards , undersc 'res the sense that the pictures are to be read as links in a subtly nuanced narrative chain rather than as separate images . the sparely designed b'ok version of the project , by scalo publishers , makes this even more apparent . perhaps two thirds of the photos are blown up details of images from newspapers , magazines or other sources , but even mr . schmidt 's own pictures have a deliberately anonymous style . most are portraits , with people shot in close up , their unflattering expressions frozen by stark flash lighting . mr . schmidt himself appears in one picture , an id photo of some sort behind a grid . other images display a range of social types virtually all are captured in off moments , metaphorically and sometimes actually in mid blink . perhaps the most striking aspect of the way the photos are presented is that mr . schmidt has done away with any identifying captions or titles . a noncommittal wall label introduces the overall project but gives no hint to the subjects of any of the individual pictures . as a result , german viewers are apt to get more from the work than other people would . for example , two s'ots near the entrance to the exhibition show a stanza from the german national_anthem photographed from a wall plaque one image has the wordp running from left to right while the other , presumably created by flipping the negative , presents them in mirror image . aside from the joke of the frontward and backward images , though , german audiences can be counted on to recognize the words . news photos of politicians like konrad adenauer , too , will be more familiar to germans than to other viewers . but few people of any sort are likely to recognize all the subjects of these pictures . by refusing to provide identifying captions , mr . schmidt creates a nebulous and unsettling texture of references and allusions . some of the comparisons between pictures have a blunt directness . for example , it 's hard to miss the point of the juxtaposition of a close up of a communist star with a historical photograph of nazi flags emblazoned with swastikas . but ambiguity is at the heart of mr . schmidt 's method . are the parading gymnasts in several other pictures from the munich olympics or some east_german celebration or a nazi rally ? what army do those soldiers belong to ? details of clothing and photographic style offer clues to these riddles , but seldom provide enough information to solve them . it is precisely this kind of uncertainty that allows mr . schmidt to take his audience past specifics of history and ideology to address deeper issues of national character . several photos evoke nostalgic images of german life a needlepoint curtain , for example , shows a mountain chalet while another shows strolling minstrels . other pictures , though , contrast these cheery cliches with grimmer realities . in several pictures mr . schmidt focuses on bleak , bunkerlike apartment buildings and drab interiors even the few landscapes in the group are besmirched with the smoke of oil fires or simply hunker under oppressive clouds . on one level , mr . schmidt 's power'ul work can be seen as an updated , media wise version of august sander 's classic study of german social types , published in the 1930 's . the use of mass_media photographs and the concern with national identity recall the work of such contemporary painters as sigmar polke and gerhard richter , while the direct style evokes the seemingly casual approach of american street photographers like lee friedlander and william eggleston . in the end , though , mr . schmidt has created a complex and unique essay that is all his own . this moving , resolutely difficult work succeeds in throwing harsh new light on a question that throughout this century has plagued not only germany but the world . " u ni ty , " by michael schmidt , is at the museum_of_modern_art , 11 west 53d street , through march 26 . photography review

has a location of germany

lead underlying the tension between the united_states and west_germany over the future of nato 's short range nuclear_missiles is a subtle but crucial difference between bonn and washington in assessing the opportunities presented by mikhail s . gorbachev , the soviet leader . underlying the tension between the united_states and west_germany over the future of nato 's short range nuclear_missiles is a subtle but crucial difference between bonn and washington in assessing the opportunities presented by mikhail s . gorbachev , the soviet leader . administration officials say they agree with the west germans that mr . gorbachev 's bold approach to arms control represents an opportunity for creating a ''new world'' in east west relations . ''the problem , '' said a state_department official , ''is that some german politicians seem to think that this new world has already arrived . ''we say it is a new world emotionally and perceptually , because of what gorbachev has been announcing , but it 's not a new world on the ground yet , '' the official said . ''the reality on the ground is that the soviet_bloc still has a preponderance of conventional weapons in europe . '' because the bush_administration , particularly the pentagon , believes that the radical changes initiated by mr . gorbachev still may be reversible , it insists that the north_atlantic_treaty_organization not consider negotiating away its remaining nuclear_missiles . a glass half full , or half empty ? chancellor helmut_kohl 's government argues that the gorbachev changes are most likely irreversible , and that the west should make sure of that by not excluding any weapons from negotiations . in particular , mr . kohl noted in a speech today in bonn , nato should n't exclude talks on short range nuclear_missiles that are based entirely on german soil and would kill mostly germans . the west germans , the state_department official said , want to believe that ''gorbachev 's glass is half full , and we say the glass is still half empty . '' the difference in assessments between bonn and washington is more than just an honest analytical dispute . each capital has powerful military , political and economic incentives to see things its way . west_germany has much to gain from a peaceful change in the 40 year old status_quo in europe , while washington is more ambivalent . ''let 's be frank , '' said stephen s . szabo , a professor of european affairs at the national war college here , ''we and the british and french like the status_quo in europe . it has kept the peace for 40 years , it has managed the german problem , and produced a great deal of prosperity for us . we have not exactly suffered from the division of europe . the soviets got east europe . we got west europe . the soviets got poland , we got germany . '' u.s . fears loss of dominance ''if the bipolar world fragments , some argue , so does our dominant position in europe , '' mr . szabo said . ''if we diminish our military and political role in europe , it means we will have less leverage on the european_community right at a time when it is moving toward economic_integration in 1992 and we are going to need all the leverage we can muster . '' west_germany by contrast has little to fear from a new europe , and every reason to want to make it irreversible . in banking and trading terms , west_germany is ideally poised to take advantage of any lessening of the soviet domination of eastern_europe . at home , a change in the status_quo promises a reduction in west_germany 's military burden , as well as enhancement of bonn 's independence . mr . gorbachev is problematic from washington 's perspective , and inviting from a west_german perspective , precisely because he is prepared to say yes to a series of questions that the west has been posing to moscow for years all the while expecting a flat no . the reason the administration rejects the idea of even negotiating on short range nuclear_missiles even though bonn says its does n't favor total elimination of these weapons is that it fears that mr . gorbachev will offer to go to zero and that nato will be overwhelmed by public opinion to follow suit . as defense_secretary_dick_cheney said in a speech monday , ''if we lack the will today to oppose this option , could we really muster it during any negotiation on short range forces ? ''

has a location of germany

the defense ministry said it was ''completely unacceptable'' for an army instructor to order a recruit during target practice to pretend he was facing hostile african_americans in the bronx . a video of the order , posted on the internet , drew a protest from the bronx borough_president , adolfo carri n jr . , who demanded an apology . the mayor of rendsburg , where the base is situated , invited mr . carri n to visit , saying that he could not excuse the two soldiers but that most of the troops there were ''open minded and tolerant . '' mark_landler

has a location of germany

an unusually frank speech by a senior american diplomat about right wing extremism in germany has stirred a tempest here . the diplomat , douglas h . jones , who heads the american diplomatic_mission in berlin , told an audience last week that many foreigners believe that germany " lacks the will to confront its extremism problem pragmatically . " " it is not reassuring , for example , that more progress is not being made toward guaranteed civil_rights for foreigners in germany , " he said . mr . jones said at the beginning of his speech that his views " do not necessarily reflect any policy of the united_states_government . " soon after he delivered it , the united_states embassy in bonn issued a statement saying " it was inappropriate for him to make remarks so at variance with u.s . policy while working as an american official . " a german_government spokesman said later that the charge d'affaires at the united_states embassy in bonn , donald kursch , " wrote to the chancellery on friday , after the speech became known , to deeply regret the incident . " mr . jones , a 21 year member of the foreign service who has served in his present post for five years , had previously announced that he would retire this year . he delivered his speech to a human_rights group in oranienburg , near berlin . nearly all the points contained in the speech had already been made repeatedly by journalists and other commentators . what attracted attention was not the speech 's content , but the identity of its author . suggestion of racism at one point , mr . jones noted that chancellor helmut_kohl was among many german politicians who often say germany " is not an immigration country . " " if i were a skinhead , i would take a certain amount of comfort in hearing that germany was not a country of immigration , " mr . jones said . " that would signal to me that the nearly seven million foreigners who live here legally do not belong here , and that i am justified in wanting them out . and to be honest with you , this sentiment is by no means limited to skinheads . " mr . jones also criticized german citizenship laws , which place paramount importance on german ancestry rather than on place of birth or residence . " how can those minorities remain anything but conspicuous , underprivileged targets of anger and frustration if they have no chance to become assimilated on an equal basis with germans if they so choose , or to have their own cultural distinctiveness protected from attack if they do not ? " he asked . " if germany is not a racist society , why is its nationality law , which was written in 1913 , predicated upon race ? public attitudes toward minority communities in germany are ambivalent at best . " mr . jones also criticized a recent proposal made by wolfgang schauble , the parliamentary leader of mr . kohl 's christian_democratic_union , that the german_army be used to maintain civil order in the country . " i can think of nothing that would bring to mind worse associations or that would give more of an impression of a state in crisis than this blurring of the distinction between internal and external security , " he said . attacks drop slightly bonn , april 18 ( special to the new york times ) right wing acts of violence in germany dropped slightly last year compared with 1992 , according to a report by the german_government . but there were still 1 , 609 stabbings , beatings , arson attacks and the like against foreigners that took the lives of 7 people in 1993 . a total of 727 were wounded , compared with 585 the year before . the federal office for the protection of the constitution , which issued the report last week , also said that in the first three months of this year , right wing violence continued to decline , with a total of 349 incidents , including the bombing of a synagogue in lubeck last month and five attempted murders , but no deaths . right wing violence peaked in 1992 , as did a wave of foreign asylum_seekers . the german constitution was changed last summer to impose qualifications for the first time on the right to claim political_asylum . the report put the total membership of right wing and extremist groups at 42 , 450 , about the same as last year , and said more vigorous prosecution and heavier sentences in cases of violence had lessened the appeal of the groups . the report also made clear that prosperous western german states , not the formerly communist eastern areas now afflicted by unemployment , had the highest per capita incidence of racial violence in 1993 .

has a location of germany

a group of prominent americans and germans has announced plans to build an american_academy here , part of a web of new projects intended to assure that this city 's ties to the united_states do not weaken over the years ahead . the academy , which is to open in 1996 , would be a center for scholars from the united_states , germany and central_europe . henry a . kissinger , the former secretary of state , and richard von_weizsacker , the former president of germany , are the honorary chairmen . " by sparking an american rediscovery of berlin 's treasures , the academy can tap a rich , centuries old tradition of cultural and scholarly interaction between americans and central europeans that was cracked by world_war_ii and the cold_war , " organizers of the project said in a statement . the withdrawal last week of the last united_states troops here has unsettled many berliners , some of whom do not realize that the americans are not bringing their troops home from all of germany . to show that the united_states intends to remain active here , american officials have begun projects that are envisioned as the basis of a new and stronger economic , political , cultural and strategic relationship . " we have got a massive effort under way to demonstrate to berlin , to germany and the world that we are not pulling out in any real sense , " richard c . holbrooke , the outgoing united states ambassador to germany , said in an interview . " all that is leaving berlin are a couple of hundred soldiers who are no longer needed . " there 's a real strength and a real emotion in the feeling that germans , and especially berliners , have toward the united_states . logically , these ties will gradually attenuate and become more distant . memories of the airlift and 'ich bin ein berliner' will fade like gettysburg and the battle of the bulge . what we are doing now is building a series of institutions that will guarantee that this relationship does n't fade along with the memories . " recently , an exhibition documenting the united_states role in berlin opened at an american cultural center in downtown berlin , and a new allied museum was dedicated in a building that was once the american military 's movie_theater . senior government and business leaders from both countries held a two day conference last week that was billed as the one of highest level meetings of german and american business and political leaders ever . a smaller scale meeting in leipzig next weekend is intended to allow american , german and central_european business executives to discuss prospects for cooperation . among other programs that are about to begin here are several aimed at eastern_germany , where during the communist era many people were given only a partial view of the american role in germany . a center is being planned in dresden to train eastern german schoolteachers in methods of teaching english . over the coming months , as germans observe the 50th_anniversary of various events leading up to and following the end of world_war_ii , the united_states will sponsor discussions in eastern_germany intended to present fuller historical background than was available to most people there during the decades of communist rule . " the american role at the end of world_war_ii was never explained in east_germany , " said dan hamilton , an american scholar who is working as an adviser to the united_states diplomats here . " or it was explained in a way that just was n't true . "

has a location of germany

since 1964 , fanny schlomowitz , an 84 year old holocaust survivor , has been kept from poverty by the monthly payments she receives from the german_government to make up for her mistreatment by nazis in world_war_ii . but now , those same payments are making it difficult for her to afford the federally_subsidized one bedroom apartment where she has lived for the last 12 years in the kivel campus of care , a sunny , well tended project for the elderly where she helps take telephone messages and puts together the daily bulletin_board announcements . " the manager came last spring and told me she knew i was a holocaust survivor , and she knew i was getting money every month , and she said that counted as income , so she raised my rent from 63 a month to 227 , " mrs . schlomowitz said . " that leaves me very tight . " most residents at kivel , one of hundreds of projects for the elderly that are subsidized by the department of housing_and_urban_development , pay rent of 30 percent of their income , which often consists entirely of social_security payments . and under the department 's guidelines , those with high medical expenses pay even less . beating by nazis until this spring , mrs . schlomowitz paid 63 a month for her apartment , a figure determined on the basis of her 370 monthly social_security payment , and her large medical bills . but mrs . schlomowitz also receives about 500 a month from the german_government in reparation for the headaches and dizziness she has suffered ever since a wartime beating in the jewish ghetto in budapest . at the time , she was eight months pregnant when she was kicked in the head by nazis so severely that she was unconscious for two days . " i did n't earn this money , i suffered for it , " mrs . schlomowitz said . " and i never reported it to h.u.d . because i have a letter from my lawyer saying it is not income . the internal_revenue_service ca n't touch it , so how can h.u.d. ? it 's not right . " senator dennis_deconcini , an arizona democrat to whom mrs . schlomowitz wrote for help this month , agreed . " the department 's current interpretation is grossly unfair to those who suffered through the most appalling event in modern history , " mr . deconcini wrote in a letter last week to housing secretary henry g . cisneros . " these gifts by the federal republic of germany are merely an attempt to atone for an unforgivable horror . " in another letter sent today , mr . deconcini cited a 1984 ruling by the federal court of appeals for the ninth_circuit that holocaust survivors' reparation payments not be counted as income for determining welfare eligibility . mr . deconcini 's press_secretary , robert maynes , noted that japanese americans who receive reparation payments from the united_states_government for internment during world_war_ii do not have that money included in computing their subsidized rent . federal law is cited a spokesman for the housing department in washington said that although german war reparation payments were not counted in deciding residents' eligibility for subsidized_housing , federal law required that such payments be counted as assets in setting rent . any change , he said , would have to be made by congress , not by the department . " h . u.d . is the only agency that counts this money as income , and it 's something we need to change , " mr . maynes said . " it 's kind of a nonsensical bureaucratic approach to say you do n't count the money for eligibility but you will count it as income . the i.r.s . does n't tax this money . h.h.s . does n't count it as assets . h.u.d . should n't count it , either . " nonetheless , since june , mrs . schlomowitz has been paying the higher rent of 227 a month 100 of which is to pay back the government for the years in which she paid the lower rent . " i really ca n't afford this , " she said . " i pay every three months more than 800 for health_insurance and nursing home_insurance . i need food and medicine and special shoes because my foot is not so good . and i do n't want to take charity from anyone . but like this , i ca n't buy anything . " rebecca flanagan , the manager of the local office of the federal department , said she was seeking guidance from agency officials in washington . " we have sent a fax to washington , explaining the situation and asking for further directions , but we have n't got an answer yet , " she said .

has a location of germany

lead for lothar de maiziere , the idea that he is about to be the first east_german leader to visit the united_states is not really that extraordinary . for lothar de maiziere , the idea that he is about to be the first east_german leader to visit the united_states is not really that extraordinary . ''everywhere i travel it 's for the first time , '' said the former orchestra musician who emerged as much to his own surprise as anyone else 's as the first democratically_elected prime_minister of east_germany . ''after all , i 'm a citizen of the german_democratic_republic and always have been . '' the statement played both on the fact that east_germany 's former communist leaders were not widely welcomed in the west and that for ordinary citizens , western travel used to be a rare privilege . mr . de maiziere is to make his first trip to the united_states on saturday , after a visit to moscow to talk with president mikhail s . gorbachev . the east_german leader will see president_bush in washington on monday , and before that he will be a guest at a banquet given by the world jewish congress in new york . the paradox of the breakthrough a paradox that accompanies most of what mr . de maiziere does is that his many firsts are likely to be lasts . if german_unification proceeds at the pace set so far , he may also prove to be the last east_german leader to pay an official visit . enjoying contradictions a refined man who came to law and then to politics after an ailment forced him to abandon his career as a professional violist , mr . de maiziere , who is 50 years old , seems to enjoy the many contradictions that the role has thrust on him . ''if someone had told me a year ago that i would be sitting here with you in this role , i would have called him an idiot , '' he said in an interview in the prime_minister 's office of the council of ministers building . a year ago , in fact a half year ago , this was the realm of willi stoph , one of the old guard communists who ran east_germany with an iron hand under erich_honecker . in the lobby , the old communist emblem was still there only a week ago . the pace of change has been mr . de maiziere 's greatest challenge . his own rise is a case in point he came to office largely because the old christian democratic_party in east_germany , tainted by its long association with the communists , had no one else with any credibility last fall to make its leader . then , chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany decided to throw his formidable political weight behind the christian democrats in the east_german elections in march . but to the surprise of many in east and west , mr . de maiziere has shown an unexpected degree of independence and political skill . he has succeeded in resisting mr . kohl 's pressure for moving up all german elections to december without creating a split . ''in my party and my government , we have always said that unification will have to come as soon as possible , but also as well as possible , '' he said . ''now we have taken a big step forward with the treaty on economic , currency and social union , and we have to make as many laws as some parliaments write in a whole term . and people have to learn how to follow these laws . '' ''the day has only 24 hours in the g.d.r. , and i can assure you we cannot tackle the problems of unification any more quickly , '' he added . seeking u.s . investment in talking of his trip to the united_states , mr . de maiziere is distinctly a lobbyist for his country . ''we hope that we can meet with representatives of american industry during the visit , '' he said . ''you know that our country faces great economic problems and that now , with the state treaty we signed with west_germany , we are creating a legal order that allows favorable investments for those who are interested . '' the economic problems that mr . de maiziere referred to are a matter of dispute . the economic unity scheduled for july 1 is expected to sound the death knell for many antiquated east_german industries , leaving hundreds of thousands of workers without jobs . some politicians have warned of major social_unrest once the difficulties of union set in next fall . mr . de maiziere sought to play down the threat , but also to blame the former communist government for any troubles . ''i think that with the measures we have decided on now there will not be a 'hot autumn , ' but at most a warm one , '' he said . ''we do not want to underestimate the difficulties we are facing , but we do not want to dramatize them either . ''we have to make clear that problems , when they come about , are the aftershocks of socialism , and not the first shocks of the new market_economy . we will not stand trial for thing we have not done . '' the main issue that mr . de maiziere is likely to confront in his foreign talks is the debate of the future germany 's place in european security arrangements . the issue was left essentially unresolved in talks between mr . gorbachev and mr . bush last week . caution on nato issue mr . de maiziere seemed to take extra care in discussing the problem so as not to be seen as criticizing the soviet_union , which still has 350 , 000 troops stationed in east_germany . ''the soviet_union makes it clear again and again that in the process of german_unification , their legitimate security interests have to be maintained and that this would not be the case if a unified germany became a member of a structurally unchanged nato , '' he said . moscow has rejected western demands that a united germany belong to nato , and has proposed instead the creation of a pan_european security system , possibly in the framework of the conference on security and cooperation in europe , in which all european and north_american nations take part . in the interim , some soviet_troops are expected to remain in germany . mr . de maiziere indicated that he did not expect the soviet_union to delay reunification if talks between the wartime allies and the german states found an acceptable formula . ''we think also that we can recognize after talks with the soviet side that the soviet_union aims for an all european collective_security system in the frame of the c.s.c.e. , and that transitional solutions are no longer the main problem , if you make it clear that this is in a time framework , '' the prime_minister said . ''there must not be a solution so that those who say gorbachev lost world_war_ii would not be proven right , '' he added .

has a location of germany

when an ancient and respectable family is reduced to selling its furniture , crockery , paintings and even hunting trophies to pay off its debts , thoughts about the transitory nature of wealth may be evoked . but as sotheby 's began auctioning off the entire contents of a castle owned by the venerable house of baden here this week , tears of sympathy were perhaps premature . germany may have abolished its principalities in 1918 , but the head of this dynasty still carries the august title of his royal highness max margrave of baden . more to the point , the family still owns three other castles in western germany packed with treasures that are not on the block . and after just two days of the 15 day auction , described by sothe by 's as the largest of its kind ever held , the family was already 21 . 2 million better off . some 6 , 000 lots comprising more than 25 , 000 objects from the grand ducal collections of the house of baden are involved in the auction , and the most valuable item sold so far was an ormolu mounted tea table made for the swedish royal family in 1780 , which went for 1 , 040 , 520 . almost as expensive was an 18th_century porcelain ludwigsburg marketplace , known as the " venetian carnival , " which sold for 960 , 480 . still , the house of baden , which traces its roots to the 12th_century , has heavy debts to pay . late last year , after a recession compounded by mismanagement of its agricultural , forestry and industrial holdings had left the family 184 million in the red , the 62 year old margrave reluctantly decided to liquidate some assets . the neues schloss , the castle that overlooks this delightful spa , seemed the obvious place to start . since 1918 , when the house of baden was stripped of 15 other castles , the neues schloss has been used as a warehouse to store the contents of those expropriated castles . and when teams of sotheby 's experts began sifting through the neues schloss early this year , they found it contained important collections of 17th and 18th_century german furniture , flemish tapestries , meissen procelain and myriad art objects . the margrave had hoped to keep the collection intact , and he offered it to the regional government of baden wurttemberg for what he described as " a special price " of 55 . 6 million . the margrave 's offer set off a fierce battle inside the region 's coalition_government . the conservative christian democrats favored buying the collection , but the left leaning social democrats felt exactly the opposite . " not a penny for the margrave , " became their war cry . finally , in true coalition style , a deal was worked out , with the regional government agreeing to pay 31 . 6 million for the pick of the collection , including its most valuable item , a set of five early 16th_century painted altar panels by the german artist bernhard strigel , for which the arts ministry paid 8 . 3 million . the margrave 's library was also part of the government purchase . christoph graf douglas , the head of sotheby 's in germany , who acted as an adviser to the margrave , said he was glad that the most important objects would now stay in the region of baden wurttemberg . but from a financial point of view , he added with a laugh , it was " perhaps lucky " that the government did not buy everything . " in february , we had done a very rough inventory , " he said , " but the more we studied the collection , the more it seemed to be worth . " this evening , after the first two days of the auction , his instinct was proved right sales had already exceeded the pre sale estimate of 20 million for the entire auction . to stir interest in the auction , which ends on oct . 21 , the most valuable items were offered early on , but takings appeared to be averaging about one third higher than expected . the controversy surrounding the sale has in turn helped draw the crowds . during five open days before the auction , more than 23 , 000 visitors looked over the collection , which filled four marquees as well as the 105 rooms of the four floor castle . some 17 , 000 copies of the seven volume catalogue have already been sold . and about 800 people filled a large marquee when the auctioneer , simon de pury , invited bids for the first item on thursday morning . preparing the collection for display , though , was not easy . glassware and porcelain sets , some still in their original boxes , had to be washed . delicate tapestries were rolled up in newspapers dating back to the 1850 's . and the attic was full of chairs , picture frames and hundreds of stag 's heads and antlers , many attached to plaques recording who shot the animals , where and when . while museums , dealers and collectors , many of them bidding by telephone , clearly know what items they want , sotheby 's is also counting on selling many fairly worthless paintings , sticks of furniture and even porcelain bedpans simply because of their association with a german royal family . mr . douglas said he expected some items to go for 20 percent more than their objective value , thanks to " the royal markup . " more of a problem is the castle itself . " it 's on the market , " said prince bernhard , the margrave 's 25 year old son , " but we have no idea of the price . it will depend on who wants it , what restoration has to be done . perhaps in the medium term the government will buy it . not yet , of course . it 's a problem we 'll worry about after the auction . "

has a location of germany

lead following are excerpts from president_reagan 's speech today at the berlin_wall , as recorded by the associated press following are excerpts from president_reagan 's speech today at the berlin_wall , as recorded by the associated press behind me stands a wall that encircles the free sectors of this city , part of a vast system of barriers that divides the entire continent of europe . from the baltic south , those barriers cut across germany in a gash of barbed_wire , concrete , dog runs and guard towers . farther south , there may be no visible , no obvious , wall . but there remain armed_guards and checkpoints all the same still a restriction on the right to travel , still an instrument to impose upon ordinary men and women the will of a totalitarian state . yet it is here in berlin where the wall emerges most clearly here , cutting across your city , where the newsphoto and the television screen have imprinted this brutal division of a continent upon the mind of the world . standing before the brandenburg_gate , every man is a german , separated from his fellow men . every man is a berliner , forced to look upon a scar . president von_weizsacker has said the german question is open as long as the brandenburg_gate is closed . today i say as long as this gate is closed , as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand , it is not the german question alone that remains open , but the question of freedom for all mankind . yet i do not come here to lament . for i find in berlin a message of hope even , in the shadow of this wall , a message of triumph . from devastation from utter ruin you berliners have in freedom rebuilt a city that once again ranks as one of the greatest on earth . the soviets may have had other plans . but , my friends , there were a few things the soviets did n't count on berliner herz . berliner humor . ja , und berliner schnauze . in the 1950 's , khrushchev predicted , ''we will bury you . '' but in the west today , we see a free world that has achieved a_level of prosperity and well being unprecedented in all human history . in the communist world , we see failure . technological backwardness . declining standards of health . even want of the most basic kind too little food . even today , the soviet_union still cannot feed itself . after these four decades , then , there stands before the entire world one great and inescapable conclusion . freedom leads to prosperity . freedom replaces the ancient hatreds among the nations with comity and peace . freedom is the victor . now the soviets themselves may in a limited way be coming to understand the importance of freedom . we hear much from moscow about a new policy of reform and openness . some political_prisoners have been released . certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed . some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control . are these the beginnings of profound changes in the soviet_state ? or are they token gestures , intended to raise false hopes in the west or to strengthen the soviet system without changing it ? we welcome change and openness . for we believe freedom and security go together that the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world_peace . there is one sign the soviets can make that would be unmistakable , that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace . general secretary gorbachev , if you seek peace if you seek prosperity for the soviet_union and eastern_europe if you seek liberalization , come here , to this gate . mr . gorbachev , open this gate . mr . gorbachev , tear down this wall . i understand the fear of war and the pain of division that afflict this continent and i pledge to you my country 's efforts to help overcome these burdens . to be sure , we in the west must resist soviet expansion . so we must maintain defenses of unassailable strength . yet we seek peace . so we must strive to reduce arms on both sides . beginning 10 years ago , the soviets challenged the western alliance with a grave new threat hundreds of new and more deadly ss 20 nuclear_missiles , capable of striking every capital in europe . the western alliance responded by committing itself to a counterdeployment unless the soviets agreed to negotiate a better solution namely , the elimination of such weapons on both sides . for many months , the soviets refused to bargain in earnestness . as the alliance in turn prepared to go forward with its counterdeployment , there were difficult days days of protests like those during my 1982 visit to this city and the soviets later walked away from the table . but through it all , the alliance held firm . and i invite those who protested then i invite those who protest today to mark this fact because we remained strong , the soviets came back to the table . because we remained strong , today we have within reach the possibility , not merely of limiting the growth of arms , but of eliminating , for the first time , an entire class of nuclear_weapons from the face of the earth . in europe , only one nation and those it controls refuse to join the community of freedom . yet in this age of redoubled economic_growth , of information and innovation , the soviet_union faces a choice . it must make fundamental changes . or it will become obsolete . today , thus , represents a moment of hope . we in the west stand ready to cooperate with the east to promote true openness to break down the barriers that separate people , to create a safer , freer world . and surely there is no better place than berlin , the meeting place of east and west , to make a start . as i looked out a moment ago from the reichstag , that embodiment of german unity , i noticed words crudely spray_painted upon the wall perhaps by a young berliner . ''this wall will fall . beliefs become reality . '' yes , across europe , this wall will fall . for it cannot withstand faith . it cannot withstand truth . the wall cannot withstand freedom .

has a location of germany

lead the joyous revolution of freedom sweeping eastern_europe is confronting western_europe with some of its gravest decisions in 40 years . the joyous revolution of freedom sweeping eastern_europe is confronting western_europe with some of its gravest decisions in 40 years . among the most daunting challenges is how to maintain the movement toward european unity if , as most western_european leaders expect , the west germans become distracted from that old goal by the newly aroused prospects of achieving german_unification a vision spelled out by chancellor helmut_kohl in bonn on tuesday . another concern questions where the united_states and the soviet_union will fit in the suddenly shifting european landscape . many western europeans think the natural course of events will bind them more closely to the new soviet_union , which after all shares the same continent , and pry them loose from their security and economic ties to the united_states . the worry over germany the biggest worry of all , to many europeans , is west_germany itself , increasingly inclined to take charge of its destiny in ways that would have been unthinkable a decade or even a year ago . mr . kohl , for example , outlined his ideas for german_unification tuesday without any prior consultation with his allies , though the united_states , britain and france share with the soviet_union a treaty responsibility for ''germany as a whole'' that dates back to 1945 . conversations with politicians , business leaders , students , writers and ordinary people from wales to west_berlin in recent weeks leave a clear impression of unease , a sense that without wise actions the_dream come true in eastern_europe could easily turn into unpleasant realities . what is also becoming apparent is that rapid changes can bring long submerged cultural , historical and political differences of the 12 members of the european_community to the surface . indeed , this risk has appeared just as those nations are poised to eliminate the remaining trade_barriers among their 320 million people by the end of 1992 . the unease is compounded by a feeling that western leaders have not been saying what they really think about the central problem of a united germany . for four decades , when reunification appeared impossible , all of them implicitly accepted it by saying that a truly free , united europe , east and west , was the ultimate goal . now that the reintegration of europe and the germanys no longer looks so distant , said klaus bolling , a former head of west_germany 's mission to east_berlin , ''we 're seeing a tremendous outbreak of hypocrisy . '' ''it seems a little bit insulting to germany to say that it needs to be anchored into europe , '' prime_minister margaret_thatcher of britain said on bbc_television monday_night , clearly hoping to anchor the west germans even more firmly with such expressed sentiments . ''i am not afraid of reunification , '' president_francois_mitterrand of france said in bonn earlier this month . ''if the germans want to be a single nation in a single state , this must be founded on the will of the german nation , and nobody can oppose it . '' but officials in paris now explain that what the president intended by the statement was to calm the fears of many french people over unification , and to encourage the germans not to be distracted from the unfinished work of building the european_community . mr . kohl tried to reassure other european leaders in paris on nov . 18 , that west_germany saw ''no alternative'' but to work for german unity within the existing european context . gorbachev and reunification ''we agreed not to raise the question of the existing borders , '' mrs . thatcher acknowledged , but diplomats in bonn , paris and london all agree that the reason german_reunification was left off the agenda was the fear that forcing the issue could bring down president mikhail s . gorbachev , on whom they think all the fragile changes in the soviet_union and eastern_europe continue to depend . all the western_european leaders agreed over dinner in paris on nov . 18 that mr . gorbachev was at a critical juncture and that they should do nothing to undermine his position . officially , reunification will not be on the agenda when president_bush sees mr . gorbachev off malta this weekend , but hardly anyone in europe thinks it can stay off forever . ''to talk about the breakup of nato does no one any good at all , '' mrs . thatcher said tuesday night . but questions are even beginning to surface at the popular level all over western_europe about whether there will be any need for an american dominated military alliance against possible soviet attack , when or if that threat no longer exists . the shape of europe the people sense a turning point ordinary people , as well as their political leaders , sense that a historical turning point is being reached . ''we thought we had everything perfect in the common_market , '' said janet semper , who lives in westminster abbey with her husband , colin , a resident canon there . ''we were letting in one country at a time spain , portugal , greece , and then in comes this wonderful rabble through the berlin_wall and now we have to rethink the whole thing . '' ''the instant the berlin_wall comes down , france is no longer the center of europe it 's on the periphery , '' said francois barbey , a 48 year old real_estate salesman in paris . ''people say we 've won . we 've come to the end of one world , but we have n't found the key to the next . '' john le carre , whose master spy george smiley got his soviet counterpart , karla , to defect across the berlin_wall in his 1980 novel , ''smiley 's people , '' put it this way in a recent essay ''smiley had won , as the west has won now . but the sweets of victory elude us as they eluded smiley , partly because he had forgotten what he was fighting for , partly because he feared that his masters preferred the comforts of permanent aggression to the hardship of new choices and alignments . '' ''we really invent the enemies we need , '' the novelist , whose real name is david cornwell , explained later . ''we could be making the discovery that russia , once the military threat is removed , is a huge , untidy third world problem that will demand time , effort and money lots of money to fix . it could be a terrible headache . '' to many people , the german question already is . ''i do n't know what will become of this land , '' mr . bolling said in his home in west_berlin . ''there 'll be bound to be a cooling off vis a vis america as the prospect of a united germany comes into view . already the people of west_berlin are complaining about how the three allied military commanders have just bought 10 new mercedes cars with their money , and they 're asking how much longer they have to go on paying for such things . '' already lufthansa , the west_german airline , is demanding that britain , france and the united_states relinquish their monopoly on flying between west_germany and west_berlin . ''the division into eastern and western_europe was a construction of the cold_war , '' heinz ruhnau , lufthansa 's chairman , told die_welt the day before the wall came down . ''east and west have to recognize that their status positions ca n't be maintained any longer after 40 years . '' ''we all want a relationship with the united_states , '' said sergio romano , a former diplomat who was italy 's ambassador to moscow until earlier this year . ''but i imagine we would all prefer that it not be so hierarchical as it has been . '' nato diplomats in brussels say that the organization , like the warsaw_pact , will have to convert itself into an instrument for managing change and monitoring complex negotiated arms control agreements over the next few years , but in london , paris and bonn , diplomats complain that such thinking is only in its embryonic stage , and not well coordinated . the forming of a union contradictions in the community if events in eastern_europe are only beginning to spark a rethinking of nato 's role , they have uncovered contradictions about the european_community that have existed since the treaty of rome established it in 1957 . in those early days , president charles de gaulle of france insisted that europe not be a federation but a collection of sovereign , cooperating nation states . de gaulle called it ''l'europe des patries , '' and used it as an excuse for keeping out britain in the early 1960 's , because he feared the british would turn the european_community into an anglo_saxon united states of europe . now all the european leaders but one the british_prime_minister have agreed that the changes in the east require urgently forging ahead to more federalism in the community . ''for the european_community to remain the center of gravity that it is , we must accelerate , '' said jacques_delors , its executive president , two weeks ago . mrs . thatcher wants to complete the 1992 program , but is wary of surrendering more british sovereignty to the community 's executive commission in brussels , which she says is not fully accountable to any democratic parliament . as eastern_european countries evolve toward political and economic democracy , her close advisers believe , the community should stay loose and flexible . ''this is n't the time to become more exclusive , '' one of them explained . ''i do not believe in a federation of europe , a united states of europe , '' mrs . thatcher said again on television monday . ''i believe it will work far better if we cooperate together as 12 sovereign states . '' french officials expect that mrs . thatcher will be alone in opposing a call at the next european_community summit in strasbourg , france , dec . 8 9 , for a conference that would consider changes in the treaty of rome to permit full monetary_union , though they say they are not sure the germans will not have developed second thoughts as well . but if changes in the east continue , the european_community will no longer be limited to the 12 , and one of the main subjects on the agenda in strasbourg will be how to respond to the clamor in eastern_europe to get in on the prosperity . the 12 agreed in principle in paris earlier this month to provide economic aid to all eastern_european countries , but only if they make clear progress toward economic and political democracy . separately or together , le_monde calculated the other day , the europeans and the other industrial democracies have given or pledged more than 6 billion in aid or loans to eastern_europe , mainly hungary and poland , this year . west_german and french officials believe that bonn is prepared to offer even more than that to east_germany . ''it would n't be hard to make a success out of east_germany , '' one french diplomat observed . ''it could be more prosperous than portugal in five years . '' the larger question behind this is whether poland and hungary , and now possibly east_germany and czechoslovakia , should be allowed or encouraged to join the european_community , with associate membership as a first step . ''the e.c . already has various bilateral 'association agreements' with other countries more can be struck in eastern_europe as reform takes hold , '' the economist newspaper wrote last week , a suggestion that was endorsed by mrs . thatcher . a former president of france , valery giscard_d'estaing , has suggested that the community tailor these association agreements country by country , and tie them to price reform , privatization and currency convertibility in each one . some european leaders speak of a marshall_plan for eastern_europe , with a leading role for the west le_monde said that marshall aid from the united_states from 1947 to 1948 totaled 13 billion , worth 171 billion today . ''a marshall_plan now is impossible , '' prof . alfred grosser , a french expert on germany , said . ''you have hardly anyone in the soviet_union , and not many in eastern_europe , who know how to manage a market_economy . '' in addition , all eastern currencies have been pegged at wildly artificial rates against western ones for years , and to get them down to realistic exchange values will be painful . in west_germany , the mark , now one of the world 's strongest currencies , was introduced in june 1948 at a rate of one for every 10 old german reichsmarks , causing tremendous resentment and pain until people regained confidence in their money and the economy started functioning again . representatives of 24 industrial democracies , including the european_community , the united_states , japan and south_korea , will meet in brussels on dec . 13 for more discussions about how to help . ''the socialist models are collapsing , '' said francois perigot , head of the french employers' federation in paris . ''if all they get from our system is black markets , petty corruption , unemployment and social indifference , they could turn away from our model . europe should n't give them a bad example . '' the soviet threat some confusion amid power shifts but essentially europe is confused . no journalist , politician , professor or economic expert saw that change would come so suddenly to so many countries all over the east . what has happened has left many of them in breathless bewilderment . all ordinary people can see for sure is that a soviet threat that made them dependent on the united_states has receded , and that for better or for worse the europe they have known for 40 years will rapidly change into something else . ''everyone everywhere is talking about it , of course , '' said raymond kingsley taylor , chapter clerk of hereford cathedral . ''there 's relief , sheer stunned surprise , and apprehension . '' ''europe will become more and more aggressively competitive against japan , and distance itself from the americans , '' said jacques seguela , a french advertising executive and author in paris . ''the soviet_union will be part of this new europe . '' he will open an advertising_agency in moscow jan . 1 and two in hungary and poland . anke van_der valk , a 38 year old social worker in delft , the netherlands , agreed . ''those eastern lands belong to europe , '' she said . ''i think they should join the common_market . '' but , she added , ''i 'm a bit afraid of a united germany . better for the two germanys to remain separate , and let both of them be members of the european_community . '' ''all the french public opinion_polls show that between 60 and 70 percent of the french people say german_reunification would n't bother them , '' said professor grosser , france 's leading expert on germany . but in the quai d'orsay , some diplomats speak of the shelling of rheims cathedral in the franco prussian war of 1870 as if it were yesterday . ''national pride caused all the problems we 're seeing today , '' said markus doll , a 22 year old student in hamburg . ''the people who used to say 'we are germans' now say 'we are europeans . ' for me it 's no better . they should say 'we are people , just like everybody else . ' '' clamor in the east

has a location of germany

helmut newton , left , the photographer famed for his images of fashion and nudes , has donated more than 1 , 000 of his pictures to a german cultural foundation for a museum scheduled to open in june in berlin and intended to become a national center for photography . announcing his gift at a news conference in berlin , mr . newton , 82 , said that it did not include his negatives , as he still needed them for his work , but he added that eventually they , too , would go to the foundation , stiftung preussischer kulturbesitz , in charlottenburg , the neighborhood where he grew up in a prominent jewish family and took his first photography lessons before leaving nazi_germany for exile in singapore in 1938 . he and his wife , june , a photographer who works under the name alice springs , are paying for the establishment of the new gallery . kirsten grieshaber arts briefing highlights

has a location of germany

the old man with memories and the young woman with questions had not met before this day , but seemed drawn to one another she to inquire , he to warn about the unwanted legacy that both binds and divides germany 's generations the nazi past . briefly , their paths entwined at an exhibit in the gothic city hall that has stirred unaccustomed passions in this southern city , confronting bavarians with evidence directly contradicting the fondly held belief that hitler 's army remained aloof from the holocaust . here , in grainy black and white photographs , some taken as grisly souvenirs , ordinary german soldiers not ss madmen are shown humiliating jews and conducting summary executions by firing_squad and hanging . here is a letter written home by a young soldier boasting that his unit had killed 1 , 000 jews ''and that was not enough . '' the exhibit has already toured 15 cities in germany and austria , but only in traditionally conservative munich , where nazism took root in the 1920 's , has it become an object of ferocious political division , to the extent that both the far right and leftist groups called rival demonstrations . ( thousands of local residents and left_wing activists rallied against neo_nazis protesting the exhibit on saturday , but a two hour standoff between the groups ended without major clashes , reuters reported . the police said 55 people were detained . ) yet , most remarkable of all , the exhibit has broken a wall of silence between young germans , who learned principally about the holocaust during high_school , and a much older generation that took part in the second world_war and then , by and large , took refuge in self imposed silence . ''up until today this had not been discussed across the generations , '' said lucy wilbers , a 22 year old student , whose encounter today with hubert endl , a 79 year old military veteran , touched off one of many spontaneous debates . the exhibit , sponsored by a private_foundation run by the tobacco heir jan phillip reemtsma , is called ''war of destruction the crimes of the german_army , 1941 1944 . '' its theme is that , as the catalogue puts it , ''in 1945 , barely after the defeat of nazi_germany , the generals of that period began the fabrication of a legend the legend of the 'clean army' , '' according to which ''the soldiers kept their distance from the nazi_regime and hitler , fulfilled their military duties with decency and dignity . '' however , the exhibit 's organizers said , ''from 1941 to 1944 , the germany army in the balkans and the soviet_union conducted not a 'normal war' but a war of destruction against jews , prisoners of war and civilians that claimed millions of victims . '' that conclusion , supported by photographs and documents , has inspired bavaria 's conservative rulers in the christian_social_union the sister party of chancellor helmut_kohl 's dominant christian democrats to urge a boycott of the exhibit on the ground that it besmirches a proud military record , inspiring clashes with left_wing parties that support a more open debate about the past . but , despite the boycott call , many bavarians , young and old , have stood in line for hours to view the exhibit , fascinated and introspective . ''i was drafted in 1942 , '' said a 73 year old veteran , who declined to give his name . ''i was n't in the places where these things happened , '' he said , gesturing to photographs of hangings and mass graves . ''and thank god i was n't . because if i had been , i 'd have done the same . the choice was to shoot or be shot for disobeying orders . '' all the same , though , he said , he had served in a place in the ukraine that he suspected was among the many sites where jews were known to have been killed . ''i said to my comrades if the things are happening that i think are happening , then we will all have to repent them . '' then , he turned to young people in their jeans and leather jackets who had clustered around him , waving his walking stick as he declaimed ''it must never , ever happen again . '' for ms . wilbers , the student who spoke with mr . endl about his time with the german_army in the ukraine and yugoslavia during the war , the old man 's stories illuminated what she had been told at school . ''there were books and videos and we studied them , '' she said . ''but , until today , they were not so real . '' ms . wilbers belongs to a generation of germans that has been taught never to suppress the memory of the holocaust and to accept , not guilt for it , but a national responsibility . mr . endl , by contrast , is from a generation much closer to questions of guilt and its denial . ''i believe that after 50 years , we should not bring all these things up again , '' he said , ''because what you see here is a result of the way german soldiers were mistreated . why is it always the germans who are blamed ? did no one else do any killing ? '' ''yes , but it must be aired , it must be out in the open , '' said a younger man who asked not to be identified by name . the exhibit has contributed to a surge of fascination in the reunified germany about the second world_war and the holocaust . indeed , such is the apparent hunger for explanations that , last year , a book by daniel j . goldhagen , a harvard academic , on the role of ordinary germans in the persecution of jews , became a best seller here . the book 's thesis in contrast to german historical works attributing the holocaust either to the inherent evil of the nazi leaders or to the system of genocide they created was that the killing of six million jews stemmed directly from a particularly virulent , german anti_semitism that sought the annihilation of the jews as a ''national project . '' the fascination with the past is ascribed by some germans to a generational shift . ''it has become so much easier for this generation to deal with the past , '' said josef joffe , a leading newspaper commentator here who has followed the debate closely . ''the young generation can relive the fascination without reliving the fear and stigmatization . it can look the evil in the eye . '' the debate , though , is more tangled than that , coaxing forth the array of emotions by which germans seek to absorb the notion that their forebears committed what many consider to be history 's most appalling crime . most notably , many argue that , whatever happened in the past , they should not be the only ones to shoulder guilt . ''other countries pushed out their jews and sent them to us is n't that true ? '' said a middle_aged woman who declined to be identified by name , bursting into a debate between two war veterans and a group of students in their early 20 's . and , cutting across generational lines , some asked why , after 50 years , germany could not shake its past . ''we should be creating a new europe , '' said bernhard ehreke , a 22 year old hotel administration trainee . ''we should be looking forward and not back . '' then , as if to answer his own question , he said ''war is cruel . war is hell . it brings out criminal instincts that we should lay aside . and we should never forget that . ''

has a location of germany

lead last february , chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany slipped in and out of washington with scarcely anyone in the american press taking notice that he was here meeting with president_reagan and other united_states officials . a week from today mr . kohl is due to spend 11 hours 50 minutes in the capital , but this time west last february , chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany slipped in and out of washington with scarcely anyone in the american press taking notice that he was here meeting with president_reagan and other united_states officials . a week from today mr . kohl is due to spend 11 hours 50 minutes in the capital , but this time west_german officials are hoping he will draw more attention . in addition to meeting mr . reagan for lunch at the white_house , the west_german leader is expected to call on the newly elected american president , becoming the first foreign official accorded that distinction . high on the list of topics the federal chancellor is expected to discuss will be his meeting in moscow last month with mikhail s . gorbachev . he will be accompanied by foreign_minister hans_dietrich_genscher and defense minister rupert scholz . mr . kohl is scheduled to hold an afternoon news conference and , in the evening , to be awarded an honorary doctorate in a ceremony at georgetown_university .

has a location of germany

a 16 year old dropout who held four students and a teacher at gunpoint in a school in waiblingen , a stuttgart suburb , surrended to police officials after a six hour standoff . the hostages were unharmed . the boy , whose name was not released , had demanded a million_euros . the episode had echoes of a school shooting in april in erfurt , where an angry dropout killed himself and 16 others . mark_landler ( nyt )

has a location of germany

three years after the collapse of communism , the warm welcome and private investment that most eastern europeans expected from the european_community countries have fallen far short of their expectations . fears that german companies would virtually take over the economy of central_europe have so far not been confirmed . the foreign capital that has come in from germany , the united_states and elsewhere is billions of dollars less than the estimated need to restructure economies driven by communism for 40 years , and efforts to take advantage of eastern_europe 's cheap labor and sell goods to western markets have produced a protectionist backlash . some people here are beginning to think that well off western europeans are not willing to sacrifice to make it possible for poles , czechs , hungarians and others to join their cozy and comfortable club . " the process of rapprochement has to be a two way street , " said ivan busniak , a czech foreign ministry official . " it is not only we who have to change the western europeans have to change , too . " steelworkers' discontent this winter , steelworkers in germany , france and britain have staged protests demanding protection for jobs many see as endangered by competition from the east . despite affirmations that the european_community welcomed eastern_europe 's transition to a market_economy , the western trade group has recently strengthened its tariff barriers against cheap food products , textiles , and coal and steel from eastern_europe . yet as dr . andreas gummich , an analyst for deutsche_bank research in frankfurt , pointed out , these are the very areas where eastern europeans want to try to exploit their best trading advantage low labor costs . " agriculture , textiles , and coal and steel make up 75 percent of the exports for the czech_republic , slovakia , poland and hungary the very same areas in which the european_community is most highly protective , " dr . gummich said . on april 22 , european_community negotiators agreed to set quotas for czech and slovak steel imports this year that are only a little more than half 1992 levels . punitive_tariffs would be imposed on any excess , community officials said . wide repercussions also followed a ban that the european_community imposed april 8 on meat and dairy_products from eastern_europe , ostensibly because of fears of contamination from hoof and mouth disease . " this embargo is protectionism and does not reflect the political promises of the west , " the czech trade and industry minister , vladimir dlouhy , said . czech authorities protested that the last case of the disease in their country was in 1974 , and retaliated with a ban of their own on imports of meat and milk products from the european_community . hungary and poland reacted similarly . which way to look the lesson , the leader of the former communist_party later wrote to prime_minister vaclav klaus , was that the czech_republic 's best friends were not in the west but in the former soviet_union , and that policies should be changed to reflect this reality . poland and hungary all have association agreements with the european_community to prepare the way for eventual membership after the turn of the century . the czech_republic and slovakia have been negotiating new accords following the breakup of the czechoslovakia at the end of 1992 . " i do n't think we should even be trying to join the european_community now , " said pavel dvorak , a former czech tourist guide who has built a small business from the proceeds of a set of slot_machines he bought after communism fell . " the only advantage we have is our low labor costs , and we 'd lose that advantage if we joined too soon . " fears of german economic domination of the region also abound . germany is now central_europe 's largest trading partner , with a volume of about 10 billion with poland and the former czechoslovakia and about 5 billion with hungary last year . but when it comes to investment , the biggest worry here now is not that there will be too much german investment , but too little foreign investment altogether . little foreign investment total direct foreign investment in the czech_republic since the fall of communism has amounted to only 1 . 6 billion . in hungary it is 4 . 8 billion , and in poland 1 billion , according to the german central_bank . only in the czech_republic do the germans have the largest investment , and even here , the united_states invested more in 1992 than germany did . one reason is that german investors have concentrated on the former east_germany , pouring in 107 billion since 1990 . but with privatization of most czech heavy_industry still not yet accomplished , foreign investment could become more significant in the next few years . a privatization process that has distributed formerly publicly owned companies to individual czech investors , who paid nominal amounts for the right to buy shares , will distribute the first stock certificates next month . some worry that the germans will yet become the dominant economic factor in central_europe . " the germans are working systematically , step by step , to increase their influence here , " said mr . dvorak , who is an official of the union of czech entrepreneurs . " we need somebody strong to help us avoid complete dependency . where are the americans ? where are the japanese ? " the czech_republic 's president , vaclav_havel , made light of such remarks . " on the one hand , " he said in an interview with munich 's sud deutsche zeitung , " you hear a lot of talk about the 'german danger , ' and about how we could be economically occupied by germany . on the other hand , a lot of businesses have a german sign right underneath the czech one . " mr . dvorak handed out a business_card that was printed in german . vw buys into a plant the biggest single foreign investor in the czech_republic is volkswagen , which bought a 31 percent interest in the giant skoda automobile plant in mlada boleslav , 40 miles northeast of prague , and has so far invested 163 million in it . volkswagen will put in another 313 million next year , and by 1997 it will have built an entire new factory with a total investment of more than 3 billion , according to dr . milan smutny , a spokesman at the factory . " it is n't the germans' fault that they 're making so many investments here , " dr . smutny said . " it 's the fault of other countries for not coming . " last year , philip_morris restored some balance to the foreign investment equation , buying the former czech state monopoly on tobacco_products for 398 million . but compared to the 9 billion that foreign companies have earmarked for investment in the oil producing former soviet_republic of kazakhstan , the 7 . 4 billion for the three most economically advanced eastern_european countries seems like small potatoes to the people who live here . " the germans want to use us as a gateway to the vast soviet market , " said vladimir jindra , an adviser to the president of the czech central_bank . seeking cheap labor german entrepreneurs and financial analysts say what they really want is something much simpler cheap labor . the average worker at the skoda automobile works , for example , costs volkswagen 220 a month , compared to more than 4 , 000 at the company 's german headquarters in wolfsburg . overall labor costs in czechoslovakia are a tenth of what they are in germany in hungary the ratio is one to six , and in poland one to eight , according to german central_bank research . by 1995 , volkswagen expects to double the productivity of its 17 , 100 czech workers and make 450 , 000 cars , hoping to sell about two thirds of them in eastern markets and a quarter of them in western_europe . but if european_community protectionist trends continue , some economists say , the strategy will fail . " the germans ought to be pressing for more openness by the e.c . to products from these areas where they want to transfer their production costs , " said richard portes , director of the center for economic policy research in london . instead , the germans have so far gone along with greater protectionism . " i think we 'll be ready to join before the e.c . is willing to accept us , " mr . klaus , the czech prime_minister , said .

has a location of germany

lead the united_states is hoping that moscow will quickly drop its opposition to the membership of a united germany in nato if the western allies agree this week on a plan aimed at making the alliance less threatening to the soviet_union , a senior administration official said today . the united_states is hoping that moscow will quickly drop its opposition to the membership of a united germany in nato if the western allies agree this week on a plan aimed at making the alliance less threatening to the soviet_union , a senior administration official said today . another official , traveling on secretary of state james a . baker 3d 's plane for a foreign ministers' meeting here before the nato_summit meeting opening in london on thursday , added that the allies are considering some dramatic , visible way to convey the meeting 's final communique to moscow . one gesture under consideration is sending a foreign_minister , or more than one , from the north_atlantic_treaty_organization to personally deliver the final statement to the soviet foreign_minister , eduard a . shevardnadze . considering that the soviet leadership is now in the midst of its 28th communist_party congress , in which president mikhail s . gorbachev is being assailed by hard_liners for having ''lost'' eastern_europe , officials believe that the way the nato communique is actually conveyed to moscow could significantly enhance its message that the western alliance no longer poses a threat . the ' 'medium , '' said one official , will be ''part of the message . '' rewriting strategy nato officials will be considering proposals that would begin to reshape the alliance 's defense strategy and make it appear to be more of a collective_security organization providing stability in europe than a bulwark against an aggressive soviet_union . but the american officials conceded that there are still significant differences among the allies on which proposals to adopt . among the proposals is that nato modify its nuclear policy , declaring nuclear_weapons to be arms of ''last resort . '' also proposed are plans for nato to thin out its forces along the frontier with eastern_europe , to eventually withdraw all its nuclear tipped artillery shells from europe , and to institutionalize the 35 nation conference on security and cooperation in europe so that moscow could feel it is part of an all european organization after the warsaw_pact disappears . ''the soviets have indicated that this nato meeting and declaration is very important to them , '' mr . baker said . ''it is going to be issued during the period of their party congress . they are going to want to see that the west means it when it says nato is going to adapt and enhance its political component . they are going to want to see that the west means it when it says that we are , in fact , a defensive alliance , with nonagggressive and peaceful intentions . '' mr . baker added that the soviet_union also wants to be assured that the west is serious when it says that moscow will be included in the alliances that will shape europe 's new order . signal and response ''taken together , '' he said , ''what we are hoping is that nato will be sending a very strong signal of this process of change . '' but in a signal to the kremlin , mr . baker pointedly added , ''our ability , of course , to follow through on this is going to depend in part on soviet follow through . '' asked exactly what response was expected , a senior administration official said ''what we would like to see happen in the aftermath of this , if we get the kind of declaration we would like and let me say this is by no means assured then hopefully we would see a different soviet response at the paris two plus four meeting , different from the sort of pro_forma politburo response we saw in berlin'' on june 22 . more specifically , the official said , nato will expect from moscow ''a serious response'' at the paris meeting on july 17 ''that will permit the external aspects of german_unification to be resolved in a manner that will permit its unification as a member of the nato alliance . '' soviets were rebuffed at the june 22 ''two plus four'' session in berlin , which brought together east and west_germany and the four wartime allies the united_states , the soviet_union , britain and france mr . shevardnadze offered a soviet proposal for the future of germany that the west germans and three other allies found unacceptable . he called for a united germany linked to both nato and the warsaw_pact and for the four wartime allies to maintain a troop presence on german soil for up to five years after german_unification is completed . at the time , the western allies dismissed the soviet proposal as meant for domestic consumption before the party congress . but american officials said that unless the soviets begin to show more flexibility on the german question after the congress and the nato meeting , and very quickly , it will be impossible to maintain the schedule of german_unification already anticipated through the end of the year . ingredients of german recipe this includes agreement by the two plus four group to formally relinquish the allies' rights and responsibilities over germany by october , which is supposed to be followed by a meeting of the european security conference in november to ratify this accord . this , in turn , is to be followed by the germans' assuming full sovereignty over their territory and then going ahead with all german elections in december . many european analysts believe that this schedule is looking increasingly unrealistic considering the political uncertainty in moscow , and that deadlock on the german question is more likely in the coming months than a breakthrough .

has a location of germany

a judge in bavaria sentenced the former head of compuserve deutschland to two years in jail on charges of spreading pornography , but suspended the sentence . it was the first time in germany that the manager of a provider of internet_access had been held legally responsible for images reached through its service . the manager , felix somm , was indicted in april 1997 on 13 counts of distributing pornography involving children and animals in 1995 and 1996 . the indictment raised an outcry among advocates of free_expression and among experts who argued that it was technically impossible to block access to the material . legislation approved after the indictment largely exempts providers from legal responsibility for material beyond their control . under those laws , mr . somm 's supporters said , it would have been difficult to bring him to trial . indeed , even in mr . somm 's case , both the defense and the prosecution in munich argued today in favor of his acquittal . but the judge , wilhelm hubbert , responded , ''even on the internet , there can be no lawless zones . '' german authorities have set up police units to seek out web material they consider to be illegal , including child_pornography , bestiality , replication of nazi symbols and material deemed to ''endanger youth , '' like violent games . but because many such sites are managed from other countries , they have had no recorded success . the ruling today made little immediate difference in the accessibility of pornographic sites by german computer users . one computer operator said he had been able to obtain sexual material involving children and animals through a variety of providers today .

has a location of germany

as nato defines the new strategy it will unveil on its 50th_anniversary next year , germany 's new government of social democrats and greens has irked the united_states by tentatively suggesting that nato should renounce the possible first use of nuclear_weapons . the german position is no surprise because it was part of the coalition agreement reached last month by the government . in a clear concession to the environmentalist greens , the accord said the coalition would press for ''the renunciation of the first use of atomic_weapons . '' but it was unclear to american officials at the time whether gerhard_schroder , the social democrat who is the new chancellor , had accepted the phrase as an empty concession to the greens or would in fact move to question one of the central tenets of nato doctrine . the united_states is firmly opposed to any change in the doctrine allowing first use of nuclear_weapons , arguing that it proved an effective deterrent during the cold_war and remains one today against new threats like chemical_weapons . officials close to the alliance said mr . schroder raised the issue in a meeting with the nato secretary general , javier_solana , in berlin two weeks ago , asking what response germany 's allies would give if the new government pursued the renunciation of the first strike option . joschka_fischer , the foreign_minister and a member of the green_party , returned to the question in an interview in this week 's issue of the magazine der_spiegel . asked about the first use of nuclear_weapons , he said that he had raised the matter with mr . solana and that ''we will have to discuss these matters because we see things differently . '' stefan steinlein , a spokesman for mr . fischer , said today that the foreign_minister favored a discussion on the role of nuclear_weapons , but that germany would under no circumstances isolate itself in nato . with the united_states , britain and france firmly opposed to any shift on the use of nuclear_weapons and with unanimity required for any change , germany 's new position will not alter nato doctrine . but members are concerned that if germany presses the issue , a divisive debate could be ignited that touches on the heart of the trans_atlantic bond . ''we have 200 nuclear_weapons systems in germany , britain , italy , the netherlands and belgium , '' a nato diplomat said . ''they are a powerful deterrent , and their credibility would be undone without the first strike option . '' if germany formally suggests a review of the first strike doctrine at nato , something it has not yet done , it would probably gain some support from denmark , canada and greece . the united_states is keen to avoid such a discussion on basic doctrine when much work remains to be done on other aspects of the ''new strategic concept'' that is due to be announced at a 50th_anniversary nato_summit meeting in washington in april . the meeting will try to lay out nato 's new roles in peacekeeping , countering the spread of weapons and defense against chemical_weapons , among other issues . rudolf_scharping , the german defense minister and a social democrat , met with secretary of state madeleine k . albright in washington today and was to meet defense secretary william s . cohen on tuesday . he is certain to be forcefully reminded of mr . schroder 's pledge to president_clinton that his government would maintain ''continuity'' in foreign and security policy . whether or not germany swiftly drops the first use issue , its emergence reflects tensions between the social democrats and greens and the hastiness with which the government program was put together . karsten d . voigt , a social_democratic_party security expert , said that in talks before the formation of the government , his party 's position was that pursuing a renunciation of a first strike should not be in the program . ''but in the general haste , we caved into the greens , and now it is an unfortunate piece of baggage that has become part of the government 's commitments , '' he said . nato officials said they hoped that some of the german concerns would be assuaged by opening discussions on faster and steeper moves toward nuclear_disarmament . u.s . rebuffs suggestion by the new york times washington , nov . 23 the clinton_administration today rebuffed a suggestion by the german_government to revise nato 's strategic doctrine by pledging never to be the first to use nuclear_weapons . defense secretary cohen said today the alliance 's policy on using nuclear_weapons an extension of united_states policy was ' 'sound doctrine'' that had been reaffirmed after the cold_war .

has a location of germany

lead because of an editing error , a report on tuesday in the briefing column of the washington talk page misidentified gunter diehl . he is the former west_german ambassador to india and to japan , not to the united_states . because of an editing error , a report on tuesday in the briefing column of the washington talk page misidentified gunter diehl . he is the former west_german ambassador to india and to japan , not to the united_states .

has a location of germany

two german regional elections today showed that chancellor_gerhard_schr_der 's popularity remains strong but also suggested that the opposition christian democrats have recovered from the slush fund scandal that engulfed the party last year . exit_polls showed mr . schr_der 's social democrats taking 44 . 3 percent of the vote in the western state of rhineland palatinate the christian democrats won 36 . 7 percent . but in the southwestern state of baden w rttemberg , the christian democrats reinforced their long domination , taking an estimated 45 . 6 percent of the vote and rebuffing the vigorous challenge of a young social_democratic lawyer named ute vogt . the christian democrats have controlled the state government in stuttgart for 49 years . voters showed little inclination to switch to the social democrats , who won 33 . 5 percent of the vote , exit_polls indicated . the voting for the state legislatures suggested that while mr . schr_der 's hold on power is solid , he will face a real fight in national elections next year . the german economy , europe 's largest , is showing signs of slowing , and sharp falls in german stocks have dented the appeal of the market reforms that mr . schr_der has generally favored . moreover , the euro is to replace the german_mark next year , a switch that may prove traumatic for a people viscerally attached to what was long europe 's strongest currency . today 's results provided encouragement to angela_merkel , the leader of the christian democrats , who have been disoriented by former chancellor helmut_kohl 's role in the secret channeling of funds to the party . ''i am very satisfied , and i believe that our party can now go further , '' she said . the christian democrat vote increased to 45 . 6 percent , from 41 . 3 percent in 1996 in baden w rttemberg , and it fell slightly , to 36 . 7 percent from 38 . 7 percent , in rhineland palatinate . the social democrats increased their vote share by a significant margin in both states . the christian democrats will be particularly encouraged by the travails of the greens , mr . schr_der 's coalition partner . the greens' share appeared to fall significantly to 7.8 percent , from 12 . 1 percent in the 1996 election , in baden w rttemberg , and to 5.3 percent , from 6.9 percent , in rhineland palatinate . it appeared clear that this setback amounted to censure from voters for remarks by the green environment minister , j rgen trittin , who compared a prominent christian democrat , laurenz meyer , to a ' 'skinhead'' for declaring that he was proud to be a german . a vigorous debate on the legitimacy of german patriotism has ensued , with most germans appearing sharply critical of mr . trittin . the minister justified his remark by noting that extreme right parties in germany often use the badge , ''i am proud to be a german . '' mr . trittin has been under considerable pressure to quit since making the remark and has been openly reprimanded by mr . schr_der . further switches in the government will not be welcomed by the chancellor , who has had to make several changes in recent months , including the agriculture and transport ministers . in baden w rttemberg , the rightist republican_party 's vote appeared to drop sharply , from 9.1 percent to 4 percent . mr . schr_der 's government has been waging an energetic campaign against the far right after an increase in anti immigrant incidents last year . the results make it likely that the governing coalitions in both states will continue in office . the social democrats govern with the liberal free democrats in rhineland palatinate the christian democrats govern with the free democrats in baden w rttemberg .

has a location of germany

lead president_bush , in his most emphatic statement of support for german unity to date , said today that he and chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany agreed that once germany was unified , it should remain in nato and the rights of the world_war_ii victors should be ended . president_bush , in his most emphatic statement of support for german unity to date , said today that he and chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany agreed that once germany was unified , it should remain in nato and the rights of the world_war_ii victors should be ended . the soviet_union has not only opposed a unified germany 's membership in the north_atlantic_treaty_organization , but has also said that after unification , the four major victors in world_war_ii britain , france , the soviet_union and the united_states should retain some residual rights to control the political course of the enlarged germany . after three and half hours of talks at the white_house , which included a working lunch , mr . bush and mr . kohl read statements to the press in which they stated once again that a united , sovereign germany would be a full participating member of the north_atlantic_treaty_organization . timing issue not addressed but they did not address a key question when the two germanys should be unified . mr . kohl has recently said there could be elections in both east and west_germany in early december for a united government . mr . bush said , ''we both want a united germany which enjoys full sovereignty a united germany which is a full member of the nato alliance , including participation in its integrated military structures a united germany which is , as the federal_republic has been for over 40 years , a model of freedom , tolerance and friendly relations with its neighbors . '' speaking in german , mr . kohl pledged that ''a united germany will remain a member of the north_atlantic alliance . '' he added that such membership was necessary because the alliance constituted an ''indispensable trans_atlantic security link between the european and north_american democracies . '' the two leaders also agreed that the soviet_union and the the other wartime victors should lose all the legal rights they have retained in germany since the end of the war as soon as there is unification . referring to the unification negotiations under way among the two germanys and the four victors , mr . bush said ''chancellor kohl and i agreed that these talks should terminate all four power rights and responsibilities at the time of german_unification . a united germany should have full control over all its territory without any new discriminatory constraints on german sovereignty . '' both stands that a unified germany should remain in nato and recover full sovereignty run counter to the position the soviet_union has adopted so far in the ''two plus four'' talks on unification . soviets want neutralization soviet leaders have repeatedly called for the neutralization of a greater germany through its exclusion from all alliances , as well as for limits on the size of its armed_forces . the soviets have also suggested that the world_war_ii victors retain some kind of residual veto_power over germany 's right to join alliances and international organizations after unification . explaining the american and german position on reunification , which is shared by the western alliance , a senior administration official said there was ''no agreement yet'' between the two sides on these central issues . ''the soviet position might be described as unity now but sovereignty later , '' he said , adding , ''for us germany must n't be singled out as a special country . '' kohl is understanding at a news conference , chancellor kohl appeared relaxed at the continuing deadlock between moscow and the west over the details of unification , saying he understood ''the psychological elements'' that concerned the soviet leadership . ''in the last 150 years they 've seen two conquerors come from the west and reach moscow 's doors , '' he said , referring to napoleon and hitler . but he stressed that the two plus four talks were a negotiation , saying that in negotiations ''you do n't put all your cards on the table at the beginning . '' the two leaders also sought to calm soviet anxieties . they called for new disarmament talks to cut german forces further , and said they would lock a greater germany into a new web of treaties that mr . kohl described as a ''a european security architecture in which german unity yields greater security and stability for all europeans . '' the two leaders said alliance leaders will start examining ways of building up nato 's political side at their london summit meeting , scheduled to start july 5 .

has a location of germany

lead president_bush reassured prime_minister margaret_thatcher today that the close ties between the united_states and britain would continue despite mr . bush 's view that west_germany is now the key to the future of the east west relationship in europe . president_bush reassured prime_minister margaret_thatcher today that the close ties between the united_states and britain would continue despite mr . bush 's view that west_germany is now the key to the future of the east west relationship in europe . on the last full day of his european trip , mr . bush also had lunch with queen_elizabeth_ii , but it was his extensive talks with mrs . thatcher that dominated his day talks in which the president went out of his way to tell mrs . thatcher that she was his ''partner in leadership'' and a british figure comparable to winston_churchill . after two hours of talks at 10 downing_street , a reporter asked mrs . thatcher and mr . bush ''is britain america 's most important ally in europe ? '' mrs . thatcher stiffened and replied ''i think you might put it more tactfully . '' 'among foremost of friends' as mr . bush laughed , mrs . thatcher added ''america has allies throughout europe and throughout the free world . i would like to think that we pride ourselves on being among the foremost of united_states' friends , and we will always be . '' mrs . thatcher said it was ''quite wrong that because you have one friend you should exclude the possibility of other friendships as well . '' she added , ''we both have many friends in europe . '' ''very good answer , '' mr . bush said with a grin . moments earlier , mr . bush said on the steps of 10 downing_street , ''i want to assert here that the special relationship that has existed between the united_kingdom and the united_states is continuing , and will continue . '' bonn seen as major player he indicated that mrs . thatcher had been candid . ''it 's only with friends that you can take off the gloves and talk from the heart , '' he said . within recent months , american officials say , mr . bush and his aides have generally concluded that bonn is the major player in europe . and central to east west negotiations . this was especially evident at the nato meeting in brussels this week when mr . bush pressed mrs . thatcher to concede to west_german demands for early talks with the soviet_union on short range nuclear_missiles which she has strongly opposed in the past . bush discusss soviet changes washington , june 1 ( special to the new york times ) president_bush said today that in the future superpower relations may be determined more by political openness and economics than by military deterrence . in an interview from london with the washington_post , the president said ''the soviet_union might well be in the state of radical change . '' if so , ''then the policy will be substantially different , because we wo n't be dealing with as much emphasis on military deterrence . we will be dealing much more with openness and reformed economics . and i think that is possible . '' ''as this change asserts itself , and as they genuinely change , '' he added , ''our doctrine need no longer be containing a militarily aggressive soviet_union . it means a united europe . it means much more freedom and democracy . as those things happen , the role of nato shifts , our own role shifts , from the main emphasis on deterrence to an emphasis on the economic side of things . '' in china , mr . bush said , the outcome of the movement for greater democracy remains unclear .

has a location of germany

in the grand style of performers from germany 's weimar_republic , max raabe likes to party like it 's 1929 . a recent concert by mr . raabe and his palast orchester at the leipzig opera house included a selection of songs from the 1920 's and 30 's , witty banter between numbers and the occasional appearance of eight dancing girls in diaphanous skirts . at various points in the show , members of the band took the stage in traditional bavarian dress and suits that looked tailored for chicago gangsters , and kneeled in their shoes to appear as if they were about four feet_tall . after the show , at a restaurant in the center of leipzig , in what was once east_germany , mr . raabe said simply , ''i love the clich s . '' so , apparently , did the audience , a few thousand mostly middle_aged germans . mr . raabe , who will perform mainly in english with a smaller entourage in zankel hall in manhattan on nov . 30 and in philadelphia a day later , is the most popular cabaret style singer in germany , which might seem a small distinction in a country now better known to music fans for its thriving techno scene . but several of his albums have sold more than 100 , 000 copies , and his two ''super hits'' collections of droll interpretations of pop songs like ''oops ! i did it again'' have introduced his music to a wider audience . mr . raabe draws influence and material from several sources , including german film music and the bigger theater productions of the time . but his over the top show and his stage persona , all dry wit and sardonic distance , evoke weimar berlin and the decadent nightlife that was mythologized in the musical ''cabaret . '' according to the newspaper der tagesspiegel , ''max raabe stands for the good old times as their archetypal ambassador . '' berlin in the 1920 's is a time of enduring fascination all over the world . but in the german imagination it looms even larger , as a cultural golden age just before the darkness of the nazi_era and world_war_ii . ''when people hear him , they think of the 20 's and this multicultural atmosphere , '' heinz bude , a sociology professor at the university of kassel , said of mr . raabe . ''that was the time when germany was on top of the international culture scene . '' he said that for older germans , raised in a country that was collectively examining its role in the war , this idealized past was especially significant . in fact , weimar berlin can be seen as the good old days only compared with what followed . even before hitler rose to power , unemployment was rife and inflation rampant . the stories that provided the basis for the musical ''cabaret , '' written by the english author christopher isherwood and based on his experiences in weimar era berlin , are darker than the show they were made into . ''that was not a good time for germany , '' mr . raabe said . onstage he makes a point of crediting the writers of his older songs , many of whom were jewish . ''i do n't want to bring nostalgia onstage because it implies things were better in those times . but that music does have a special quality . '' to mr . raabe , the music he plays is timeless , a living form , and he tries to evoke the cosmopolitan cool of another era without seeming stuck in it . the old songs are memorable not only for their tunes , he said , but also for the witty wordplay that went with them . ''the humor of the repertory is not dated , '' he said . to judge by the examples he reels off , mr . raabe is something of a walking lyrical encyclopedia . he writes new songs in the same style , with the same skewed humor . ( some of these , like a hit song with a title that translates literally as ''no swine ever calls me , '' lose something in translation , but others work in english as well . ) many of his songs comment slyly on current events , just as some of the material he was influenced by did when it was written . in one of his originals , ''cloning can be worthwhile , '' mr . raabe sings that if a lover leaves him he will ''go out on a date with your duplicate . '' despite such lyrics , mr . raabe , 42 , a slight man with slicked back blond_hair , looks and acts as though he might have just stepped out of 20 's berlin himself . his apartment , a spacious loft in berlin 's mitte district , is filled with old books and couches with pawed feet , stacks of shellac 78 r . p.m . records and a cabinet style antique phonograph on which to play them . a modern stereo sits on a shelf in the corner . as a teenager growing up in westphalia , mr . raabe said , he listened to classical and big_band music when his friends were discovering punk . ''it was like a drug flash for me , to listen to that music , '' he said in an interview at his home . ''i was never a teenager , with those attitudes . i was never really young , and i think i will never really be old . '' when he attended college in berlin , mr . raabe put together the first version of the palast orchester and rehearsed the group with orchestral arrangements he found at a flea_market . songs from the weimar_republic were n't popular , especially with his fellow university students , and few new acts could make a career of performing them . ''we were sure that after we studied , we would give up and work at an opera or something , '' mr . raabe said . ''but we just kept going . '' mr . raabe is not the only artist in germany who performs cabaret material , although he 's one of the few who play large halls . several clubs hold cabaret nights . and a version of the musical ''cabaret'' directed by the american choreographer vincent paterson is playing at the bar jeder vernunft , a theater that also books cabaret acts . ''it 's a viable and very alive art form here , '' mr . paterson said . he added that he went back to mr . isherwood 's stories and made his version of the show a little less overtly glamorous . even the skewed humor that fascinates mr . raabe is a product of tough circumstances . ''those times were so troubled that popular entertainment tried to counteract it , '' said peter jelavich , a professor of history at johns_hopkins_university and the author of ''berlin cabaret . '' ''they were trying , especially in the first half of the 30 's , to write peppy songs to counteract the dismal realities of the day . '' even in these very different times , mr . raabe said , his concerts provide a respite of sorts . ''if you go to the concert , you can lose reality for two and a half hours , '' he said . ''that 's what this music did , even in the 20 's and 30 's . ''

has a location of germany

lead as the police imposed a security cordon in preparation for president_reagan 's visit here , 24 , 000 leftists marched through the streets today to protest american policies . as the police imposed a security cordon in preparation for president_reagan 's visit here , 24 , 000 leftists marched through the streets today to protest american policies . mr . reagan is scheduled to stop over in west_berlin for several hours friday on his way back from the venice summit meeting to take part in berlin 's 750th anniversary celebrations . the highlight of the president 's visit is to be a speech from a high platform before the brandenburg_gate , the monumental arch that stands between east and west_berlin . mr . reagan is expected to call on mikhail s . gorbachev , the soviet leader , to live up to his own calls for ''glasnost'' and tear down the berlin_wall . mr . reagan is also scheduled to visit the old reichstag building and look over the wall from a balcony , and then to serve as the host at a birthday party for berlin replete with cake and balloons at the airport at tempelhof in the american sector . protest turns violent on the eve of mr . reagan 's arrival , a protest march through the city center turned violent when bands of demonstrators took to burning cars and smashing store windows . by most accounts , however , the violence was prompted less by mr . reagan than by frustrations and tensions within west_berlin 's teeming counterculture . mr . reagan 's last visit to west_berlin five years ago touched off fierce demonstrations , and to preclude a repetition officials mounted what they described as the biggest security operation in the city 's history . some 10 , 000 policemen , including reinforcements brought in from west_germany , were mobilized . this evening 's march was called by some 120 groups ranging from the green_party through the violence prone gangs known as the anonymous . the demonstrators_marched down the glittering kurfurstendamm between solid rows of policemen in full riot gear . 24 , 000 reported to march the police said some 24 , 000 marchers took part , including 2 , 000 anonymous wearing black ski_masks . most marchers , their spirits dampened by drizzle , carried placards with relatively tame and standard slogans . but as the march neared its end , the anonymous began flinging bottles and firecrackers and smashing store windows , and then broke into bands that clashed sporadically with the police and set fire to some cars . the police retaliated with clubs and tear_gas . yet it appeared that the violence was the work of a radical and embittered fringe . in fact , the days preceding the demonstration were marked by a debate in the left_wing press about whether to protest mr . reagan 's visit at all , especially since the president was now negotiating with the soviet_union to lift medium_range_missiles from europe . the debate was prompted by an article in west_berlin 's left_wing tageszeitung , which said ''nobody knows why one should demonstrate against ronald_reagan . '' ''he is a lame_duck in the last half of his administration , irangate is on his back and his pension in california is in front . after all , it was he who showed the war fearing germans that he is better able to deal with gorbachev 's new thinking than our elected chancellor . '' ''but we in berlin love traditions , and when ronald_reagan comes , you demonstrate . here in berlin we have a pavlovian reflex . ''

has a location of germany

when the berlin_wall collapsed 10 years ago , stephan schambach was 18 and had never set foot in a capitalist country . karsten schneider , then 29 , worked listlessly at the bloated kombinat , a huge communist era electronics factory in this small city south of leipzig . today , about their only link to communism is the name of their software company intershop communications , a name they mischievously lifted from east_germany 's old hard_currency stores for foreign tourists . ''no one remembers who first thought of it , '' mr . schneider recalled recently . ''but it seemed perfect . '' intershop sales doubled this year to 40 million , and the company employs 500 people worldwide . its stock , now publicly traded in germany , has a value of about 2 billion . ten years after the berlin_wall came down , such buoyancy seems wildly at odds with eastern_germany 's enduring image of shuttered factories and stagnant growth . eastern joblessness is still 18 percent , twice as high as in the west . but in the midst of this despair something else has happened . parts of the east have become magnets for entrepreneurs and high technology start up companies . in saxony , eastern_germany 's most populous state , industrial production is climbing at double_digit rates , faster than all of western germany . in jena the renaissance is striking . the old kombinat is dead . but the city has been a seedbed for nearly a thousand new ventures in the last few years . many fizzled , but just as many have taken off , and unemployment , about 20 percent two years ago , is now about 14 percent . ''i tell my west_german friends that we have gone through what they still need to go through , '' said kurt biedenkopf , the pro business premier of saxony and a westerner himself . ''east_germany , by reason of its peaceful revolution against an all powerful state , has unleashed tremendous development , '' he said . ''people here are more adaptable , more elastic . it has been painful and they did n't want it , but it was a consequence of their desire for freedom . '' the wave of new companies has yet to offset the loss of old industry . nor has it solved what may be eastern_germany 's most intractable problem high wages . partly as a result of efforts to equalize pay in the east and the west , hundreds of thousands of low skilled jobs that might have been ideal for eastern_germany have been lost to lower cost rivals in the czech_republic , poland and elsewhere in central_europe . indeed , eastern_germany 's textile work force of 320 , 000 before the wall fell now amounts to just 20 , 000 . business leaders here also note that there are big differences between fast growing southeastern states like saxony and thuringia and much poorer rural states in the northeast . ''we still have hard work ahead of us for the next 15 years or so , '' said lothar spath , chairman of jenoptik a.g. , a technology company here that is one of eastern_germany 's biggest success stories . ''but the process is fundamentally on track . '' the success company rose from nothing jena 's turnaround is also the story of mr . spath , a wily former politician from western germany who is now this town 's biggest employer . he is chairman of jenoptik a.g. , which he carved from the unwanted leftovers of the communist era conglomerate . when he arrived here in 1991 , jenoptik was nothing more than a jumble of old real_estate and 30 , 000 workers . ''we had no products , none at all , when we started , '' he said . ''all we had was some good technology and a lot of people . '' this year , jenoptik will earn about 20 million on sales of 1 . 5 billion . its biggest business is making ''clean room'' equipment for computer chip manufacturers around the world . at first glance , mr . spath hardly seemed like an obvious savior . east_germany is full of tales of west germans who took over companies in the east only to strip the assets and shut them down . west_german supermarkets overwhelmed fledgling eastern retailers , as did west_german publishers , banks and consumer products from beer to clothing . mr . spath , a man whom german newspapers have nicknamed ''the clever one'' because of his political skills , had abruptly resigned in 1991 as premier of the west_german state of baden wurttemberg after accusations that he had accepted favors from industry cronies . with huge subsidies from the german_government , about half of the jena 's old kombinat had been reunited with carl zeiss a.g. , the west_german company that had abandoned its jena factory when the nation was divided after world_war_ii . mr . spath , who arrived here first as a consultant , was left with the debris acres of real_estate , about 30 , 000 workers and no customers . there was no business_plan either . ''no one could tell us what the strategy was or what it should be , '' recalled petra lorenz , one of many mid level kombinat managers who found herself scrambling in chaos . the whole project would have been hopeless had mr . spath not been able to extract huge financial help from the german_government . pledging to save at least a third of the 30 , 000 jobs here , he won about 2 billion . in his first year , mr . spath laid off 16 , 000 people , and jenoptik executives say about 1 . 3 billion of the public money went simply went to cover pensions and unemployment_benefits . to raise more cash , he fixed up zeiss 's old properties into new industrial parks and sold off as much as he could . he used the cash from real_estate sales to buy west_german companies that would help him crack western markets . then he scoured the old research centers for ideas and bused in potential investors from the west . over the last few years , jenoptik dabbled in scores of businesses security systems , automation technology , engineering services and telecommunications equipment , to name just a few . many of the ventures floundered . between 1995 and 1997 , jenoptik sold or spun off businesses with combined sales of about 470 million . he has also infuriated germany 's biggest labor_union , i.g . metall , because jenoptik refused to negotiate with it and instead struck a deal with a tiny rival named the christian metalworkers union . under that contract , workers can be asked to work up to 44 hours a week before earning overtime pay . christmas bonuses and extra pay for vacations , a time honored entitlement for west_german companies , are contingent on workers' performance . i.g . metall asked a court to throw out the deal with the other union , saying it was little more than a front for management . but a court rejected the complaint in march , and mr . spath has had no disruptions . for all the criticism , jenoptic is profitable and has spawned many other start_ups that now pack the industrial parks outside of town . although only 1 , 500 of jenoptic 's 8 , 500 employees are actually in jena , jenoptik has also spawned several dozen companies that are estimated to employ more than 14 , 000 people here . one of those companies is cybio a.g. , which makes automated systems for analyzing chemicals for pharmaceutical research . the company 's sales have climbed to about 12 million this year , and more than half of its sales come from exports . petra strumper , a west_german biologist recruited to help build the fledgling business , is now one of two executives who took over the company last summer through a management buy out . ''a lot of my friends kept saying , how can you do something like that ? '' dr . strumper said here . ''but i was sure this would be successful . besides , i liked the idea of being a pioneer . '' over the last decade , many east_germans have seethed quietly as west germans took over companies in the east only to sell off real_estate and then shut down . resentment has been particularly high among older workers , hundreds of thousands of whom lost their jobs and could not find new work . the sense of sullen resentment against ''besserwessis , '' an east_german phrase for ''western know it alls , '' was evident in a recent survey by the hans bockler stiftung , a nonprofit research institute in dusseldorf . the survey found that only 9 percent of easterners wanted to return to the old regime , but that a solid majority could not identify with west_germany either . there is still plenty of resentment against west germans . but it is hard to find much evidence of it in cities like jena that are growing rapidly . ''many people can tell bad stories about things that wessis have done , but when you have wessis who are skillfull , efficient and are honest , you do n't find that hostility , '' said werner patzelt , professor of political_economy at the dresden technology university and a wessi himself . the money advertising for investors the german_government has poured tens of billions of dollars into bailing out communist era conglomerates , but there was no help for mr . schambach and mr . schneider , when they needed funds to start intershop communications . the reason was simple computer software was not on the official list of industries eligible for subsidies . yet today , intershop is one of east_germany 's most striking home grown successes . its offices here are packed with young software developers , almost all of whom graduated from east_german universities . ''we did n't know anything about how a market_economy worked when we started , '' mr . schneider recalled . ''in east_german schools , it was all ideology . everyone who was rich was capitalist , and capitalism was bad . '' mr . schambach was a 19 year old technophile when he started out in 1991 . mr . schneider was unemployed , having quit his job as an electronics engineer at the carl zeiss conglomerate almost as soon as the berlin_wall came down . after a few false starts , they discovered the internet and began setting up a rudimentary on line store for computer parts in 1995 . but mr . schambach decided the real money was in selling software to set up retail web_sites . since they could not tap money from bonn and did not know any venture_capitalists , they did the only other thing they could think of advertise for investors in the newspaper . amazingly , they succeeded a west_german company invested 800 , 000 in exchange for 30 percent of their company . intershop has yet to turn its first profit , mainly because it has plowed huge_sums of money into marketing and additional software development . but its customers include hewlett_packard , international_business_machines , sun_microsystems and deutsche_telekom . the future long way to go for east_germany looking ahead , even the most dedicated optimists acknowledge that eastern_germany 's economy has a long way to go . rural and comparatively poorer states like brandenburg and mecklenburg west pomerania are recovering much more slowly than fast growing industrial states like saxony and thuringia . and experts say there simply is no quick solution to the problem of eastern_germany 's high costs and wages . wages in east_german factories are higher on average than those in the united_states . mr . biedenkopf , saxony 's premier , argues that the worst shocks have been largely absorbed and that prospects are healthier than they seem . for one thing , the obliteration of eastern_germany 's old industry and government is over . also , the boom in real_estate construction in east_germany has receded . now , after a deep recession , eastern construction is slowly coming back to life . ''everybody looks at unemployment figures , '' mr . biedenkopf said of the east in a recent interview at his office in dresden , which overlooks the elbe river . ''but success is measured by employment figures , and in 1998 we had 414 people employed out of 1 , 000 . that is better than most states in the west . '' but even people like mr . biedenkopf and mr . spath say it will be another 10 or 15 years before eastern_germany weans itself from its dependence on money from the west . though the german_government has pruned back subsidies , western taxpayers still pay a hefty ' 'solidarity surcharge'' to help finance eastern reconstruction , pensions and unemployment costs . there no signs the surcharge will be eliminated any time soon . eastern_germany remains almost totally dependent on outside investment capital . while west germans have accumulated enormous savings and real_estate , east_germans have almost no money for investment . ''that is the one big difference that remains between east and west_germany , and it will continue to have a major impact here for years to come , '' mr . biedenkopf said .

has a location of germany

lead a photography exhibition now at the neuberger museum in purchase , n.y. , suggests an unusual esthetic parallel in some cases a source for much of america 's pioneering 20th_century photography germany during the weimar_republic . a photography exhibition now at the neuberger museum in purchase , n.y. , suggests an unusual esthetic parallel in some cases a source for much of america 's pioneering 20th_century photography germany during the weimar_republic . in more than 100 photographs taken in germany between 1919 and the early 1930 's , important trends of later american photography are revealed in embryonic form . they include the sharply focused , realist style explored by edward weston , the social documentary approach of photographers like walker evans , and even the world 's first paparazzi style pictures and other photojournalism . ''these german photographers were repulsed by what they 'd seen during the first world_war , and they wanted to create a new world , a new germany , '' said stephen jareckie , the curator of photography at the worcester art museum in worcester , mass . , who organized the present exhibition . ''a lot of their ideas have become part of 20th_century life in america . '' the show contains work by six leading photographers living in germany during the period hugo erfurth , august sander , werner mantz , erich salomon , laszlo moholy nagy and albert renger patzsch . the exhibition opens today and continues through march 29 the neuberger museum is on the campus of the state university of new york . a 19th_century vision while many of the photographs anticipate the styles of the late 20th_century , a good many of them also look in the opposite direction . in the portraits by hugo erfurth , in particular , a distinctly 19th_century vision is revealed . his dramatic , highly posed pictures of the weimar period 's cultural figures look victorian , an effect heightened by the use of oil pigments to touch up many of the prints . yet even in erfurth 's work , glints of the future appear . his portrait of ''mother ey , '' especially , seems contemporary in tone . mother ey was the stout propietor of a coffee shop in dusseldorf , a colorful character and a friend of down on their luck artists . erfurth 's portrait captures her in a natural standing pose no dramatic back lighting here and leaves the print untouched by paint . this tendency to document everyday life , which became a dominant trend in american photography after the depression , is a theme struck by many of the photographers in this show . with obsessive zeal , the weimar photographers set out to document their world , almost to catalogue it , with a minimum of artistic distortion . the photographs by august sander exemplify this urge . as european painters had done in the late 19th_century , he widened his scope of interest beyond kings and burghers to include the common man the potentials of the camera inspired him to make portraits of every type of common man . farmers , barbers , circus performers , businessmen no one was to be excluded from his lens . documenting life in germany the present show contains 10 portraits taken from sander 's lifelong project , ''man in the 20th_century , '' his encyclopedic effort to document life in germany in the 20 's and 30 's . an interest especially in how individual men and women looked during a time of intense social and political change underlay sander 's pictures intellectuals of the period lauded his efforts . ''this collection of photographs , '' wrote thomas_mann in a review of sander 's work , ''as finely delineated as they are unpretentious , is a treasure_trove for the student and lover of physiognomy and provides an excellent opportunity to explore occupational and class structured imprints on humanity . '' in the pictures of albert renger patzsch , a related esthetic found expression . a leader of the so called ''new objectivity'' movement in the 1920 's , renger patszch sought to render the look and feel of the real world , its objects and textures and depths , in a straightforward and reportorial fashion . with his interest in both natural and man made objects , his work , too , has an encyclopedic quality in this show there are pictures of both abstract plant forms and architectural forms . visitors may be struck by the resemblance of some of his work to edward weston 's similar studies of plants , such as flowers and peppers , in which texture and abstract shapes are emphasized . weston began to make this work around 1924 , apparently spontaneously and without exposure to renger patszch or the other weimar photographers . some early photojournalism the photographs of erich salomon , by contrast , are among the world 's first examples of photojournalism sometimes of the tabloid variety . as a photographer for many daily and weekly german newspapers , salomon discovered an appetite among the public for private peeps into the lives of the rich and famous . he also discovered the means by which to achieve such peeps the handheld ermanox camera , which could take photographs in available light and which could be hidden in a pocket until the appropriate moment . in this show , candid photographs of political meetings , an evening at the opera , and marlene dietrich in a hollywood hotel provide examples of this soon to be booming photographic genre . besides the documentary urge , the currents of modernist artistic thought , whose roots lay in the period before the war , also found their way into the photographs of the weimar period . laszlo moholy nagy was heavily influenced by russian constructivist painting , which emphasized a reduction of reality to intrinsic formal designs . he made photographs taken from birds eye and worms eye views , in which new and unexpected geometries were revealed . moholy nagy 's direct influence on american photography and design is better documented than that of the other photographers in this show . in 1934 , he fled germany and eventually settled in chicago , where in 1937 he founded the bauhaus school of design , which disseminated his ideas and which later became part of the illinois institute of technology . in such cases , according to mr . jareckie , the influence of the weimar photographers is obvious and direct in others , the new medium of photography apparently suggested spontaneous innovations to similar minds working in different places . ''moholy nagy came over and got people going , '' mr . jareckie said . ''but then , edward weston and charles sheeler were doing a lot of sharp focus photography , and they did n't know what the germans were doing at all . it was just in the air . ''

has a location of germany

lead west_german politicians said today that the governing coalition was torn by a bitter struggle over its stand on short range nuclear_weapons . chancellor helmut_kohl emerged so politically isolated , they said , that a compromise with washington at the nato_summit meeting was no longer considered feasible . west_german politicians said today that the governing coalition was torn by a bitter struggle over its stand on short range nuclear_weapons . chancellor helmut_kohl emerged so politically isolated , they said , that a compromise with washington at the nato_summit meeting was no longer considered feasible . the officials broadly substantiated reports in two major west_german newspapers that tempers raged so high that the notion of breaking up the coalition was broached . one paper , suddeutsche_zeitung , said it took foreign_minister hans_dietrich_genscher , head of the free democrats two days to convince a wavering mr . kohl , who leads the christian democrats , that it was better ''to let the summit end in open dissension than for the germans to crawl on their knees . '' the officials , who have been close to the debate , said that as a result the west germans no longer expected the north_atlantic_treaty_organization to produce the ''comprehensive concept'' for the alliance that was to have been the centerpiece of the 40th_anniversary gathering in brussels . instead , the germans said they hoped that president_bush would produce sufficiently dramatic initiatives on nonnuclear subjects , like reductions in troops and conventional_arms , to overshadow the differences on short range nuclear_weapons and enable the allies to rally round in a demonstration of unity . papering over differences in general , bonn seemed to take pains to paper over the differences with washington before president_bush 's first visit to bonn next week . a government statement described mr . bush as ''knowledgeable on and a friend of the federal republic of germany , '' and said his relationship with mr . kohl was ''close and confidential , a result of many years of friendship . '' the last minute dispute within mr . kohl 's coalition rose over an american proposal handed to defense minister gerhard_stoltenberg of the christian democrats in washington last week . in it , washington agreed for the first time to the principle of talks on short range weapons , but put off any reduction until a conventional_arms agreement was signed and carried out . washington also demanded that bonn forswear total elimination of the weapons . on arms reductions the proposal was made as a response to bonn 's demand last month , in defiance of washington , that nato enter into early talks with moscow on reducing short range weapons . washington had opposed talks , and in fact intended to upgrade the missiles . the dispute escalated into a test of wills between washington and a newly assertive bonn . but as the summit meeting approached , mr . kohl reportedly grew anxious about the dispute , especially after it grew from an argument about details to a test of nato . according to similar reports in suddeutsche_zeitung and another newspaper , stuttgarter , mr . genscher made it clear that he would not remain in the coalition if the american proposals , which he considered a ' 'mockery , '' were accepted . mr . kohl cannot effectively rule in germany without the coalition help of the free democrats . mr . genscher and his party categorically denied any such threats , but politicians said the foreign_minister left no doubt of his determination . bonn 's assertive stand on short range missiles was seen as a triumph for him , and he made clear he would not let it slide . thoroughly boxed in in the end , the officials said , mr . kohl was thoroughly boxed in . on one side was mr . genscher 's implicit threat to topple the coalition , on the other were staunch supporters of the policy within mr . kohl 's own party , led by alfred dregger , the christian democratic whip in parliament . on another was president richard von_weizsacker , who in a major speech on thursday effectively aligned himself with mr . genscher 's foreign_policy and boldly declared that west_germany would not be anyone 's ''plaything . '' finally there were public opinion_polls , the last of which found that 89 . 1 percent of those questioned opposed new american short range weapons . the triumph was tangible as members of mr . genscher 's free_democratic_party prepared for a party meeting in cologne on saturday . among other things , the party is prepared to declare itself in favor of the eventual elimination of all short range nuclear_weapons and nuclear_artillery shells from europe . opposed by washington this position , known as the ''third zero , '' has been strongly opposed by washington and london , who express fear that it would generate pressure for the denuclearization of europe and thus give added weight to the soviet_union 's large land army . part of washington 's last proposal to bonn , in fact , included a formal rejection of the ''third zero . '' the draft of the free democratic statement , by contrast , declares that if the ' 'security situation'' in europe permits meaning if conventional_arms are sufficiently reduced to eliminate the risk of a soviet_invasion ''the eventual full elimination of all land based short range weapons and nuclear_artillery munitions should not be excluded . '' the statement , which is certain of passage , further calls for ' 'drastic reductions'' of the strategic arms of the united_states and the soviet_union , and the reduction of conventional forces by both sides down to half the current level in nato . the latter proposal goes considerably beyond the current nato position . the liberal free democrats have always taken positions somewhat to the left of the christian democratic government , but mr . genscher 's increasingly dominant role in bonn gave the statement greater weight . in a passage apparently aimed directly at mr . kohl and reflecting last week 's dispute , the free democrats declare that the government position on short range weapons , as it was agreed to last month , ''will not be placed into question by anyone in the coalition . ''

has a location of germany

a year after bertelsmann , the german media_conglomerate , appointed an independent group of scholars to examine its disputed history during the nazi_era , the commission issued a preliminary report yesterday that took issue with corporate lore that the nazis closed the publishing company because of its political opposition . the four member commission 's tentative conclusion was that bertelsmann was closed simply because its product was not considered critically ''important for the war'' effort . the group also found that one of the early family leaders of the company , heinrich mohn , belonged to a circle of ' 'sponsoring members of the ss'' and that the small company rose remarkably to become the dominant publisher of reading material for german soldiers . the commission , a mix of german and american scholars , indicated that little research had been done on what they called the ''ss sponsors circle . '' but it said that the organization was made up of members who took no oath of allegiance to hitler , were not required to serve on active_duty in a unit and were not subject to the ss 's physical and racial standards . the commission said it appeared their primary duty was to contribute money to the ss every month . mr . mohn 's links to the ss came to light in 1998 with critical articles about bertelsmann 's corporate history in the swiss magazine die weltwoche and in the nation in the united_states . after those articles , bertelsmann 's new chief executive , thomas middelhoff , announced that the company would create an independent commission to study its history . bertelsmann is the third largest media_conglomerate in the world with more than 600 far flung companies and nearly 60 , 000 employees in more than 50 countries . the company , based in gutersloh , owns the largest trade publisher in the united_states , random_house , the record company bmg entertainment and gruner_jahr , which publishes magazines like mccall 's and family circle . with the release of the commission 's preliminary_findings at a news conference at the university of munich , mr . middelhoff also issued a brief statement about the commission 's finding about the reason bertelsmann was closed in 1944 . ''we regret that this fact was unknown to us before and that our corporate history has in part been misrepresented as a result , '' he said . previously mr . middelhoff had acknowledged that during the nazi_era ''there were clearly some titles published by bertelsmann which were not consistent with our values . '' heinrich mohn was the fourth generation in his family to lead bertelsmann , but it was his son , reinhard , who took over the company in 1947 and ultimately set the tone for the expansion and contemporary philosophy of bertelsmann , which prides itself on a decentralized system that allows its units to operate relatively independently . the commission , which was led by saul friedlander , a historian from the university of california at los_angeles , also examined bertelsmann 's efforts to publish wehrmacht edition propaganda books for german_troops during world_war_ii . all those books had to be produced under the strict supervision of the propaganda ministry and included thrillers , home and hearth novels and tales of war experiences on the front . bertelsmann 's involvement in this form of publishing had been only sketchily known , the commission said . it noted yesterday that bertelsmann 's earnings increased by a factor of 11 in just a few years , from 284 , 191 marks in 1938 to 3 , 259 , 730 marks in 1941 . the company probably manufactured and delivered more than a quarter of about 75 million copies of wehrmacht edition books , the commission said . ''this leading role on the part of a relatively small and politically less than prominent firm in the war economy 's officially supervised book market appears remarkable , '' it noted in its report . ''no other press so extensively furnished the german soldiers with reading matter . '' the commission will continue through the next year to study questions left unresolved by its early findings . for example , it intends to study more fully the motivations of heinrich mohn , who after the war explained that ''on occasion in earlier years'' he had contributed small sums to the nazi_party ''in order to be left alone . '' the total amount of his donations is unclear , although the commission found evidence that he contributed to the adolf_hitler charity fund , the nazi winter charity and the german red cross . he also gave money to nazi youth organizations like the flyers' group of hitler youth .

has a location of germany

the united_states broke ground for a new embassy next to the brandenburg_gate in berlin . construction is expected to be completed by november 2007 . victor_homola ( nyt )

has a location of germany

lead after all the grief over first bringing american medium_range_missiles into europe and then over removing them germans greeted the disarmament treaty today with a mix of relief and anxiety over what comes next . after all the grief over first bringing american medium_range_missiles into europe and then over removing them germans greeted the disarmament treaty today with a mix of relief and anxiety over what comes next . one immediate concern in chancellor helmut_kohl 's government was that the united_states_senate would fail to approve the treaty , a move that would be certain to generate strong anger and frustration throughout west_germany . ''non ratification would be disastrous , '' horst teltschik , mr . kohl 's top foreign_affairs adviser , said in an interview . ''everyone would say there 's no chance left for agreement at all . there would be serious political and psychological repercussions everybody would say there 's no chance at all now for any arms control . '' mr . teltschik also expressed concern over the possibility that the americans might unilaterlly reduce their military forces in europe , a move he said would be seen as confirmation of conservative arguments that the elimination of all medium_range_missiles augured a weakening of the defense bonds between the united_states and western_europe . enthusiasm for disarmament for the present , however , trepidation over the future did not seem widespread . among the people munching sizzling reibekuchen and knackwurst or picking christmas_tree decorations at the traditional christmas bazaar at cathedral square here , the pageantry and pacts being reported from washington seemed to blend with the season 's glitter , hot mulled wine and talk of peace on earth . after years of tensions , violent demonstrations , dire scenarios and bitter disputes , the sight of president_reagan and the soviet leader , mikhail s . gorbachev , signing a treaty to eliminate a whole class of weapons , which was shown live on all west_german television stations , seemed to promise a stretch of security and calm . ''the important thing is to keep on going with disarmament , '' said hans buschlon , an engineer shopping with his wife . ''the russians do have more conventional_arms , but i do n't believe they have any interest in attacking us . i think chernobyl has taught them a lesson . '' the sentiment reflected the overwhelming enthusiasm public opinion_polls have shown among west germans for disarmament , a feeling partly grounded in the insecurity that comes from standing on the front line of the east west confrontation and partly from a longing for detente born of the division of the german nation . dissension from the right mr . kohl , who was initially reluctant to endorse the pact , now hailed its ''historic significance'' and claimed a share of the credit . the free_democratic_party of foreign_minister hans_dietrich_genscher and the opposition social democrats , which had both advocated such an agreement from the outset , likewise enthusiastically welcomed the pact . but strong dissenting voices were heard from the right wing , both from conservative members of mr . kohl 's christian_democratic_union and from the christian social union in bavaria , the leader of which , franz_josef_strauss , has been among the most vocal opponents of the ' 'double zero'' agreement . ''if this process is the beginning of a political change , namely a turn in the politics of the soviet_union , then this could be the beginning of a new world situation , '' mr . strauss said in a television debate . ''but at this point nobody knows what gorbachev really wants , and even if he wants what we hope he wants , then no one knows if he can have his way . '' the resistance of the conservatives has focused on several issues . one is the idea that without medium_range nuclear_weapons stationed in europe , the united_states might be less prone to automatically respond to a soviet attack on western_europe with nuclear_weapons , thus weakening trans_atlantic defense links . weapons aimed at germany another object of conservative criticism is the linking of medium_range weapons with a range of 600 to 3 , 000 miles with shorter range weapons with a range of 300 to 600 miles in the treaty . to the germans , this meant that remaining battlefield weapons would almost all be aimed at german soil , east or west . that fact was captured in a popular saying , ''the shorter the range the deader the germans , '' and fed the sense that the other allies were prepared to let germans take the brunt of a soviet attack , a notion strengthened by british talk of the need to leave behind a ''firebreak'' of short range weapons after the others are gone . the third reservation , one that with the signing of the treaty comes to the forefront , was that the elimination of medium_range weapons left the soviet_union with a 3 to 1 superiority in conventional_arms , and the west without a lever to bring it down . mr . strauss and other critics had argued that the united_states should have opted for a phased reduction of missiles , to go parallel with a reduction of conventional_arms . 'terribly disturbed' by treaty the feeling was shared by jurgen todenhofer , who resigned a month ago as spokesman for the christian democrats' disarmament committee . ''i am personally terribly disturbed by this treaty , '' he said . ''nuclear_weapons were brought in in the first place in the 1950 's to act as a shield against a conventional war of swords , as a deterrent . now we are laying down the shield without having blunted the sword . ''nato hopes that the warsaw_pact will voluntarily reduce its conventional superiority . but what will we do in two years if gorbachev stops smiling ? '' these concerns were reflected in strong urgings from mr . kohl and his government for the superpowers not to slacken the pace of disarmament , and to continue quickly to agreements on intercontinental missiles , chemical_weapons , conventional_arms and short range missiles .

has a location of germany

the united_states and germany went ahead and announced an extensive aid program for russia without obtaining specific pledges from the seven countries involved in much of the 11 billion direct aid part of the package , american and european officials said today . many of the countries jostled today to take credit for the aid . but apart from the united_states , none could say how much each was donating , and one accounting suggested that about 4 billion was in the form of only a vague promise to provide the aid " if it is needed . " the 24 billion figure used by president_bush and chancellor helmut_kohl of germany on wednesday sprang from a hurried exercise in political and financial expediency . it is not clear how much mr . bush 's involvement was driven by gov . bill clinton 's plans to speak on the same subject on wednesday , although mr . bush juggled his schedule to make the announcement in the morning , minutes before the democratic presidential_candidate spoke in new york . gain but no pain what is clear is that the aim was to allow mr . bush and leaders of the other countries to claim some gain and show that the industrial giants were seizing the moment to spur democracy in russia without asking their taxpayers to spend any more cash in tough political and economic_times at home . despite those political calculations , the proposal became ensnared in american politics today . house democratic leaders indicated that they might link approval for any new money for russia to white_house support for a permanent extension of unemployment_benefits and mr . bush 's republican rival , patrick j . buchanan , broke an informal political cease fire to denounce the aid_package . but three former presidents , jimmy_carter , gerald_ford and richard_nixon , lent mr . bush their backing in a letter to the house speaker , thomas s . foley , that urged passage of the 12 billion increase that mr . bush is seeking in the american contribution to the international_monetary_fund as part of the aid program . according to figures issued by the united_states_government , many of them contradictory , and interviews with american and european officials , here is where the 24 billion figure came from the group of seven nations agreed among themselves to create a 6 billion fund to maintain the value of the ruble while it is being turned into a convertible currency . the international_monetary_fund , meanwhile , settled on an estimate that russia would need 18 billion in aid this year . deferring loan payments so the industrial nations needed to produce 24 billion in aid . they agreed that the i.m.f . and other lending institutions would lend russia 4 . 5 billion . those countries that lent money to the soviet_union before jan . 1 , 1991 , which does not include the united_states , would defer 2 . 5 billion in payments . that is where the clarity ends . what was left was 11 billion , which none of the countries could politically or economically produce as new outlays of cash . so the treasury department added up all existing aid programs from the group of seven and projections of further likely assistance , and came up with 11 billion . american and european officials stressed that these were real programs that help the soviet economy , but they could not produce anything like a complete accounting of where it was coming from . even american government agencies could not agree among themselves about their contribution , mostly in credits for russia to buy american products . the treasury department said it was 2 billion the state_department said it was 2 . 6 billion . hedging a commitment germany appears to be listing 3 billion in export credits , canada some part of 1 . 5 billion in export credits announced last year and japan an unspecified part of 2 . 5 billion in credits announced last year . britain 's share is about 700 million . contributions from italy and france were unknown . two european diplomats said that actual totals amounted to 7 billion and that the group of seven had agreed in principle to provide the 4 billion more later , if it is needed and the group is hopeful that it will not be . although at least one of the countries involved , japan , seemed irked at the way the aid_package was unveiled in bonn and in washington on wednesday , virtually everyone got something . mr . bush was able to make a grand gesture of executive authority at an important time in his presidency , when he is struggling to seize control of the 1992 election campaign and to demonstrate that he is still the senior partner in the western coalition . an opportunity for bush in return , he ended months of hesitancy over aid to russia and promised to ask congress for a major increase in the american donation to the i.m.f. , for which britain and germany had long been clamoring . prime_minister john_major of britain , who had been representing russia before the i.m.f. , announced today that he had " taken the lead " in putting together the aid program . mr . kohl was able to present the package as an example of germany 's leadership by using his time zone advantage to make the announcement before mr . bush . and the german_government , which has given far more cash to the former soviet_union than any other country , did not have to give any more . neither did the other countries . but mr . bush did ask congress to increase the i.m.f . contribution .

has a location of germany

chancellor helmut_kohl of germany , the strongman of europe for most of george_bush 's presidency , went to washington today for a meeting with president_clinton on friday . but the country he leads now looks far less economically formidable and politically self confident than it did after reunification two and a half years ago . for months , germany 's political system has been all but paralyzed by indecision about how to meet the problems of the swelling ranks of refugees from eastern_europe , the spiraling costs of absorbing the ruined communist economy of eastern_germany , and the growing expectations of its international partners . for years , germany has been calling on other countries to contribute to russia and other former soviet republics as much as bonn has provided nearly 50 billion since 1989 to keep the forces of democracy and free_markets from coming to grief there . now that president_clinton is proposing a new program of aid to bolster president boris n . yeltsin , mr . kohl is expected to say germany is broke and has done enough already . germany faulted on balkans germany also showed on the eve of mr . kohl 's departure that it was hardly in a position to lead europe out of the morass in the balkans . mr . kohl 's coalition was so divided on what to do about one important issue relating to the war in the balkans that it decided , in effect , to sue itself and buck the decision to a federal constitutional court . the issue was whether the clauses against war making in the german constitution of 1949 would require bonn to pull its crew members off nato air surveillance missions of military flights over bosnia if , as expected , the security_council authorizes force to keep serbian aircraft from flying . the christian democratic alliance of mr . kohl said the constitutional ban on " acts tending to and undertaken with the intent to disturb the peaceful relations between nations " did not apply to peacekeeping missions under the aegis of the united_nations . but the free democrats said the constitution needed to be amended , which can happen only with the consent of the social_democratic opposition , before german_troops could be put into potential combat situations beyond the country 's borders . because no country really wants to take the first step into involvement in the balkan war , and lately because of the political turmoil in russia , the security_council has repeatedly put off a vote on enforcing the flight ban . could n't agree on policy until wednesday night , the government kept putting off a decision because it could not agree on a policy . german participation is key to the surveillance . the 18 four engined american e 3a planes in the operation are based primarily at geilenkirchen , near the netherlands , and germans make up about 30 percent of the 1 , 500 military personnel involved , nato officers say . foreign_minister klaus kinkel and the free democrats have made clear that for them , the problem is not german_troops' staying on the planes but the necessity of changing the constitution to let them . so late wednesday night , the free democrats and the christian democrats agreed that if the united_nations passes the resolution , mr . kohl 's party would order troops to stay on the surveillance planes and mr . kinkel 's party would then apply for a temporary injunction and a quick court ruling . the opposition social_democratic leader , hans ulrich klose , today sarcastically called this " a really classy way to govern . " his party has challenged german participation in the naval blockade of serbia , and it is not willing to go along with a constitutional change to permit broader participation in peacekeeping missions .

has a location of germany

lead the bush_administration is reviewing american policy toward east_germany , seeking a balance of encouraging democratization there without also fostering a pell_mell movement toward reunification of germany that would threaten both moscow and america 's nato allies . the bush_administration is reviewing american policy toward east_germany , seeking a balance of encouraging democratization there without also fostering a pell_mell movement toward reunification of germany that would threaten both moscow and america 's nato allies . the replacement of erich_honecker as head of the communist_party and growing internal pressures for change in east_germany have strengthened the perception among administration officials that the way they respond to developments between east and west_germany could become their next major foreign_policy challenge . it is not one that everyone welcomes . ''with poland and hungary we can encourage reform and self expression without feeling it is in any way inconsistent with american interests , '' a senior policy maker said . ''but when you support the same things for east_germany you are knowingly accelerating a process which would make the ultimate reunification of germany more possible . the more similar east_germany is to west_germany the more easy it will be for the two to fuse . the more different they are , the more difficult it will be . which do we really want ? '' for several decades the united_states had a very simple policy toward east_germany the berlin_wall should be removed and east and west_germany should be peacefully reunited . but washington assumed this was unattainable and preferred it that way . ''the situation we have had with the germanys for 45 years has been unnatural but stable , '' said herbert s . okun , a former united_states ambassador to east_germany . ''now that we are moving toward a situation that is more natural the question is how do we preserve the stability . '' three dimensional policy a range of senior officials said the administration is evolving a policy on east_germany that has three basic dimensions . on one level , the administration has decided that it both can and should continue to encourage gradual change in east_germany . it should do this , officials say , because only an east_german government based on more free_market and democratic foundations can prevent a popular explosion . such an explosion , these officials fear , would almost certainly provoke a domestic crackdown or soviet intervention . administration officials believe they can afford to encourage change in east_germany because they consider the prospects for reunification remote at this time . the administration is operating on the unstated assumption that the soviet_union will not allow a merger of east_germany into west_germany , given the fact that it serves as the strategic anchor of the warsaw_pact . conditions on reunification but administration officials say they would be foolish simply to assume that german_reunification is impossible , which brings up the second dimension of east_germany policy for the first time , secretary of state james a . baker 3d has begun to talk publicly about the conditions under which washington would be ready to see german_reunification . mr . baker uses the word german ' 'reconciliation'' instead of ' 'reunification , '' partly to avoid european anxieties and to convey the message that such a merger must be voluntary and take place on western terms . a secondary motive in washington 's support for integration of the european_community in 1992 , a senior administration official said , ''is to insure that west_germany has a strong anchor in laws , commerce and values in the west so that if and when it is drawn east it does so on the basis of being fully integrated into the western economic and political_union . '' this underscores the third dimension of american policy work closely with bonn . west_germany is the only nato member with the economic and political resources , and the penetration of east_german society , to promote the kind of evolutionary change in east_germany that would prevent a political collapse , or a popular explosion .

has a location of germany

lead secretary of state george p . shultz and eduard a . shevardnadze , the soviet foreign_minister , have agreed to hold talks in september on arms control , officials said today . secretary of state george p . shultz and eduard a . shevardnadze , the soviet foreign_minister , have agreed to hold talks in september on arms control , officials said today . administration officials said the two sides were discussing plans for a meeting in washington just before the united_nations_general_assembly convenes in mid september . ''that is the period we are looking at , '' said one official . but he cautioned that a final date had not been set . the planning put the two sides on a firm schedule toward a possible arms agreement and summit meeting between president_reagan and mikhail s . gorbachev later this year , though important differences over west_germany 's short range missiles are still a barrier to a treaty . shultz meets soviet envoy the meeting between the foreign ministers was the main subject of discussion today when mr . shultz met with the soviet ambassador , yuri v . dubinin . the united_states had proposed the meeting for july . the soviet_union did not agree and mr . dubinin informed mr . shultz that the soviet_union thought the meeting should take place in september . administration officials said that the united_states would soon formally endorse mikhail s . gorbachev 's acceptance of a worldwide ban on american and soviet medium_range and shorter_range_missiles . they said that the united_states would probably reply formally to the gorbachev stand announced last week at the geneva arms talks on tuesday . the american and soviet foreign ministers have traditionally met during the united_nations_general_assembly . one exception was 1983 , when andrei a . gromyko , now president , canceled his visit after the governors of new york and new jersey closed civilian airports to him because of the soviet downing of a south_korean airliner . some observers said that the agreement on the shultz shevardnadze meeting was a sign that a foundation was being laid for further progress toward an arms treaty and summit meeting after the surprise announcement by mr . gorbachev last week . 'return to business as usual' ''it is a return to business as usual , '' by the soviet_union , said dimitri k . simes , senior associate at the carnegie endowment for international peace . mr . simes said that soviet negotiatiors had stalled in the weeks proceeding mr . gorbachev 's announcement , partly because they wanted to assess the effect of the iran contra hearings on mr . reagan 's presidency . now , he said , moscow has apparently concluded that mr . reagan ''has survived the worst in the iran contra hearing and that the time is running out to get an agreement . '' some administration experts have speculated that the soviet_union would not agree to a meeting before september because , they said , moscow wanted to see if its public campaign against the west_german pershing 1a missile would lead to a softening in the american or west_german positions . the main obstacle to a treaty at this point is the soviet demand that the american warheads for west_germany 's pershing 1a missiles be destroyed . but the two sides still have potentially important differences over verification and other issues , such as the timetable for reductions . on verification , the reagan_administration has told moscow that the need for monitoring measures would be reduced if the soviet_union agreed to a worldwide ban . but now that the russians have agreed to such a ban , the administration is still trying to work out exactly how its monitoring measures should be modified .

has a location of germany

the government will extend for about 18 months a ''green card'' program , inspired by the united_states , entitling high tech experts from outside the european_union to work in the country to fill a skills gap in computer technology . since aug . 1 , 2000 , a total of more than 14 , 500 work and residence permits have been allocated . most applicants came from india and the former soviet_union . victor_homola ( nyt )

has a location of germany

because of an editing error , a front page article yesterday about secretary of state condoleezza_rice 's trip to europe incorrectly paraphrased remarks by angela_merkel , the german chancellor , at a news conference with ms . rice . referring to the 2003 abduction and five month detention of a german , khaled al masri , by the united_states on suspicion of terrorism , mrs . merkel said that the united_states had admitted error in the case , not that ms . rice had admitted error .

has a location of germany

lead president_bush arrived here tonight on the eve of a summit gathering of the north_atlantic_treaty_organization with the alliance deeply divided over bonn 's insistence on reducing the threat of short range nuclear_missiles to german territory . president_bush arrived here tonight on the eve of a summit gathering of the north_atlantic_treaty_organization with the alliance deeply divided over bonn 's insistence on reducing the threat of short range nuclear_missiles to german territory . but mr . bush will seek a dramatic shift in the summit agenda on monday when he makes a new proposal for reductions in american and soviet conventional troop_strength in europe that is aimed at ' 'swamping the missile discussion , '' in the words of an american official . for purposes of ending the dispute over short range missiles , the key part of the new proposal is its call for the conclusion of an ''accelerated'' accord , within a year , at the vienna conventional_arms talks . bonn has demanded ''rapid'' negotiations on short range missiles , but washington has said that these should be discussed only after an accord on conventional_arms , and has indicated that a reduction of conventional forces is several years distant . by advancing the timetable for conventional_arms talks , a radical recasting of the nato position on conventional_arms reductions , mr . bush evidently hopes to placate bonn . 'denuclearization' feared in a second point of contention , the west germans have refused to rule out the possibility that short range nuclear_missiles could be eliminated altogether . this stance raises fears in washington , london and paris of the ' 'denuclearization'' of nat0 's central front . the threat of nuclear retaliation in the event of a conventional attack by the warsaw_pact is the centerpiece of nato 's defensive strategy . a summit get together that was meant to celebrate nat0 's 40th_anniversary on an upbeat note and allow mr . bush to shine on his first presidential visit to europe has so far been overshadowed by the angry missile dispute , which has crimped the alliance 's efforts to recapture the diplomatic initiative from president mikhail s . gorbachev of the soviet_union . by imposing a new topic of discussion on the alliance gathering , the bush_administration evidently hopes to take the attention off the thorny missile controversy and , by focusing on conventional_arms reductions , to remind the allies , and particularly the west germans , that american_troops cannot be taken for granted in europe . the united_states is also asking nato to reiterate its backing for the development of a successor to the lance short range missile , which is expected to become obsolete in the mid 1990 's . but bonn has dismissively characterized washington 's financing and development of a new missile , which is intended to be stationed principally in west_germany , as a ''national'' decision by the united_states . genscher 's big role traditionally , nato_summit meetings are carefully choreographed , with only limited haggling required by technical experts over documents that have been broadly accepted beforehand . but the gulf between bonn and washington on the missile issue is so wide that mr . bush , chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany , prime_minister margaret_thatcher of britain and the leaders of nat0 's 13 other members will have to thrash it out themselves on monday , diplomats say . ''i think we 're now in a situation where the leaders themselves will have to have an exchange , '' a nato delegate said . ''i honestly do n't know if a compromise is possible . it will depend on what mood herr genscher comes to the summit in . '' a fluid situation is complicated by differences between chancellor kohl and his influential foreign_minister and coalition partner , hans_dietrich_genscher . mr . kohl is seen as willing to accept language that would rule out the elimination of all short range missiles while mr . genscher is not . in the last few days , the missile question has strained bonn 's center right coalition almost to the snapping point , and the foreign_minister has been reported to have threatened to resign if he does not get his way . education minister jurgen mollemann , a genscher ally , reiterated the threat on saturday . delayed arrival by delaying their arrival in brussels until monday morning , mr . kohl and mr . genscher have ruled out any face to face negotiations for a compromise before the summit meeting formally opens at 9 30 a.m . at nat0 's sprawling headquarters . mr . kohl met in the hague on saturday with ruud lubbers , the dutch prime_minister , who has broadly backed washington in the dispute . west_germany found support among a number of continental countries in its demand for talks on the short range missiles , but there is much less enthusiasm for eliminating the missiles altogether . failure to reach a compromise on the missile issue here will make a mockery of a major document on nat0 's military_strategy that was supposed to be issued monday after two years of laborious drafting , diplomats said . the so called comprehensive concept document was demanded by mr . genscher at a nato foreign ministers' meeting in june 1987 to provide ''political cover'' for bonn to be able to endorse a 1985 alliance decision to replace the 88 lance short range launchers , which are mostly based in west_germany . bonn has already obtained a tacit nato agreement to put off the lance replacement decision until after elections in west_germany in 1990 . firm stand by thatcher the key sections on short range missiles in the comprehensive concept document remain blank , and nato diplomats predicted that , for differing reasons , the germans , americans and british might veto issuing the text in the absence of an agreement on the overall dispute . mrs . thatcher has taken an even firmer line than the united_states , arguing that there can be no short range talks until nato has unequivocally committed itself to deploy a successor to lance . on tuesday , the second day of the meeting , the leaders are to unveil a political declaration that is meant to convey the alliance 's vision of east west relations in light of mr . gorbachev 's innovative policies in the soviet_union and the surge of political change in several eastern_european countries . the drafting of this document has kindled little controversy and , in the words of an american official , provides ''quite a solid agenda for the future of east west relations . '' but the official expressed concern that the political document , which is meant to match mr . gorbachev 's ambitious east west initiatives , may get overlooked in the squabbling over the missiles .

has a location of germany

to the editor re ''pictures at the hotel armageddon'' by richard b . woodward jan . 11 the paranoia and na_vet of the dienstelle marienthal , designed to provide protection for essential personnel in case of nuclear attack , reminded me of the absurd drills years ago which required students to seek shelter under their desks . the difference being that hiding under a desk did not cost 1 . 4 billion . irving seidenberg chestnut ridge , n.y . hotel armageddon

has a location of germany

given the current crazes for fashion related art and photo based art , the growing interest in one of their intersections , fashion_photography , comes as no surprise . the latest indication is ''zeitgeist becomes form german fashion_photography , 1945 1995 , '' an ambitious if uneven survey organized by f . c . gundlach , a former fashion photographer and writer , at pat hearn and morris healy , neighboring galleries in chelsea . sponsored by the german_government as part of a series titled ''photography in germany from 1850 until today , '' it is one of several exhibitions of german photography in the downtown area right now . as a relatively new esthetic cross over , fashion_photography follows a number of other marginal art forms , like furniture design or ceramics , that have come in from the cold of commerce and function to be taken more seriously as art . it may have the advantage of being a subset of photography , already taken plenty seriously , but its history has only recently begun to be examined with any thoroughness . ''zeitgeist becomes form , '' which includes the work of 35 artists from several generations , is one of the first exhibitions to focus exclusively on german fashion_photography . how german is german fashion_photography ? many of the nearly 160 images here have been published in non german magazines some of the photographers were born elsewhere , while others born in germany now live in paris and new york . still , the exhibition 's answer is clear german enough . one of the show 's salient characteristics is a strong sense of the national zeitgeist of german history and even german art ( expressionism , neue sachlichkeit , neo expressionism ) . it is overly inclusive and thus indiscriminate , especially in its middle section it lacks a high frequency of truly resolved , breathtaking images , and offers plenty of reminders of how pretentious , gimmicky and vacant bad fashion_photography can be . but it also says as much about germany as about fashion or photography , thoroughly living up to its title ( which rather cheekily echoes that of a groundbreaking exhibition of conceptual art , ''live in your head when attitude becomes form , '' held in bern in 1969 ) . along the way the show also offers a reasonable explanation for the current fascination with fashion_photography , which simply , almost dumbly , touches on a fairly long list of overheated art issues the body , clothing , gender , theater , not to mention style , beauty and , of course , sex . the exhibition begins in the late 1940 's , in the early years of germany 's economic_recovery , when christian_dior 's ''new look'' was all the rage and german photographers , like their colleagues in new york and paris , took models out of the studio and into the street , contrasting their hothouse beauty with real life backdrops . some , like willy maywald , who worked for dior and jacques fath in paris , achieved a sharp edged , ethereal elegance similar to richard avedon 's . in germany , however , the backdrops often , possibly deliberately , conjured up the war 's devastation , or the country 's economic_recovery . herbert tobias places a model in a lavish evening dress in front of the ruined arches of an imposing building in berlin . norbert leonard positions his subject , wearing a day suit , in an automobile factory . more ambiguously , hubs floter places a sleek gowned model in the wooden bleachers of a stadium with a flock of blond schoolchildren grouped behind her . years later , in 1979 , helmut newton continues the theme , placing a blond model wearing a black lace camisole in front of the berlin_wall , with the neglected brandenburg_gate looming in the background . a darker cousin of the innocent tourist snapshot , it also summons something of marlene dietrich 's ''blue angel'' and the grim satire of grosz and dix . peter lindbergh evokes his country 's nazi past , and fascism in general , when he places models in uniformlike suits by comme des garcons amid the monumental forms of a bridge that is , as it happens , in france . ( more of his efforts are on view in a solo show at the james danziger gallery in soho . ) a more esthetic backward glance is cast by jurgen teller 's 1991 photographs of the stylist and model anna pawlowski for comme des garcons , especially one in which ms . pawlowski , wearing a cone shaped skirt , clings to a tilting chimney like an escapee from ''dr . caligari 's cabinet . '' in recent years , the style of fashion_photography has become both more international and more individual , a vehicle of personal expression that disregards clothes in favor of the mundane , the narrative or the overall effects of the image . mr . gundlach himself , whose images are remarkable for their seeming casualness and their stark graphic quality , may have contributed to this trend . ( his fashion work from the 1950 's and 60 's is the subject of a show at american fine_arts in soho . ) these tendencies give this exhibition a strong finish , especially in the ' 'slacker'' images of wolfgang tillmans , the sexually charged scenes of ellen unwerth , the isolating portraitlike treatments of ulrike schamoni and rainer leitzgen 's luminous , almost painterly portrayals of issey miyake 's designs in which the garments all but consume their wearers . in the end , this exhibition convinces one above all of fashion_photography 's unusual malleability , its continual oscillation between art and cinema , history and fantasy , reportage and seduction . still , when confronted with ute mahler 's recent photographs especially one in which a black model in an overcoat runs across an old courtyard clutching banged up suitcases in either hand a slight chill is unavoidable . germany 's past is always lurking just beneath the surface , ready to be exploited by the photographer or read into the image by the viewer . another exhibition that attests to the strength of german photography is a display of karl blossfeldt 's elegant turn of the century close ups of plants , ''first forms of art , '' at the friedrich petzel gallery in soho . less direct corroboration is offered by ''someone else with my fingerprints , '' at david zwirner , also in soho . an eclectic exhibition organized by wilhelm schurmann , a german collector and dealer , it offers images by numerous german photographers but also ranges throughout the world , from artists' works to film stills , with an encyclopedic fervor that is in some ways yet another expression of germanness . ''zeitgeist becomes form german fashion_photography , 1945 1995'' remains at the pat hearn and morris healy galleries , 530 west 22d street , chelsea , through feb . 22 . photography review

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spread the word . a museum exhibition devoted to computer viruses opened last week at the museum of applied arts in frankfurt . but for visitors to the ''i love you'' exhibition , which takes its name from the virus that zapped countless data files in 2000 , the danger level is low . the only wild viruses being demonstrated are on a computer that is not online . visitors can activate them and crash the computer . ''it 's like a virus mantra , '' said franziska nori , director of the museum 's digital culture department . ''we constantly reboot , reboot , reboot . '' the exhibition , which has a web_site at digitalcraft . org , traces the 30 year evolution of viruses from computer lab pastime to global scourge . interactive displays describe hundreds of viruses and show the outcome of choice examples . but because the museum focuses on the applied arts , the exhibition portrays virus writing as a kind of craft whose practitioners aim to shape code into an elegantly concise , dramatically effective form . ms . nori said that programmers dismiss the crudely coded love bug despite its wide impact . more to her taste , she said , is the cascade virus from the early 90 's , which caused a document 's letters to tumble to the bottom of the screen . she compared it to a poem by apollinaire in which the words form a raindrop on the page . the exhibition is sponsored by symantec , the antivirus software maker . matthew mirapaul news watch culture

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lead in 1977 , president_jimmy_carter sat down with helmut_schmidt and asked the west_german chancellor how they could work together to bring down the berlin_wall . in 1977 , president_jimmy_carter sat down with helmut_schmidt and asked the west_german chancellor how they could work together to bring down the berlin_wall . ''then , i realized how little my counterpart understood of the situation in a divided europe and the power of the soviet_union and its interests , '' mr . schmidt says of mr . carter in his memoirs . the memoirs , ''menschen und machte , '' or ''people and powers , '' are now on top of the best seller lists in west_germany , and foreign editions are in preparation . the former chancellor said that when the president asked him about joint american west_german action to get rid of the wall , ''amazed , i asked him back 'how , in which way ? ' '' he said mr . carter 's reply was , ''i thought you had perhaps a recipe for it . '' ''naturally , neither i nor anyone else in the west had a recipe , '' mr . schmidt says . he says the question showed mr . carter 's ''naivete . '' messages seeking comment and left with the answering service at the carter presidential center in atlanta were unanswered . mr . carter 's home telephone_number in plains , ga . , is unlisted . also in the schmidt book are candid views of other leading politicians . of leonid i . brezhnev , mr . schmidt writes that he ''was a russian with all the qualities that we usually attribute to russians strength , the ability to hold a drink , hospitality , sentimentality , warmth , generosity . '' but at the same time , he could be ' 'mistrustful toward strangers whose position was unclear , '' the book says , and showed , ''even brutality , when necessary . '' of gerald_ford , mr . schmidt writes ''under his presidency , the united_states became , from bonn 's point of view , a more predictable and reliable partner and leader of the atlantic alliance . gerald_ford never surprised me with one sided decisions taken without consultation . '' of president_reagan , mr . schmidt writes ''reagan has an astounding ability to talk to his countrymen exactly how they talk among each other . with reagan , americans had the instinctive feeling that 'he is one of us we can trust him . ' '' the former chancellor , who will be 69 on dec . 23 , is now co publisher of the weekly_newspaper die_zeit of hamburg . he also lectures at universities and meets regularly with a committee of elder statesmen to discuss world politics .

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lead last month , a nato military exercise came to an abrupt end when the west_german and turkish participants objected to an american proposal for the hypothetical use of battlefield nuclear_weapons against an enemy on german and turkish territory . last month , a nato military exercise came to an abrupt end when the west_german and turkish participants objected to an american proposal for the hypothetical use of battlefield nuclear_weapons against an enemy on german and turkish territory . this interruption in a routine annual exercise the first ever for such a reason was reported last week by jane 's , the military information service and confirmed by a pentagon official . it is emblematic of the restiveness within the north_atlantic_treaty_organization over its nuclear based strategy . for 40 years nato strategy has been to deter warsaw_pact armies from attacking the west by fielding a smaller but modern military force backed up by the threat to use nuclear_weapons if its conventional forces cannot stop a soviet onslaught . so west_germany 's campaign to defer deploying a new missile to replace the lance , nato 's battlefield nuclear missile , and to negotiate a reduction of short range nuclear_arms with the soviet_union , has raised questions about the value of these weapons . deterrent or cause ? because of their proximity to the front and the likelihood of pressure from field commanders to ''use them or lose them'' early in a war , many nato experts believe the alliance 's short range nuclear systems , which can deliver 4 , 600 warheads , are destabilizing and could lead to nuclear_war . alliance officials have long recognized this anomaly , but with the arcane logic that the alliance attaches to nuclear_weapons , they reason that the weapons exist to prevent war and not to fight one . successive nato commanders have said that at present strengths , soviet conventional superiority will force them to request authority to use nuclear_weapons very early in any conflict . gen . john galvin , supreme allied commander in europe , said that ''we must rely on our short range nuclear forces . '' his predecessor , gen . bernard rogers , calculated that it would be just a matter of days after coming under attack that nuclear_weapons would be needed to prevent the collapse of nato defenses . complex control of warheads but even in the unlikely event that the alliance 's civilian leaders agreed that tactical nuclear weapons should be used in the equally unlikely event that such a war broke out the request and authorization process to use nuclear_weapons must go through seven military and political levels before a warhead would be released . under the best of circumstances this would take about 24 hours . in the chaos of the early days of a war , it is doubtful that the process could be completed in time to keep up with events on the battlefield . gen . donn starry , in testimony on capitol_hill before he retired from the army , said , ''the delays that are attendant upon asking for and receiving nuclear_weapons release always create a situation in which , if you wait until they get into your territory to ask for the use of nuclear_weapons , it is always too late . '' the soviet_union has forsworn first use of nuclear_weapons , but its military writings make it clear that nato 's battlefield nuclear_arsenal is at the top of its list of targets . there are less than 100 american controlled nuclear storage sites in europe and the soviet commanders know their locations . according to american intelligence officers , the soviet_forces plan to attack them from the air and with special_operations forces in the event of war . and soviet_military journals imply that if there are signs that the alliance is preparing to use the weapons , the other side would pre_empt such action with its own nuclear_weapons . a short lived advantage but even if nato forces fire first to halt a soviet attack , it would provide only a short lived military advantage if soviet_forces responded by using nuclear_missiles from their own formidable inventory of battlefield weapons . this in turn could lead to nuclear escalation , which neither side wants . nonetheless , since the 1987 soviet american agreement to destroy intermediate_range land based nuclear_weapons like the soviet ss 20 and the american pershing 2 missiles , nuclear_weapons with ranges under 300 miles constitute the mainstay of nato 's deterrent strategy as long as the alliance sees itself outgunned by soviet conventional forces in europe . general galvin has written , ''the pivotal role in deterrence has been , and remains , the nuclear_weapon . '' the battlefield weapons range in size from less than a kiloton to 100 kilotons by comparison , the bomb dropped on hiroshima produced a_10 kiloton explosion . nato 's principal ground nuclear_weapons system is the lance missile , which has a 70 mile range . there are 88 lance launchers in europe , each with an estimated 20 missiles . 1960 's technology the lance is a product of 1960 's technology and is not accurate against small targets like bridges or command centers . it is also slow to load and reload and , because its range is limited , it must be fired dangerously close to the front lines . nato members acknowledge the need to replace the lance , and the proposed new missile would have a range four times greater , greater accuracy and a higher explosive yield . but west_germany 's leaders want to defer that action for domestic political reasons . the soviet counterparts to the lance are the ss 1 , ss 21 and frog , all of which can carry nuclear or non nuclear_warheads to the 300 mile limit imposed by the 1987 agreement . the warsaw_pact has 1 , 400 of these launchers , with almost 500 in central_europe , along with an undisclosed number of warheads . in addition to the lance , nato and the warsaw_pact each have more than 2 , 000 artillery_pieces capable of firing nuclear_warheads . the most potent nuclear_weapons delivery systems on both sides are attack bombers , which can carry either conventional or nuclear_weapons well beyond the range of ground systems . aircraft have not yet been included in any of the arms reduction talks , and presumably they are also excluded from the west_german proposal to negotiate on short range systems . also excluded are the british and french nuclear_arsenals , which are controlled separately from nato 's stocks .

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the neue nationalgalerie here , ludwig mies van der rohe 's airy minimalist temple to the modern , is housing an exhibition of 212 works from the museum_of_modern_art in new york , which is undergoing renovation before reopening at the end of the year . not far away , on pariser_platz , the german painter max liebermann stood at the window of his atelier 71 years ago watching the nazis goose step through the brandenburg_gate after hitler took power in 1933 . in a sense that catastrophe sparked the transplantation of modern_art to america , extracted from its european roots . that context is what gives this exhibition , which opened feb . 20 and runs until sept . 19 , such extraordinary power . there is little new to say about max beckmann 's haunting triptych ''the departure , '' painted in 1932 33 . yet in a show nearly devoid of german masters , this painting stands out as a statement about the exhibition itself . a few years after it was made , germany 's great painters were forbidden to create art . the gestapo would search their studios and homes , feeling the paintbrushes to see if they were wet . many artists went into exile or died disillusioned . ''for the neue nationalgalerie this is the return of the modern , what berlin could have been had it not been for hitler and later the isolation of east_germany , '' peter klaus schuster , director of the museum , said at the show 's opening . glenn lowry , the director of the museum_of_modern_art , said it was startling to see such familiar works of art in this setting . ''seen in the context of berlin and in this building , '' he said , ''the works take on a new meaning that makes them contemporary in the moment . it 's a dialogue between art and history . '' from its inception the exhibition has been as much about restoring berlin 's place in europe as about making accessible to europeans modern masterpieces by artists like picasso , rousseau , c zanne , chagall , van_gogh , dal , hopper , pollock , rothko and warhol . two summers ago over a glass of wine in a bistro in the sch neberg district of berlin , mr . lowry told peter raue , chairman of friends of the neue nationalgalerie , of his plan to lease a traveling show of the modern 's collection during the renovation . mr . raue was shocked when mr . lowry named cities on the potential tour london , paris , madrid and frankfurt . ''i told him it should only be in berlin , '' mr . raue said . mr . lowry agreed to make berlin the only european site , but only if he could have the entire neue nationalgalerie for his collection . ''let 's put the collection and the building together , '' he said . the exhibition is laid out as a dialogue between american and european modern_art and a chronological tour through more than a century of works . on entering the first room , dedicated to post impressionism , the visitor stands before rousseau 's ''dream . '' in the next room monet 's ''water lilies , '' a triptych from 1920 , dominates a long white wall . then the presentation splits , with american artists on the left and europeans on the right , symbolizing the division and dialogue across the atlantic . the show ends with gerhard richter 's disturbing cycle ''18 . oktober 1977 . '' the smoky , impenetrable images of the dead baader meinhof gang a group of left_wing urban terrorists known as the red_army_faction seen in the context of berlin , where its members met and formed their deadly bond , are a commentary on germany 's continuing inability to understand how middle_class youths could go from protest to violence . on oct . 18 , 1977 , three of four faction leaders jailed in the stammheim high security prison in stuttgart were found dead in their cells . investigators ruled it suicide . the faction had kidnapped hans martin schleyer , a leading german industrial lobbyist , to force the government to free the stammheim inmates . after their deaths the faction killed mr . schleyer . formed out of the anti vietnam_war movement and active into the 1990 's , the faction murdered industrialists and politicians and carried out attacks on american military sites in germany . the richter paintings must also be seen in the context of another exhibition called ''the r.a.f . legend , '' which was canceled after protests by the families of victims . the families , especially the wife of the group 's last victim , detlev karsten rohwedder , who headed the agency charged with privatizing east_german industry after the unification , were disturbed by the show 's goal . the aim was to explore the ideology and motives behind the murders and to ask the question of the faction 's critique of society , what remains valid today ? a public controversy erupted over government financing for the show , and it was indefinitely_postponed . ''the reception of these paintings is different in the united_states , '' mr . lowry said , ''because it deals with traumatic events that happened in germany . '' berlin is celebrating the exhibition of the modern 's collection as the cultural event of the year , likening it to christo 's wrapping of the reichstag . the city is ''momarized , '' proclaim electric pink posters around town . ''new york is in europe , '' announced the newspaper tagesspiegel in a banner_headline above a reproduction of matisse 's ''dance . '' the frankfurter_allgemeine sonntagszeitung introduced the show with ''the americans are coming . airlift for art , '' recalling the berlin airlift when access was shut off to the western enclave . there are also some critics of the star status accorded the new york collection . ''why did the national gallery have to be emptied at once just because the americans wanted it that way , as if there was otherwise only second class art on exhibit ? '' the frankfurter_allgemeine sonntagszeitung asked . the article added that the advertising slogan ''moma is the star'' seemed to be a remorseful acknowledgment that berlin was provincial and america was everything . the desire to repair the trans_atlantic relationship , which was put under strain by the iraq_war , was one of the motivations that led berlin to play host to the exhibition . a deutsche_bank official , citing its ''considerable business'' in the united_states , said this was the reason that the bank donated a million_euros ( 1 . 2 million ) to help finance the show . the total cost of the exhibition , which includes a fee paid to the museum_of_modern_art , travel , insurance and marketing , is 10 . 6 million , according to friends of the neue nationalgalerie . the foundation , which organized the exhibition , declined to comment on the fee paid to the modern . officials of the modern do not comment on fees charged for traveling collections , but museum professionals said berlin paid 2 million for the show .

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the opening of the 1 , 000th mcdonald 's restaurant in germany this month was supposed to be a festive occasion , a moment to toast german american friendship . instead , it illustrated the growing strains in this pivotal relationship . eberhard diepgen , the mayor of berlin , rose to speak and , spotting john kornblum , the american ambassador , decided to taunt him over stalled american plans to build a new embassy on the central pariser_platz , next to the brandenburg_gate . ''ah , i see the american ambassador is here , '' said mr . diepgen . ''perhaps he should just go ahead and build a mcdonald 's restaurant on the pariser_platz instead of a united_states embassy . '' mr . kornblum was outraged . for several weeks now , he has been hearing of comments by mr . diepgen to the effect that the united_states is treating germany like a ''banana republic'' in talks over the new embassy , whose construction has been delayed by a dispute over how large a buffer_zone it requires for security . the dispute has had its soap_opera elements , but it is now clear that its backdrop is serious . a decade after the end of the cold_war , germany is becoming extremely sensitive about the scale of the american presence here and about any suggestion of domineering american attitudes . ''there is some anger over the american desire to organize the pariser_platz , a sense that this is still a reflex of the former occupying_powers in berlin , '' said peter strieder , chairman of the social democrats in the reborn german capital . ''and our position is no , now we are sovereign . '' in fact , the united_states , whose diplomatic staff is now scattered in various buildings including the former mission to east_germany , has been trying to show restraint over the embassy argument , despite a vigorous feeling that a city protected for decades by american_troops should find a way to give american diplomats a secure new home . ''we 've been wanting to keep this low key , but we keep getting these diatribes in the press about arrogant americans trying to close down berlin 's front room , '' mr . kornblum said . ''all we did was defend this place for 40 years . '' obliged to function without its planned embassy , the united_states has also faced a string of complaints over the 59 , 000 american_troops left in this country ( down from close to 190 , 000 at the end of the cold_war ) , over an important communications complex near munich , and over spies . the common theme has been a new german sensitivity to the huge american presence in germany , which grew out of the country 's postwar position at the center of the cold_war . perhaps no other european country has been so profoundly shaped by american power and culture , as those 1 , 000 mcdonald 's restaurants suggest . michael steiner , the chief diplomatic adviser to chancellor_gerhard_schroder , denied that a germany now freed of its postwar tutelage had begun to push back against the weight of the american presence , although he acknowledged that the embassy issue was delicate . ''this can only be solved with tact on both sides , and i think the united_states is aware that its interests are best served when it uses its superpower status in the right proportions , '' he said . construction of the new 150 million embassy was supposed to start this fall , but those plans have been scrapped . american officials blame mr . diepgen for showing scant flexibility in trying to adapt to new security requirements that emerged after the bombing of the american embassies in kenya and tanzania last year . the united_states has formally requested a buffer_zone of 30 meters , or about 33 yards the city government has responded by saying it cannot grant more than 22 meters about 24 yards without altering the alignment of streets with the nearby brandenburg_gate and reichstag and so changing an important urban perspective . the german view that washington wants to turn part of the tiergarten into a buffer_zone , organize the traffic flow in the brandenburg_gate area and generally make a mess of the heart of berlin has been amply aired through leaks to the berlin press . a visit by berlin city planners to washington in september did nothing to clear the air . behind all the angry words , it seems clear the real issue is political . american officials say that there is room for some compromise on the buffer_zone , but mr . diepgen , a christian democrat , evidently senses that standing up to the power that ran a large part of berlin for many postwar years now plays well with his constituency . other recent signs of german restiveness include complaints about american_soldiers in germany over such issues as their tax status and plans to drop supply contracts with german companies in favor of american concerns , american officials said . regular german demands that a major united_states radar and communications complex at bad ailbling , near munich , should be shut down or curtailed now that the cold_war is over have also caused strains . in addition , the united_states was irked by the leaking to the german press of an affair that the two countries had agreed to handle discreetly the withdrawal earlier this year of three c.i.a . agents in munich who were running a safe_house for russian defectors . ''the leak comes back to the same recurrent issue a german desire to assert the country 's sovereignty after the nazi cataclysm and the years as cold_war battleground , '' said one american official . the new embassy , on land where the berlin_wall once stood and where the united_states had its mission before world_war_ii , was supposed to be an important symbol of german_unification , of the western victory in the cold_war , and of america 's central place in the fashioning of the postwar german republic . the absence of an american embassy , in an area where the other powers that ran berlin britain , france and russia all have their missions , obviously carries an altogether different message . ''we are aware that this is the historic place of the american embassy , and we want to see it on the pariser_platz , '' said michael andreas butz , a spokesman for mr . diepgen . ''but we simply cannot allow the united_states to help itself to a slice of the tiergarten . ''

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authorities , of whatever persuasion , have a proprietary interest in images . egyptian rulers sometimes had the faces of their predecessors wiped out and replaced with their own . some religions prohibit any human imagery . during the counter reformation , the roman_catholic_church ordered the nudes in michelangelo 's last judgment painted over where it mattered . in mid 19th_century france , it was illegal to caricature anyone publicly without first obtaining his ( or just conceivably her ) permission . photography , because it makes convincing likenesses of an object and because of its wide potential distribution , has received particularly heavy attention from anyone who has a stake in what is seen . the soviet_union is an obvious example , what with lenin 's call for ''a political and social journalism infused with images'' and the long history of stalin 's victims' being carefully excised from official photographs as a means of erasing the dead from history . by now the western_world is fairly well acquainted with soviet post revolutionary photography , which has been elevated to a new kind of glory by becoming an expensive item for capitalist collectors . much less is generally known about photography in the other countries that were behind the iron_curtain , perhaps because they were less thrilling , less glamorous and less threatening , not having stirred up a major revolution or wreaked such terror themselves . most americans probably have very little idea how east_germans , for instance , saw themselves , or how their culture asked them to . some insight can be gained from ''recollecting a culture photography and the evolution of a socialist esthetic in east_germany , '' a show of more than 120 photographs at the photographic resource center at boston_university through feb . 19 . john p . jacob , executive director of the center , is the curator of this show and editor of a catalogue with the same name , published by the center . the photographs chosen by mr . jacob are from fotografie , the only state sanctioned magazine for professional photographers in the german_democratic_republic after world_war_ii it was published in east_germany from 1947 on . in the end it was hopelessly out of touch . pictures of the berlin_wall being torn down in 1989 , a major event for the east_germans if ever there was one , were not even published in fotografie until a year later , and by then western material was so widely available that the party line magazine was no longer important it folded in 1991 . ''recollecting a culture'' is the first show from the archives of the magazine 's publisher since the two germanies were reunited . it includes a few pictures from czechoslovakia and china as well as some historical work from the 1920 's and 30 's the magazine published some photographs from other socialist countries and occasional images from western_europe . some of the photographs on view are good , some bad , but quality as it is usually conceived was not the point . these particular authorities demanded a view of a society racing toward utopia , full of happy workers and photographers committed to changing the world with their images . the idea went something like this if you picture the perfect society , people will believe they are living in it and strive harder to make it come true . photographers followed directions in order to work , but some circumvented them in whatever small ways they could . until the 1970 's or 80 's the images here are essentially journalistic and hew to expected subjects . right after the war there were pictures of women and children clearing rubble and a slightly sentimental but moving image of a statue stretching out a hand high above a blasted city , ''a stone cries out in accusation , '' 1945 , by richard peter sr . in the 1950 's and into the 60 's , there were heroic images of scientists , doctors , workers and industry itself very much along the lines of soviet photography a quarter of a century earlier . the standard subjects of people watching parades and peasants on market day are supplemented now and then by reminders of the party line a general kisses a farmer , a bemedaled veteran of the communist_party enjoys his encounter with eager young_pioneers and , in a scene in a dresden train_station , all the people in the foreground blur as light streams in on the clearly focused figure of a nurse helping an elderly woman down the stairs . in the later years things loosened up a bit , and a few out of the ordinary and more ''artistic'' photographs were published . in the 1980 's , when disillusion was rampant , there were even some pictures critical of society in the g.d.r. , some manipulated photographs and portraits of young people wearing punk hair and studded leather . some of the photojournalists , like thomas sandberg and sibylle bergemann , have gone on to successful careers in the new germany . photography in east_germany was so strictly regulated by the state that it cannot be considered outside the realm of politics , but it is clear that the field was not monolithic , and if it was ever unified it never remained so for long . mr . jacob specifically says that the situation in the g.d.r . was not so neatly divided as we might choose to think , not simply official versus unofficial or dissident , but more ambiguous and unstable , with cultural resistance taking subtle forms . ( milan kundera 's novels describe another communist regime that could answer to that description . ) mr . jacob also points out that socialism itself wore different faces in different lands by 1973 , the czechoslovaks could photograph industrial and chemical pollution but the germans still could not . cultural restrictions in east_germany underwent minor ups and downs at various times in 1958 , when the central commission for photography was established and began its careful monitoring of the magazine in 1961 , when the wall went up in 1964 , when khrushchev was ousted in 1971 , when the east_german regime changed and during the 1970 's and 80 's , as television took over much of the task of transmitting information , allowing still photography to stray a bit , and the sense that socialism was not going to work began to infiltrate the cultural realm . ( for a more thorough account of the photography and politics of the east_germans , see karl gernot kuehn 's ''caught the art of photography in the german_democratic_republic , '' university of california press . ) the necessity of changing the world through art goes back to marx , and the idea that art could help lift the working classes up to a better life was boldly taken up by the soviet revolution . in germany , the goal was formalized in 1927 , when the german association of worker photographers was founded to teach workers how to take the production of information into their own hands . mr . jacob points out that in the g.d.r. , historians traced the beginning of modern photographic history to worker photography rather than to stylistic changes like modernism . the second and third decades of this century had seen an immense increase in photographic illustration in the print media , and during the 1920 's german publishers in effect invented the photo magazine . it was perfectly clear to the worker photographers that workers were not controlling the imagery that reflected and helped mold daily life they intended to use the camera for overt class struggle to counter the covert , unannounced purposes the mainstream press depended on . the worker association 's program announced that ''the capitalist press uses photographic techniques via a flood of illustrated magazines to politically influence the masses and diminish their intellectual growth . '' industrialists , not surprisingly , saw the worker photographers as enemies , accused them of being industrial spies and advised that photography be prohibited in factories . paradoxically , in 1962 the heirs to the worker photographers in east_germany were forbidden to photograph in factories without proving to the authorities that it was necessary to do so and getting their permission , for fear of industrial espionage . by the time the soviets carved out the g.d.r. , the germans had had superb examples of the way a state can use imagery to sway a populace and consolidate power , not only in the soviet_union but in hitler 's germany as well . the engineering of imagery reached heights in these two countries that had never been attained before . the issue of who controls the media and what their influence is is still very much with us . photographic theorists and multiculturalists have come down hard on the documentary tradition of white , western , middle_class photographers ( and writers , filmmakers , etc . ) producing the public image of poor people , minorities and foreign cultures . america has no central photography authority , but that does not mean that our imagery is free of politics of one sort or another the politics of the dominant classes , the strictures of political_correctness , the tyranny of commerce ( meaning that what is shown is most often what sells , and what sells is often the lowest common denominator ) , the fearsome power of a few corporate giants owning so much of the media . in the socialist paradise that failed , art was supposed to join the battle to create a new classless utopia on its unstable antecedent , capitalism . mr . jacob has done a real service by reprinting some articles from fotografie that give an idea of what was required of photographers . in 1960 ''under the new social conditions , photography , for the first time , completely serves to communicate and propagate the great humanist ideas of peace , of friendship among the peoples , and of human happiness . '' in the same year ''the battle against formalism , as expressed in so called subjective photography and other expressions of the decay of late bourgeois society , is a form of ideological class struggle . '' when the g.d.r . was absorbed by west_germany , photographers from the east raced to embrace formalism , subjectivism , or simply the freedom to choose , even to turn themselves into capitalists if they could . this was not entirely a happy move . in company with large numbers of the bourgeoisie they had been encouraged to despise , the idealists among them mourned the failure of a utopian experiment . it was an experiment that had never succeeded but had partially managed to picture itself as successful , chiefly to convince the subjects of the experiment that their world was new . unhappily , it was n't , and ultimately people could not be convinced of something they knew was not so . photography and other media are powerful instruments , but there is still something out there called reality , no matter what anyone tells you , and in the end it wins out even over representation . art architecture

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lead when communist rule was toppled last year , and the old order swept away , one of the most abrupt changes in this town of modest villas and vineyards centered on the small building where elisabeth aust 's children attend elementary_school . when communist rule was toppled last year , and the old order swept away , one of the most abrupt changes in this town of modest villas and vineyards centered on the small building where elisabeth aust 's children attend elementary_school . for four decades the school had prepared pupils to be communist citizens , passing on to them the rituals and lore of the party . like their counterparts at all other east_german schools , the teachers taught that communism was superior to capitalism . repeatedly and as part of the syllabus , they lauded east_germany 's indestructible bond of friendship with the soviet_union . it was at schools like this one that generations of pupils received the red scarves that showed them to be members of the communist youth movement . and then suddenly all that changed . what had been required instruction was no longer even mentioned . indeed it was often disparaged . the same 20 teachers who had been telling youngsters about the inevitable triumph of communism were now being called upon to explain and extol democratic elections . an overnight change ''without a single explanation , everything changed from one day to the next , '' recalled mrs . aust , who was chosen to head the parents and teachers' committee . she had been a quiet critic of the old system , a woman who had been kept from going to college because she attended protestant church services . still she is alarmed about the speed with which the educational atmosphere has changed , and concerned about the long term effect the change is likely to have on the children . ''not one single time was anything talked about or explained to the children , '' she said the other afternoon as the first school year under a democratically_elected government began . mrs . aust said she was particularly troubled as she watched teachers pass from communism to democracy in virtual silence . she recalled an incident that took place shortly before the communists fell from power in which a teacher refused to enter a medieval church during a field trip for fear that some pupils might report her to their orthodox communist parents . now , mrs . aust said , ''we have children who tell their teachers , 'you were a stasi agent , too . ' '' she made it clear that she found the atmosphere of intimidation in both examples to be reprehensible . but just as there were pupils who denounced their teachers in the past , she said , so too are there now teachers in some schools who did work for the east_german secret_police , or stasi . in january , under the government of the last communist prime_minister , hans_modrow , as many as 1 , 000 to 1 , 500 former stasi agents were given jobs as schoolteachers in the east_berlin system . the goal was apparently not to infiltrate the schools , but to find jobs for some of the tens of thousands of agents who were dismissed as part of the spy agency 's dismantling . mrs . aust recalled how old , publicly revered symbols had vanished right before the eyes of her children and their classmates . communist youth organizations like the young_pioneers and free german youth , once the sole centers of extracurricular activity , have disappeared without a trace . red flags , portraits of communist leaders and heroes , and symbols of the former system are gone as well . mrs . aust , who is in her early 40 's and works as a furniture restorer , said that after the war many germans swept their memories clean . she said she does not think that a society can bear such forgetfulness twice within a short span and she asserted that such questions should be raised in schools . ''we have to come to grips with the moral question of how an entire people that was blinded once already in this century could have been seduced a second time , '' she said . compounding the educational and moral confusion that so worries mrs . aust are traces of the old system that remain in textbooks yet to be replaced . math books with soldiers ''their readers , their geography books , even their arithmetic books are filled with texts and problems involving soldiers and tanks , '' mrs . aust said of the books in her children 's school . first graders there began the school year with a reader that told them , ''we live in the german_democratic_republic , '' the offical name for the east_german state . ''this is our fatherland . '' while people like mrs . aust are concerned largely with questions of curriculum and teaching methods , east_german schoolteachers , in their own debates , appear much more concerned with issues of their own job_security and salaries as they ponder their future in the new germany . the insecurity comes partly from the much publicized crumbling economy , with its shortages and increasing unemployment . it is also a response to calls for purging teachers considerd to have been too closely_aligned with the former communist government . at a recent meeting of teachers from east_berlin schools , dieter pavlik , the schools commissioner , was bombarded with questions about salaries , tenure and the future of teachers whose specialty was marxism leninism . mr . pavlik , supported by his west_berlin counterpart , sybille volkholz , struck a note that found sympathy among the teachers when he declared that no teacher need fear for the future , nor would there be dismissals based on ''unfounded suspicion . '' in an interview , ms . volkholz , a former teachers' union official , recalled that in the first flush of freedom most east_german school principals had been summarily fired , and teacher assemblies had been formed to democratically elect successors . but she said that in more than half the schools the newly formed faculty boards , evidently fearful of setting off abrupt changes , had re elected the old school directors . she said that once the educational systems merged , teachers suspected of having tainted pasts would be given an opportunity to answer the accusations against them . ''our jurists cannot simply fire people , '' she said . ''they have to examine them individually to see which people , on the basis of their past , cannot be kept . '' change in the east_german schools is accelerating , at least in berlin , by pairing schools from eastern and western parts of the city to establish cooperative partnerships , ms . volkholz said . teachers are also being exchanged across the old divisions that were breached last november when the berlin_wall was opened . berlin 's school system is to serve as a model for change in the rest of east_germany , she said . schools produced party cadres east_germany 's communist led school system , like those throughout the former soviet_bloc , was regarded by the ruling party as a transmission belt from the leadership to youth . a primary function was to provide party cadres . ''control of the schools was one of the success stories of this state , '' said karl ulrich mayer , an authority on the east 's school system at the max planck institute in west_berlin . control of the schools began at the teacher training colleges , he explained . there students , quartered in closely_watched dormitories , were organized into collectives of 20 or 25 under the control of the free german youth , the party 's youth wing , and were carefully drilled in communist ideology . all school principals were required to be members of the party . to promote change from the bottom up , mr . mayer said , east_german teacher colleges will be restructured on the west_german model . west_germany has already fostered the process of change by sending millions of copies of schoolbooks to the east to replace those laced with marxist ideology . but the sluggishness of the east 's centrally controlled system has meant that many of these books are lying in warehouses while teachers in many schools are still using the old books .

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torsten schmale and christian wessel started inubit , their berlin based business_to_business software and services company , in december after their respective girlfriends decided that they had had enough of listening to them complain about their jobs . the women , who work together at another company , persuaded dr . schmale , who was bored with his job as a software developer for siemens , and mr . wessel , who was sick of his job as a consultant with roland berger partners , a management_consulting firm , to meet . they did , and quickly hit upon an idea for a technology platform that would enable business_to_business marketplaces . in doing so , they joined a wave of business_to_business start_ups in germany . ( after the business idea was hatched , the couples got married . ) the beginnings of germany 's internet start up revolution can be traced to june 1999 , when ebay purchased alando . de , a german online auction company , for 43 million . since then , the start up scene has accelerated , causing investor interest to shift from businesses selling to consumers to those servicing other businesses . the emerging business_to_business climate is healthy and likely to continue growing . indeed , forrester research , a market_research firm in cambridge , mass . , predicts that by 2004 , germany will lead europe with 26 percent of all e_commerce activity , followed by britain , with 18 percent . the business_to_business landscape in germany , however , will look different from its early stage counterpart in the united_states . a crucial difference is that in germany , corporate players are recognizing the importance of the business_to_business market almost in tandem with start_ups . daimlerchrysler , bayer , volkswagen and siemens are creating e_commerce marketplaces to procure goods or have plans to do so , and both sap and intershop communications are also interested in expanding into such commerce . ''big companies were faster in realizing the potential of business_to_business e_commerce in germany than in the u.s . , '' said reinhard edelmann , an investment manager with technologieholding , a berlin venture_capital_firm . one result , said thorsten wichmann , the chief executive of berlecon research , a research and analysis firm also in berlin , is that ''niche markets are where start_ups are coming in . '' inubit is focusing on european niche markets , along with other start_ups , including newtron . de , surplex . de and portum . de . ( the ' 'de'' stands for deutschland . ) inubit has built a business_to_business technology platform and is planning to join with established companies to create industry specific marketplaces . so far , inubit has one partner , the floramedia group , a horticulture company with a pan_european presence . even if big companies are quicker on the draw in germany , enough business_to_business start_ups have taken root in the last six months to spawn more than 100 online marketplaces , according to berlecon 's research . inubit , as is typical for a german business_to_business company , is fashioning itself as a european company one that needs to adapt to multiple countries , cultures and languages from the get go . ''we 're looking at the european market , which is like the worldwide market from an organizational perspective , it 's the same , '' mr . wessel explained . ''if you 're a b to b start up in germany , it does n't make sense to stay in the german market . we programmed our technology so that if someone comes in and says he 's from spain , he gets spanish content . '' this approach , according to mr . edelmann , of technologieholding , is what distinguishes european e_commerce ventures from american ones . ''we 're used to dealing with other cultures , '' he said , ''and americans are not . '' many american companies add multiple language abilities to their technology only after they stake a claim in the united_states market , mr . edelmann said , rather than integrating them from the start . multiple languages are just the beginning . ''the european market is not homogenous like the u.s . market , '' said patrick sheehan , the managing director for the united_states division of 3i group , a venture_capital_firm in london . ''there are quite different market conditions in each country . '' european companies have to take into account the different business processes , tax systems , cultures , market structures , labor laws and governments from country to country . ''to address your market you have to have a whole different set of business approaches , '' mr . wessel said . even the level of technological adoption which varies_widely from southern to northern_europe is an issue a european technology company must have different strategies for , say , wired sweden and analog spain . online overseas sally mcgrane is a technology writer living in san_francisco .

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the ruins of the palace of the republic , once the home of the communist legislature in the former east_berlin , will be torn down by the end of this year , according to a german news_agency . the 1970 's glass and steel structure , which housed not only the east_german parliament but also a concert hall , several restaurants and spaces for leisure , was closed for asbestos removal shortly after the communist government collapsed in 1989 . since august 2004 , when the palace reopened as a cultural complex , offering theater , modern_dance , concerts and art installations , many berliners have been fighting against removal of the historic building . others favor demolition because they want to reconstruct the prussian palace of the hohenzollern , which occupied the same site for 300 years before it was damaged in world_war_ii and was blown up by the communists in 1950 . it remains unclear what will become of this contested piece of ground after the palace of the republic is razed . kirsten grieshaber

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bureaucratic red_tape in moscow and western capitals , together with quarrels over the repayment of 70 billion in foreign debt incurred by the soviet_union , has seriously slowed aid to russia , international financial officials say . the delays mean that russia will not receive this year all the 24 billion promised in april by president_bush and chancellor helmut_kohl , although most of the money should arrive by the end of march . the delays are important because russian factories and consumers need western currency to buy the imports needed to revive industrial production . western officials worry that continued economic decline could lead to unfavorable political changes . nervous borrowers some loans have not even been offered to russia because of squabbles about the terms and overdue past debts , while some loans to pay for imports have been made available but are not being tapped as the plunging value of the ruble makes russian enterprises leery of buying costly goods even with government financing . " the money is not getting in there , that is very , very true , and we need to get those credits in there , " said eugene k . lawson , the vice chairman of the export_import_bank of the united_states . viktor f . kronyov , an adviser to president boris n . yeltsin who handles foreign assistance issues , complained in moscow last week , " all credit lines have been cut off because we have not been able to pay for the old ones . there are no credits now . " mr . kronyov may have been exaggerating . the united_states agriculture department , for example , has just announced that it will guarantee loans for russia 's purchase of another 1 . 15 billion worth of american grain . what adds up to 24 billion the 24 billion pledge included 11 billion of bilateral aid . the international_monetary_fund has calculated that bilateral aid to russia totaled nearly 6 billion in the first half of this year , suggesting that the 11 billion target would be reached . the rest of the 24 billion is to come from the postponement of interest payments by russia , new loans from multilateral institutions and a special fund to defend the value of the ruble . but the specific makeup of the 24 billion has always been murky . " we received one contradictory document after another about what was in and what was not , and then the dates slipped , " said jeffrey_sachs , a harvard professor and economic adviser to the russian government . long list of deferrals a variety of problems explain russian officials' complaints that aid is behind schedule and less than they had expected . central to the problems is russia 's inability to raise foreign currency to pay its 61 percent share of the soviet debt deputy prime_minister aleksandr n . shokhin of russia said on wednesday that spain had frozen a 1 . 5 billion line of credit because russia was 200 million behind on its debts . a british official has said the european_community will postpone the release of a 460 million food loan because the community has not received a 13 million interest payment . the european bank for reconstruction and development , which was to lend up to 1 billion this year , has only recently agreed to lend 17 million because of difficulty in finding reliable borrowers . the i.m.f . granted russia a 1 billion credit nearly two months ago , but no money has been used because the interest rate , 7.5 percent , is too high , mr . shokhin said on wednesday . the world_bank approved a 600 million loan on aug . 6 , to pay for critical imports to help the energy , transportation and farm industries , but legal and technical disputes have prevented the signing of the loan , he added . a 6 billion ruble stabilization_fund included in the 24 billion plan was postponed last summer until 1993 because of slow progress in bringing inflation and government spending under control . another 3 billion loan from the i.m.f . included in the 24 billion plan is on hold until the end of the year for the same reason . united_states_government backing for 2 . 2 billion worth of oil and gas deals in russia has been held up by a dispute between the united_states and the world_bank over whether the repayment plans would erode the world_bank 's claim to receive precedence on any payments by russia . crowded cast of donors with 22 countries and multilateral institutions now operating at least 230 different programs to help russia , nobody knows the amount of financial assistance actually affected or the average length of the delays . but as financial officials met here last week for the annual meeting of the i.m.f . and the world_bank , a consensus began to form that transfers of money increasingly lag behind promises . most of the money was promised before the fall of president mikhail s . gorbachev , when the soviet_union was still a feared superpower rival very little has been promised to president yeltsin . the united_states , with its food loan_guarantees and other programs , is the only country still making large commitments , said mr . kronyov , the adviser to mr . yeltsin . to be sure , russia is casting around for ways to raise some money , but some are alarming western officials . foreign_minister andrei v . kozyrev said on thursday that a plan to sell three submarines to iran for up to 750 million would not only improve the stability in the persian_gulf but also help raise money . it is unclear whether the deal will be completed . russia 's slowness in taking advantage of new loans has prompted a range of explanations . to some extent , mr . lawson said , the russian reluctance may reflect a commendable caution . but the worst fear of western officials is that loans may not be tapped because the money may not be needed . russia 's industrial production shrank 27 percent in the year ended aug . 31 , suggesting that factories once in need of spare_parts and other imports may no longer be operating .

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chancellor helmut_kohl of germany welcomed the president of the united_states as ' 'dear bill'' in potsdam today . and for good reason facing the direst political fight of his career with elections just four months away , mr . kohl is receiving an extraordinary political assist from mr . clinton his ally of more than five years , former pupil in world affairs and frequent eating buddy . mr . clinton is very popular here , and mr . kohl , whose own popularity is on the wane after 16 years in power , is eager to link himself to the american . today , the two even looked and dressed like brothers grinning , burly , silver haired , ruddy faced brothers in dark suits , white shirts and yellow ties . or perhaps more accurately , the much broader mr . kohl looked like mr . clinton seen in a fun house mirror . in a two day visit to germany , mr . clinton is popping up everywhere with mr . kohl . today they worked a rope line and addressed reporters in potsdam , then gave back to back speeches here . on thursday , in a blur of campaign style events , they plan to celebrate the 50th_anniversary of the berlin airlift visit an auto plant and gab with auto workers , and tour an 11th century castle . white_house officials acknowledged that the president is keeping such a busy schedule in part to help his friend , who was greeted in potsdam today by a protester holding a sign that read , ''danke , helmut , es reicht'' ( thanks helmut , that 's enough ) . in his speech , mr . clinton offered what he called ''a personal observation , '' crediting mr . kohl with helping create ''this magic moment in history'' for germany and europe . ''though many german citizens may be uncertain of the outcome and may not yet feel the benefits of your farsighted , courageous course , '' mr . clinton said , ''you are clearly on the right side of history . '' this evening , mr . clinton met with gerhard s . schroder , leader of the main opposition party . mr . kohl is the only european leader who was on the scene when mr . clinton took office , one administration official noted , and ''clinton learned by watching kohl . '' the two became friends , bonding during epic noshing at a series of marathon meals . during mr . clinton 's 1996 campaign , they had a running joke over what mr . clinton 's margin of victory would be . ''clinton was right , '' the official said . ''kohl kept predicting that it would be a landslide . ''

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in their magnificent honesty , charles jones 's photographs of vegetables put edward weston 's studies of green peppers and cabbages in the shade . around the turn of the 20th_century , about 30 years before weston created his sleek modernist still lifes , jones was taking close ups of commonplace vegetables in a way never done before . he did nothing more elaborate than , say , bunch carrots together or place several sugar beets in a small heap . he would use a neutral backdrop and long exposures to bring out the shine or texture of the vegetables , which were often presented unscrubbed . if wordsworth saw splendor in the grass and glory in the flower , jones found splendor and glory in the vegetable . his carrots , onions , bean runners , beets , brussels sprouts and cabbages have an aliveness and a raw strength not normally associated with such mundane fare . now and then he photographed flowers . at davis langdale , his images of tulips , dahlias , irises , narcissus and zinnias are also spare and frontal . in ''english iris , '' the photographer appears to counter the flowers' studied elegance with a casually off kilter dark backdrop . in ''pompon dahlia tommy keith , '' the flowers' almost metallic leaves lend the work a surreal cast . his ''decorative dahlia , '' with its lush and prickly subject , gives karl blossfeldt a run for his money . blossfeldt , a contemporary , was a german professor known for his photographic close ups of plants as stark architectural forms . compared with the surprising vitality of the vegetable still lifes , though , many of the flower studies here , especially the tulips , seem quite tame . jones 's apples and pears come closer in spirit to the fresh robustness of his onions and carrots . but some special alchemic force seemed to be at work every time jones set the vegetables up and trained his camera on them . how else to explain a pair of onions ( which he identified as ''onion red genoa'' ) making you think of nature 's perfections ? or a bunch of celery ( ''celery wright 's white'' ) , upright against a rather rumpled backdrop , looking thoroughly majestic ? why else would peas in a pod ( ''pea quite content'' ) resemble south seas pearls , or three sugar beets , one on top of another , bring to mind strong , muscled bodies ? and how else could a delicate row of dwarf beans suggest young ballet dancers ? jones took hundreds of pictures of vegetables , apparently never tiring of them or losing sight of their vibrancy . amazingly , his photographs came to light only after sean sexton , an irish historian and photography collector , happened on a trunkful of them , all gold toned gelatin silver prints , at the bermondsey antiques market in london in 1981 . the trunk and its contents had been passed over by dealers and other collectors before mr . sexton saw the lot and bought it for what else ? a song . ( the prints , most of them one of a kind , now sell for four and five figures . ) written in pencil on the backs of almost all the pictures are the precise names of the plants and the initials c . j . or , in a few instances , charles jones . c . j . 's identity remained a mystery until shirley sadler saw some of his pictures on british television . she revealed that jones was her grandfather . he was born in 1866 and worked as a gardener , most notably at ote hall in sussex , and died in 1959 . she recalled that toward the end of his life he used some of his glass plate negatives to form small tents to shield young plants in his garden . none of jones 's negatives seem to have survived . he was unusually reticent and left nothing in writing that would indicate the genesis of his interest in photography or when he took his pictures . robert flynn johnson , the curator of a 1998 exhibition of jones 's work at the m . h . de young memorial museum in san_francisco , gives 1895 to 1910 as the probable dates of jones 's body of work . he arrived at those dates on the strength of the photographic materials that jones used and a photograph of a still life in a family album that has 1904 written on it . sometime during those years jones was a gardener at ote hall . ''plant kingdoms the photographs of charles jones'' ( smithmark publishers ) , which includes reproductions of many more of jones 's transcendent images , accompanied the exhibition at the de young . in it mr . johnson notes that jones 's tenure at ote hall attracted the attention of the gardeners' chronicle . in a 1905 issue , the publication singled out jones 's fruit and vegetable gardens , saying they were the equal of his attractive flower beds and borders . ''mr . jones , '' said the chronicle , ''is quite an enthusiastic fruit grower and his delight in his well trained fruit trees was readily apparent . '' the resourceful gardener , it also noted , produced tomatoes that were as superb as those grown in a greenhouse . the chronicle made no mention of charles jones the photographer . it did n't have to . in his still lifes , jones left behind a rare record of one man 's response to the wonder that is life and to the beauty that he found around him , especially the magnificence of vegetables . ''charles jones ( 1866 1959 ) photographs'' is at davis langdale , 231 east 60th_street , manhattan , ( 212 ) 838 0333 , through may 11 . photography review

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in the final minutes of the movie ''dr . strangelove or how i learned to stop worrying and love the bomb , '' with a nuclear conflagration on the horizon , the only person in the pentagon 's war room who remains upbeat about the prospect of mass annihilation is strangelove himself . doing slide rule calculations in his wheelchair , this proud father of the doomsday machine assures the president and his generals that thousands of americans can ride out armageddon inside the country 's deeper mine shafts . ''of course , '' strangelove , the not so ex nazi , says brightly , ''it would be absolutely vital that our top government and military men be included to foster and impart the required principles of leadership and tradition . '' the men in the room listen raptly to his proposal for a ''ratio of 10 females to each male . '' as survivors , the madman tells them , they should feel no guilt about the tens of millions incinerated above ground but instead enjoy their new subterranean lives in ''a spirit of bold curiosity for the adventure ahead . '' the 25 photographs by andreas magdanz at the janet borden gallery in soho , from saturday through feb . 21 , are like a glimpse of strangelove 's demented vision of a nuclear sanctuary translated into historical truth . one set of plans for a postnuclear war world , it turns out , were almost as fantastic and banal as those in stanley kubrick 's 1964 satire . the dienstelle marienthal ( or marienthal office ) is among the most ambitious but least known monuments to ''thinking the unthinkable'' ever conceived . this vast underground tunnel complex , built from 1960 to 1972 outside bonn , was once so secret that to acknowledge its existence could bring charges of treason in west_germany . designed to house 3 , 000 of that government 's essential personnel in case of nuclear attack , it represented one of the most exclusive fraternities in the world . ( membership in the american version , under the greenbrier resort in west_virginia during president dwight d . eisenhower 's tenure , was even more restricted . it accommodated only 1 , 000 people . after the 535 members of congress and their top aides were assigned spaces , little room was left for anyone else hoping to survive . ) the germans , however , built on a grander scale . the mountain caverns in the ahr valley near marienthal had been hollowed as a railroad tunnel before world_war i . invading french troops dynamited passages , and the place was abandoned until world_war_ii , when the nazi military discovered that the cathedral like spaces , beneath 350 feet of slate , were ideal for assembling v 1 and v 2 rockets beyond the reach of allied bombs . after joining nato in 1955 , west_germany began to plan to use the site in case of a nuclear_war , expanding and upgrading it so that a community could live deep underground , in theory , for at least a month . there are 25 , 000 doors in the bunker complex at marienthal , only 38 of which open to the world outside . among the hundreds of rooms where the sun never shone are 897 offices and conference areas and 936 sleeping cubicles . canteens , showers , medical areas , a printing shop , a hair salon , a television_studio and most touchingly a post_office were provided for the inhabitants , along with two large bays for bicycles , the chief form of transportation around the nearly 12 miles of galleries and tunnels . mr . magdanz , a 40 year old german based in aachen , began the project in 1998 after reading a newspaper item about the structure . his request to photograph it was grudgingly honored by the interior_ministry , which granted him a three day permit . persistence led to a seven month extension . he was the first person authorized to photograph there , although he had access to only the three sectors in the east half of the complex . ( there were five sectors in all , linked but different . ) his photographic tour of the forbidden_city he shot more than 1 , 000 negatives in both black and white and color with a large format camera , and also made a videotape is not comforting . the government code name for the complex was typically euphemistic rosengarten ( or rose garden ) . monotony , regimentation and claustrophobic dread are the outstanding qualities found in the pictures . the oppressive spotlessness of marienthal is matched by a complete lack of privacy . only the west_german president rated his own bathroom and , in an incongruous visual note , also had a suite with chairs and sofas upholstered in hot pink . the weight of the mountain can be felt throughout the photographs . with a precise and clinical eye , mr . magdanz shows the 25 ton doors , the miles of cable and the air ducts that connected the underground denizens , through a series of filters , with the upper atmosphere . the d cor is spare , the furniture uniformly modern . there are no gymnasiums or libraries . fluorescent light and gray airlessness are pervasive . the saddest image may be a pair of chairs and a table in front of a wall in a conference room . on the wall is a map with a label that reads , ''the world , '' a reminder of everything that , had nuclear_war broken out , the people here would be giving up by burrowing into this new , shrunken but uncontaminated world . the redeeming feature of marienthal is that those who could retreat quickly enough would be alive . it was a refuge as well as a feat of german engineering . a defensive structure , it was planned not to kill but to protect a select group from the insanity of atomic_weapons . and unlike other notorious germans who hoped to survive a war from inside bunkers , these political leaders would , presumably , not have started it . the most distinguishing feature of marienthal , apart from the lingering paranoia , is the na_vet behind its creation . in the united_states , architects of cold_war thinking like herman kahn , a brilliant strategist at the rand_corporation ( and a model for strangelove ) , and the defense secretary robert s . mcnamara dared to sketch the outlines of a postnuclear war world . they offered rational responses to various worst_case_scenarios , even though it seems clear that no amount of planning would help in the face of unprecedented national panic . one need only imagine the traffic on the roads after a 50 megaton weapon hit washington or bonn to know that a quorum of government leaders would not likely arrive at these shelters alive . the immaculate order of the empty rooms in marienthal seems to be inversely proportional to the mayhem that would be taking place above ground in the event of a nuclear strike . suppressed grief and emotional denial can be read into the pictures . the german and american evacuation plans take for granted that political leaders would abandon fathers , mothers , spouses and children to their fates . but would such callous behavior really be the case , and at what psychic price ? who would want to rule what was left from hades ? the response from many viewers to these pictures will be nervous laughter . stretched across the cover of mr . magdanz 's self published book on the project is a cartoon of a b_52 , the same type of rogue bomber , piloted by maj . t . j . ( king ) kong of the air_force , that triggered the doomsday machine and the end of the world in ''dr . strangelove . '' the amount of money spent on marienthal more than three billion_marks ( roughly 1 . 4 billion ) is not funny , though . the question of how we are to treat our wildly expensive cold_war relics is only now coming into focus . the united_states_government has decided to reveal its secret hideout and offers paid tours of the greenbrier bunkers . the fees help defray the cost of maintaining an atomic age hotel built for 1 , 000 . the germans have been typically quieter and more conflicted about their past . proposals to convert marienthal and reopen it as a techno disco , a bunker wonderland amusement_park and youth hostel or a mushroom farm went nowhere . a decision was finally reached in 2000 to dismantle the complex , at a an estimated cost of 100 million_euros ( 120 million ) . in the end the tunnels will be flooded , and mr . magdanz 's photographs may soon be the most lasting record of its existence . no doubt there are secret bunker complexes being built or considered here and elsewhere in case of a terrorist dirty bomb . but whether they will offer any more lasting assurance than the dienstelle marienthal is a question worth asking . art architecture richard b . woodward is an arts critic in new york .

has a location of germany

the ambitious 2 billion renovation of berlin 's historic museum island hit a stumbling_block last week when an official panel recommended to parliament that the government abandon plans for a new entrance building to the complex . a new building with restaurants , restrooms and a check room was designed by the british architect david chipperfield , below , to lead visitors into the complex , on an island in the spree river in the former communist east side of the city . dropping the project would save the cash_strapped federal_government 170 million . the recommendation was rejected by the federal culture minister , christina weiss , who said the new entrance building was needed to accommodate visitors . ''those who question the arrangement of visitor flows on museum island prevent the museums from entering the 21st_century , '' she said in an interview with the newspaper frankfurter_allgemeine_zeitung . museum island , which was built in the 19th_century and is famous for its pergamon altar from turkey and the ishtar gate from babylon , was badly_damaged during world_war_ii , and restoration began only after the fall of the berlin_wall . parliament is to vote on the fate of the entrance building in the next few months . kirsten grieshaber

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lead two senior west_german cabinet officials are traveling to washington on monday to reopen touchy nato issues in what diplomats see as the latest move by chancellor helmut_kohl in his quickening struggle for political survival . two senior west_german cabinet officials are traveling to washington on monday to reopen touchy nato issues in what diplomats see as the latest move by chancellor helmut_kohl in his quickening struggle for political survival . a growing number of politicians , commentators and diplomats believe mr . kohl may not survive in office if his christian democrats again do badly in regional and european elections on june 18 . more immediately worrisome , they say , is the speed with which he is jettisoning anything he believes may be unpopular with german voters . north_atlantic allies have watched with particular alarm as mr . kohl , the west_german politician for whom they have long felt the most affinity , has moved to decidedly more dovish positions on military policy . response to gorbachev mr . kohl 's initiatives on defense policy are partly a response to proposals on arms control made in recent months by mikhail s . gorbachev , the soviet leader . the differences have become sufficient for a hastily_arranged trip to washington on monday by mr . kohl 's new defense minister , gerhard_stoltenberg , and foreign_minister hans_dietrich_genscher . mr . kohl arranged the trip in a personal telephone call to president_bush last friday . the contacts were initiated after an all night meeting of the bonn coalition partners on military policy . though no formal announcement was made , diplomats and published reports indicated that the coalition agreed not only to postpone a commitment to upgrade nato short range nuclear_missiles , but also to seek ' 'speedy'' east west negotiations on short range nuclear_weapons including , for the first time , nuclear_artillery . it was the latter decision that caused the greatest consternation . only a few days earlier , nato defense ministers meeting in brussels thought they had avoided a confrontation on missile ' 'modernization'' by agreeing not to press bonn for a decision on deploying new short range weapons . but both the american and the british defense chiefs had made it clear that they opposed any negotiations with moscow on short range nuclear_weapons , at least until progress is made at negotiations in vienna on conventional_arms . more broadly , washington and london have resisted a process they fear could create pressure to eliminate all nuclear_weapons from europe , and with them a major western deterrent . mr . genscher has long urged immediate negotiations on short range weapons , a stance with strong popular appeal in west_germany and one the russians have encouraged . but until now , mr . kohl had adhered to the line of his major allies . in washington , mr . genscher and mr . stoltenberg were expected to argue that the call for ' 'speedy'' rather than immediate talks was a compromise . but diplomats said washington was likely to reject the argument . ''this is a real crisis , and it 's all because kohl is losing his nerve , '' a nato diplomat said . ''he 's in total panic . '' local elections cited the crisis began when local elections in west_berlin and hesse state brought out a marked dissatisfaction with mr . kohl 's government and a strong showing by the far right and the far left . mr . kohl 's response has been to move in the direction of least resistance . in general , that has meant leftward on foreign_policy and rightward on domestic policy . subsequent polls confirmed that the chancellor was in deep trouble , and all his efforts to reverse the decline including a major shake up of his government last week have failed to turn the tide . the cabinet shuffle , which included new heads in the critical ministries of defense , finance and interior , may have served only to deepen his problems by touching off another of the incessant disputes among the coalition partners mr . kohl 's christian democrats , mr . genscher 's free democrats and the conservative christian_social_union of bavaria . though mr . kohl has often had his back to the wall before and has come back fighting , the sense is unanimous in bonn that this is his most serious crisis since he came to power at the head of a conservative center liberal coalition in 1982 . why the electorate has so abruptly turned against the chancellor at a time of peace and prosperity remains one of bonn 's bigger mysteries . 'power is oozing away' ''usually , governments get punished for bad economic performance , '' said josef joffe , the foreign editor of the suddeutsche newspaper . ''by that standard , what 's happening is crazy . germans have tons of leisure time , a strong mark , exports are up , there 's peace , prosperity , no crime . ''what seems to happen in german politics is a sudden feeling that power is oozing away from him , '' he said , adding , in a reference to three former chancellors , ''it happened with erhard in 1966 , with brandt , with schmidt . '' some members of his own party have begun openly moving away from mr . kohl , shaping an opposition around lothar spath , the premier of baden wurttemberg state , and heiner geissler , the general secretary of the party and a leader of its liberal wing . the accepted wisdom in bonn now is that if mr . kohl makes a bad showing in june , his party will be tempted to jettison him in hopes of winning national elections in december 1990 . and if he is still in charge then , he could well lose to a ''red green'' coalition of social democrats and greens . allies are fearful the notion of a ' 'red green'' government remains anathema to most nato allies at least in washington , london and paris who fear that the leftists would place insurmountable obstacles to continuation of current alliance strategies . in addition to his shifts on arms control policies , mr . kohl has scrapped unpopular plans to extend mandatory military service from 15 to 18 months as of june and has asked the allies to sharply reduce low level training flights in german airspace . the extension had been ordered to offset a decline in the number of draft age men , and mr . kohl had often pointed to it as proof of his commitment to a strong defense . in abandoning the extension , the chancellor said ''new figures'' made it no longer necessary . mr . kohl 's policy shifts have hardly been limited to foreign_affairs . he was scheduled to announce a full package of new policies this thursday , and advance announcements and leaks made clear they would be extensive . mr . kohl 's new finance minister , theodor waigel , was expected to scrap or sharply reduce an unpopular tax on interest income . the government was moving toward abandoning construction of a nuclear_fuel reprocessing plant at wackersdorf in bavaria that had been fiercely opposed by environmentalists . mr . kohl is also expected to announced some curbs on the social benefits available to foreigners and immigrants . some commentators argued , however , that mr . kohl 's readiness to abandon policies he had once held sacrosanct was only serving to further erode his support by intensifying what could be his major problem the image of wavering , weak and chronically quarrelsome leadership .

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acknowledging that a united germany is now the powerhouse of europe , president_clinton urged the germans today to become america 's main partners in integrating the former communist nations of eastern_europe with the economic and military institutions of the west . mr . clinton 's message was that the german american military alliance must be replaced with a less lopsided partnership focused on economics and the unification of europe . as mr . clinton noted , " trade , as much as troops , will increasingly define the ties that bind nations in the 21st_century . " american officials make clear that they consider the other european_countries , like britain and france , either too economically weak or too inward looking to play a leadership role in europe these days . the " special relationship " is increasingly with germany . the german chancellor , helmut_kohl , said after his talks with president_clinton that his nation , now that it is reunified , was ready to assume the more assertive posture washington is seeking . dollar not discussed " the excuse that we had for the past 40 years was that as a divided country we were unable to take certain decisions , " mr . kohl said . " that is something that is no longer valid . one cannot be a reunified country with 80 million people with the kind of economic strength that we have , with the kind of prestige we claim for ourselves , if we do not fully assume our responsibilities and fulfill our obligations . " mr . clinton and mr . kohl said they did not discuss the state of the american dollar , which fell one full percent today against the german_mark a huge amount for one day closing in frankfurt at 1 . 5495 marks . mr . clinton , the first american president to visit a united germany , is touring bonn and berlin at a critical hinge of history . on tuesday the president is to preside over the deactivation of the last american military unit in berlin , where there has been an american troop presence for 50 years . by coincidence , on the same day the german high_court is expected to rule , probably in the affirmative , on the constitutionality of german troop participation in military operations , including peacekeeping missions , beyond the country 's borders . and again by coincidence , germany is finally coming out of the recession created by the economic demands of absorbing the former east_germany . integrating the east all have combined to make the long anticipated debate about germany 's proper leadership role in europe an immediate reality , and president_clinton timed his trip here to put america firmly on the side of an assertive german leadership posture . after talks on this theme between president_clinton and chancellor kohl at the german leader 's office in bonn , mr . clinton said at a news conference " we know from our experience how half of europe was integrated through nato and other institutions that built stability after world_war_ii . at the heart of our discussion today was what we have to do to integrate europe 's other half , the new independent nations poland , the baltic countries , russia , ukraine , hungary , the czech_republic , slovak republic and others . " while all the attention in the past year seems to have focused on when poland , the czech_republic , hungary , russia and other former warsaw_pact nations will be absorbed into the nato military structure , the really more pressing question is when they are going to be integrated into the western_european economic structures , which have been shutting them out even more than nato . " the chancellor and i , " mr . clinton continued , " will do everything we can to integrate the newly independent countries of europe into shared security with their neighbors , helping them to reform their economies , attract new investment , claim their place at the table with free and friendly nations of like mind . to imagine any of these things working out over the long run , the german american partnership will have to be maintained and strengthened . " asked to comment on the pending german court decision about sending troops abroad , mr . clinton said , " i think anything that can be done to enable germany to fulfill the leadership responsibilities that it is plainly capable of fulfilling is a positive thing . " a vision is shared mr . clinton 's trip here was meant to affirm the partnership with bonn and to give a subtle boost to mr . kohl , whom the americans are quietly backing in the german elections set for oct . 16 . mr . kohl , who has been chancellor since 1982 , has become mr . clinton 's closest friend among foreign leaders . they share a common vision of europe , a love of eating and a basically optimistic view of the world . so as not to be accused of interfering in german politics , mr . clinton also met in bonn with rudolf_scharping , the social_democratic_party leader and mr . kohl 's chief opponent . late today , mr . clinton flew from bonn to berlin , with a brief stopover at ramstein air_force base to visit with american_troops .

has a location of germany

the passion_play here , depicting the last hours and resurrection of jesus , has been delighting christian believers and incurring increasing controversy over its anti_semitism , however grudgingly modified in recent decades , for nearly 400 years . but this year 's installment , which began on may 21 and ends oct . 8 , has had a curious pendant , which in its own understated way has made a comment on that anti_semitism that has passed largely if not entirely unnoticed in germany . the pendant is an installation by robert wilson , the american artist best known for his original plays and operas and for his highly stylized direction and design for stage works by others , old and new . but mr . wilson started as a painter , and has kept up his work in the visual_arts throughout his career . he has specialized ( apart from his idiosyncratic chair designs ) in installations , tableaus charged with implied theatricality . he even won the golden lion sculpture award for one of those installations at the 1993 venice biennale . mr . wilson 's oberammergau installation is called ''14 stations'' and is located directly behind the passion_play theater . its subject is , of course , entirely suitable and was indeed commissioned by the organizers of the passion_play . it depicts the 14 stations of the cross , the stages through which jesus passed on the way to his crucifixion . the work is entered through a long , warehouselike building , from the center of which , at right angles , extends a walkway . on either side of the walkway are six gray cottages , and at the end is a final sculpture depicting the resurrection . the entrance building has a dark floor and walls and a clinical looking bright ceiling . bright bulbs hang on wires in neat rows , and in the center is a metal cistern , at the bottom of which is a vortex of liquid that looks like blood . the far end offers a wilsonesque vision of the resurrection a cutaway teepee like structure with a grass floor , a thatched interior , a blue bed and , suspended above the bed , an upside down white mannequin . the 12 cottages , 6 on either side of the via crucis , or axis , have small windows on the walkway side , through which only one person at a time can comfortably peer . as you stick your head inside each cottage , you become the sole observer of a tableau a ludwig ii like observer at your own private opera with eerie sound effects adding to the effect of a frozen wagnerian music drama . each tableau depicts an incident in jesus' passage toward death shouldering the cross , falling beneath it , veronica wiping his face , six charitable women , being stripped of his garments . the tableaus are in a style familiar to those who know mr . wilson 's work . each has a chilly mystical power , with disembodied hands , hanging boulders , white mannequins dressed and undressed , suspended furniture , beds . they are moving but also disturbing , nightmares for the faithful . the most striking tableaus are the 12th and 13th , the last before the resurrection . the 12th , entitled ''jesus dies on the cross , '' shows a pack of five raging red wolves , snarling , teeth glistening , ready to lunge . they are set against a painted rendering of craggy alps , of the sort in which oberammergau itself is nestled , part of a recurrent motif of german romanticism that pervades the installation . the 13th , ''jesus is taken down from the cross and laid in mary 's arms , '' has a blue ceiling and walls , with what looks like a heap of hundreds of glass medical sample bottles piled up on the floor . above them soar 11 stuffed birds , depicted with precise realism . in the background is a hanging fabric , rippling lightly , with what looks like a red lipsticked fashion model from an issue of vogue magazine from the 1950 's , with literally bejeweled tears on her face and an enigmatic smile . the model turns out to be madonna , the pop singer . in discussing his ideas for the installation in interviews , mr . wilson has laid emphasis on the shape of a christian cathedral and on quaker imagery , which has long influenced his work . the cottages and much of the furniture look quaker , and especially in the sixth and eighth stations , with threatening female mannequins dressed in quaker costumes , the connection is marked . but that 's not all there is to it . nearly everyone who visits ''14 stations'' is disturbed by it , and some , including one recent visitor , a jewish woman from beverly_hills who is a longtime wilson admirer , say they are terrified , even though they may feel no particular involvement with the passion story itself . there may be a covert reason for this disquietude . whether for a stage production or an installation , mr . wilson draws from piles of pictures and picture books heaped on a work table . while he was preparing his version of ''four saints in three acts'' at the houston grand opera , the table had everything from javanese and african jewelry to quaker houses to spanish renaissance paintings . from the form ''14 stations'' has taken , it appears mr . wilson drew his pictorial inspiration not just from representations of christian cathedrals , quaker villages and craggy alps , but also from photos of nearby dachau , auschwitz and the ultimate nazi killing machine , birkenau , near auschwitz . there is a long transverse brick entry building at birkenau , through which the train tracks ran directly toward the crematories ( now replaced with an anti fascist memorial ) . the tracks ( they 're still there ) ran up the central spine of the camp , flanked by low wooden bunkers that look rather like mr . wilson 's quaker cottages . the resurrection teepee recalls death camp crematories . the medical bottles in the 13th station look like the piles of eyeglasses at auschwitz . hitler 's nickname was wolf . the central walkway here is made of railroad ties . when asked about this connection , mr . wilson allowed that people had suggested the parallel to him as the work took shape , and that he had conceded , ''you could see it that way . '' but mr . wilson has a history of discretion about owning up fully to controversial inspirations for his pieces he would rather they be appreciated on their own terms , not clouded by controversy . his first ever production commissioned and created in europe was for the west_berlin schaubuhne in 1979 and was called ''death , destruction and detroit . '' ( there have since been two more in that series . ) the central image that inspired mr . wilson for that piece was a photo of rudolf hess raking leaves in a walled courtyard of spandau prison in berlin . in other words , a reference back to the nazis was the centerpiece of the entire production , yet mr . wilson never once fessed up to that image in interviews . in this instance , perhaps he can be taken fully at his word that death camp imagery played no role in his initial conception . perhaps . but sometimes those who perceive an artwork find insights in it of which even the artist was unaware , or chose to mask . whether consciously or subconsciously intended , the connection with the holocaust adds a powerful resonance to this already moving and important work . mr . wilson is apparently trying to find a permanent home for ''14 stations , '' most likely in the united_states , once it is dismantled after oct . 8 . if that happened , more people would have a chance to experience its beauty , and its disturbing undercurrents , for themselves . arts abroad

has a location of germany

after a protracted dispute that soured german american relations , the central_intelligence_agency has handed over the first of a large cache of east_german files listing intelligence agents and their code names , the german_government said today . the files , which will fill critical gaps in germany 's knowledge of the activities of the old east_german intelligence service , known as the stasi , were spirited out of berlin in 1989 and are widely believed to have been acquired by the c.i.a . in moscow . germany has long demanded the return of the files , saying they belong in berlin and should never have been taken to washington . but until an accord was reached late last year , the c.i.a . had insisted the files were too sensitive to be returned . ''the united_states handed over the first cd_rom containing the files on friday , '' a government spokeswoman said today . ''the government expects to receive further files in the near future . '' german officials , speaking on condition of anonymity , said they expected to receive the rest of the files over the next two years .

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a federal court ordered the retrial of armin meiwes , the computer technician who killed and ate a willing victim he found through the internet , saying his 2004 conviction for manslaugher and eight and a half year sentence were too lenient . prosecutors had argued that mr . meiwes , 43 , should have been given a life_sentence for murder . with the manslaughter conviction now overturned and the retrial set for a frankfurt court , they will get a chance for a tougher sentence . kirsten grieshaber ( nyt )

has a location of germany

lead following are excerpts from a news conference today by president_bush and chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany , provided by federal news service , a transcription company , and the white_house . questions and answers in german were translated by an interpreter . president 's statement following are excerpts from a news conference today by president_bush and chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany , provided by federal news service , a transcription company , and the white_house . questions and answers in german were translated by an interpreter . president 's statement bush . . . . the chancellor and i had an opportunity to talk at length about recent political developments in europe and about east west relations . and i am pleased to say that we share similar views on the most fundamental issues . we both welcome the prospect of further movement toward german_unification , beginning with the steps toward economic_and_monetary_union that are proposed for the period immediately following the elections in the g.d.r . on march 18th . if events are moving faster than we expected , it just means that our common goal for all these years of german unity will be realized even sooner than had been hoped . we share a common belief that a unified germany should remain a full member of the north_atlantic_treaty_organization , including participation in its military structure . now we agreed that u.s . military forces should remain stationed in a united germany and elsewhere in europe , as a continuing guarantor of stability . the chancellor and i are also in agreement that in a united , in a unified state , the former territory of the g.d.r . should have a special military status that would take into account the legitimate security interests of all interested countries , including those of the soviet_union . at the same time , the chancellor and i agree that we must continue to press hard for arms control efforts which would sharply reduce military forces in europe from the atlantic to the urals . we want to work together to have a c.f.e . agreement ready for signature this year at a summit meeting of all 35 c.s.c.e . member states . the summit could also endorse our proposal for c.s.c.e . guidelines on free elections to help show the way and protect the emerging democratic institutions of eastern_europe . . . . mr . chancellor , it was a pleasure to have you with us and now for your statement , sir . chancellor 's statement kohl . . . . in the spirit of this friendship , the two of us , mr . president , in the course of these hours in camp_david , we have discussed a vast list of political issues . in the center of our conversations was the future of the trans_atlantic relations and , embedded therein , the path of the germans toward national unity . against the background of historic changes on the european continent , we have reconfirmed our common beliefs . first , the alliance of the free democracies in europe and north_america , and included therein the german american partnership , are of fundamental importance for peace and security . this is true now this will be true in future . second , the security link between north_america and europe is and continues to be , and in the future , for us germans that is to say , also for a united germany of vital importance . that is why we need the presence of our american friends in europe , in germany , and that includes the presence of american_forces . also , for a united germany in the future , maintaining the friendship with the united_states_of_america and the expansion of relations with them will be an important task . we are happy about the ever closer economic cooperation and economic exchange , exchange in the fields of science and culture , and about the ever more meaningful meetings between people , in particular of the young generation . we are convinced that trans_atlantic relations must systematically be expanded in all fields . it is the common security in the alliance which is part of this , of the ever closer contacts between the european_community , including political cooperation , and the united_states . and this includes also our joint efforts to make our way toward a european peace order within the framework of the c.s.c.e . seeing the major changes in central_europe , east europe , southeast europe , the european_community continues to be an indispensable anchor of european civility . that is why we , the federal republic of germany , in particular myself , do not only want to expand european_integration but we want to accelerate this process wherever possible . beyond the big internal_market which is to be achieved on the 31st of december 1992 , beyond the economic_and_monetary_union , our primordial aim continues to be political_union in europe . that was the objective of the treaties of rome and nothing has changed in that area . it is our joint interest that the reform policy in central , east and southeast europe and , in particular , the policy led by secretary general gorbachev and the soviet_union will be successful . . . . on the path toward german unity , ladies and gentlemen , what we need in particular now is reason and good judgment . we germans walk along this path with a particular responsibility in the center of europe . and we 're doing so , if you like , along two tracks which are of equal importance . on the one hand , we are leading intensive talks with the g.d.r. , and at present we will , in particular , have to concentrate on the customs union and the economic community . on the other hand , we do have to consider that the link with our trans_atlantic partners , that european unity and comprehensive cooperation between east and west are being linked up with the development . we do respect the legitimate security interests of all states and we respect people 's feelings , especially the feelings of our neighbors . and i am saying this particularly addressing our polish neighbors . the border question will be settled definitely by a freely elected , all german_government , and a freely elected all german_parliament . but let me repeat here what i have recently said in paris already it was in january of this year nobody has any intention of linking the question of national unity with changes of existing borders . . . . questions and answers bush . helmut , if it 's agreeable to you , might i suggest to the press that we alternate the questions between us ? is that agreeable with you , sir ? q . you have declared , chancellor , that you do not want a change of borders . does this mean that you consider the polish border as final ? . . . kohl . my answer is very clear . . . . according to the legal situation in our country , it is a freely elected parliament , the sovereign of the people , which has to decide this question . and this is laid down also in the treaties of 1970 and has been mentioned in the conversations which took place in those years again and again . beyond this point , i 've again and again declared during the past months that and i do want to repeat nobody wants to link the question of national unity with changes in existing borders , and nobody is permitted to doubt my attitude there . q . do you consider it excluded that before german unity a treaty be concluded with the poles , about the polish border ? do you consider this excluded ? kohl . if i interpret the wish of the polish government correctly , and i think i do , then the polish government does have a very national wish that the competent sovereign , the legally competent sovereign , take that decision . in poland , there are certain circles who wish that , before such a decision to be adopted by an all german_parliament , decisions be taken in the two german states . in the federal german , west_german parliament , we have already pronounced ourselves and confirmed our line about the non changing of borders . bush . might i just add the u.s . permission , u.s . position , with your permission , mr . chancellor . the u.s . respects the provisions of the helsinki final act regarding the inviolability of current borders in europe . and the u.s . formally recognizes the current german polish border . i just wanted to get that in . q . do you think there is some difference between what you have just said and what the chancellor said ? there seems to be some lack , a bit of equivocation on his part . do you think there is any difference in the u.s . view and what the chancellor is saying today ? bush . i think we 're in alignment . i did not , i would not interpret what he said as equivocating at all . and i have just given you the u.s . position . . . . two plus four talks q . can you explain for us at this stage precisely how the two plus four works ? what the sequencing is , whether they are consecutive and ( inaudible ) . there 's been so much confusion about that . who 's got what rights ? bush . no , that , those details have not been fully worked out in terms of timings of meetings and things of this nature . they have not been worked out . this formula was approved by the foreign ministers in ottawa , and we simply have not tried to sit here in camp_david and fine tune the procedures for the two plus four . . . . kohl . . . . i 'm very happy with the decision adopted in ottawa , two plus four . it is only natural that the two states in germany , in particular after the 18th of march elections in the g.d.r. , will be discussing the subject in a particular way . this is a subject which concerns the germans in particular . . . . q . mr . president , ( inaudible ) how do the poles come into this so that , are they just one of the 35 at the end of it ? bush . well , there was , i know of poland 's feeling to want to make two plus four into two plus five . is that what you 're asking about ? the two plus four has been agreed upon . clearly , no agreement would ever be reached that affects the polish borders without polish involvements , but there is no change , we do n't sit up here and try to change an agreement that was taken by several countries at ottawa . but there will be a lot of consultative mechanisms . kohl . yes . bush . ( inaudible ) to deal with the interests , not just of poland but of our allies and everyone else . and the chancellor is very good about that , and i hope we 've been good about it , and it is essential that we stay on the same wavelength with our allies and friends . kohl . let me underpin what the president just said . i do realize that there is a particular interest on the part of the poles . and i 'm certain that in the course of this process , we will find ways and means of adopting solutions satisfactory to everybody . i think everyone of us has a feeling that there is a particular situation there , but i do n't consider it useful that the two of us , while nobody else from among our partners is here , try and decide about things and make declarations today . german_reunification q . ( inaudible ) europe , from poland to britain , and our own former director of intelligence , mr . helms , has called the german_unification march a runaway freight_train . given the history that , the role that germany played in the two wars in this century , should n't there be some assurances before this marriage takes place on borders and security ? bush . i think all those matters will be discussed in the various consultative mechanisms that we brought up . but i prefer to look at germany 's 45 years of contribution to democracy and to the security of the west , and that 's what we are focusing on . i have stated the u.s . position , which is not to be afraid of german_reunification , but to understand when peoples brother on one side , brother on another want to get together as one country , as they were before this artificial division that was , that was , resulted as , out of world_war_ii . so , we 've already crossed that bridge . we welcome reunification . but it 's not for the united_states to set a timetable . it 's not for us to say how fast . it is for us to guarantee as best we can in consultation with our allies that whatever evolves will be stable , and that peace will be the result . so , i , i 've already given you the view in my statement about the u.s . toward unification . and we are not in a process of trying to speed it up or slow it down . it 's a matter for the german people , matter for the discussions that , that will be taking place in multilateral fora . kohl . just a second , let me say something about this , because this is a very central question , i am grateful that was put . the question of german unity is a question of self , right of self_determination , and all peoples of this earth have the right of self_determination . it 's part of the charge of the united_nations , it corresponds to the principles of c.s.c.e. , it corresponds to the major democratic traditions of our world . . . . the second point is that the people in the two parts of germany do want to unify want to overcome the articles of division . the people in the g.d.r. , in a peaceful revolution , i think the most peaceful revolution of history , have made it clear that they want it by shouting ''we are the people . we are one people . '' now if i have a particular feeling , seeing and hearing this , and i believe that we do have a responsibility to be conscious of the fact that we are situated , geographically speaking , in the center of europe . we have a certain history . we must understand that there are certain fears on the part of our neighbors , and i 'm talking about serious fears and not only the pretended fears because there are people who pretend they have fears , but what they mean is that they fear the economic power of a federal_republic plus the g.d.r .. the president very rightly said last year that the federal_republic was 40 years of age . in the course of 40 years , it was a loyal and reliable partner in human_rights and the defense of freedom . . . . but i do take all the other data into consideration . and i 've also made it clear . . . that i am among those who want to pursue political_union of europe . the federal_government is a government which is ready to delegate further competences to the european_parliament . in other words , we want this united germany to be ever more embedded in an integration process with its neighbors . so nobody needs to be afraid . . . . military resurgence q . mr . president , i 'd like to know perhaps the core question do you trust that germany will never become an aggressive , resurgent military power ? and if i might ask mr . kohl , mr . kohl , do you foresake such a posture ? bush . i have stated that the u.s . position is that we welcome unification . and clearly , that would not be the position if we held the fears that your question alluded to . i do think that one way to help with stability , not in relation to this question , but european peace and stability is to have a strong nato and to have u.s . troops , if wanted , stationed in europe . . . . q . . . . to chancellor kohl , how durable can we see the commitment to nato and the continued presence of u.s . troops on german soil given the broad support in the federal_republic right now for a neutral unified germany , given the probable outcome of the east_german elections and given some of the political pressures that you may come under later this year with elections in december ? kohl . it 's my affair , these elections in the federal republic of germany in december , and i 'm looking forward to them very calmly . a moment ago i gave you the example , had i been standing here in the autumn , in the fall of 1982 or in january 1982 , most of your colleagues would have doubted that the germans would deploy . we did deploy american missiles , and that is why i really do n't think we need to be told what reliability means . neutralism would be a very false solution for us . i ca n't see that there would ever be any majority in the federal_republic or in a united germany for a neutralized germany . i think we have learned lessons and we do not want to repeat the errors of history . but one mistake in the times of the weimar_republic , of course , was that germany was isolated in europe . one must make germany a part of the whole . . . . instability as enemy q . mr . president , if i could follow up on a question you were actually asked a week or two ago about who , about who the enemy is these days , it seems that less and less it is the soviets . so , would one purpose of having , keeping nato intact and keeping u.s . troops within nato in germany be to as some analysts have said to keep the germans down ? bush . no . the enemy is unpredictability , the enemy is instability , and it is for that reason that we , there are agreed security provisions , and that 's the answer to it . . . . kohl . i would like to join up with this term , instability . i think this is one of the major tasks of all those responsible in east and west , and it 's particularly true for us in germany . we must do everything possible in order to avoid destabilization in europe , in particular in eastern_europe . i will do whatever i can to respond to that aim . as a matter of fact , i do not only agree with the president on this , but also with general secretary gorbachev . . . . q . mr . president , do you think that at the end of a two plus four process there will be a peace treaty , and that a peace treaty will then no longer be necessary ? kohl . i can give a very simple answer to the first part of your question yes . bush . and we agree with that . and eventually the four powers that were set up right at the end of the war , that 'll have to be resolved . whether it requires a formal treaty or something of that nature , i 'm not sure . but there will be a resolution , so there will not be a continued need for this four power arrangement , looking over the shoulders of a democratic unified germany . . . . security guarantees q . mr . chancellor , the desire on both of your parts to have a unified germany remain in nato , you also said that there should be some kind of special arrangements to guarantee , provide certain guarantees , security guarantees for eastern_europe and the soviet_union . does that preclude any participation at all with a unified germany vis a vis the warsaw_pact ? and would it be conceiveable that there could actually be soviet_troops in a unified germany ? kohl . one thing is clear a united germany cannot belong to two different pact systems . the other point is a question of sovereignty . we will have transition situations , and that is the subject about which one has to negotiate . at present , there are 380 , 000 soldiers of the soviet_army . seeing the reductions one has agreed upon , half of that number will be remaining there for the time being . many things will have to be looked into , and i cannot and will not give any final position here . . . . q . mr . president , can you envisage a situation where u.s . troops are still deployed in germany while the soviet_union has withdrawn all its troops from german soil ? bush . yes , i can . and the reason i can envisage such a situation is that , if that 's what the germans want , that 's what ought to happen . . . . upheaval in the east

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lead whether dining in bonn or boating down the rhine , president_bush and chancellor helmut_kohl were a pair of chummy and very happy politicians . they had every reason to be each , in his own way , had just helped pull the other out of political quagmire . whether dining in bonn or boating down the rhine , president_bush and chancellor helmut_kohl were a pair of chummy and very happy politicians . they had every reason to be each , in his own way , had just helped pull the other out of political quagmire . with the dangers evidently behind them , the two leaders spared no words singing each other 's praises . mr . kohl , jollier than at any time since his domestic political fortunes began to slide half a year ago , called mr . bush ''a true friend of our country , a personal friend who has always stood ready to help me in difficult times . '' mr . bush was equally euphoric , declaring ''i do n't believe german american relations have ever been better . '' the love fest on the rhine stood in sharp contrast to the recriminations of recent months , over topics like the air disaster at the american base at ramstein , which touched the west germans' sense of incomplete sovereignty , the libyan poison_gas plant affair and , most recently , the war of nerves over short range nuclear_weapons . thus much of the lightness along the rhine as foreign_minister hans_dietrich_genscher called for more beer was simply relief at the last minute compromise that had halted an increasingly painful squabble and salvaged the brussels summit . of all the nato leaders there , mr . bush and mr . kohl probably had the most to lose and the most to gain . mr . bush had come to europe hoping to prove he could steady the flapping reins of the western alliance . the german rebellion for that he needed first of all the germans , who had been most urgent in their demands for a response to the changes taking place in moscow , and who had finally rebelled in frustration against the inflexibility of the ''anglo saxons . '' on his side , mr . kohl had found himself out on a terribly frail limb . with his popularity failing at home , he had been maneuvered by his detente minded foreign_minister into open defiance of nato policy . mr . kohl was isolated both within the alliance and at home , where mr . genscher was threatening to bring down the government if the chancellor wavered . a success at brussels was made all the more pressing for both mr . kohl and mr . bush because of an approaching visit to bonn by president mikhail s . gorbachev , scheduled to start for june 12 . for mr . kohl , the enormous political value of the visit would have been severely undermined if it followed on a failed nato_summit . for mr . bush , a dismal visit to bonn on the eve of a triumphant visit by mr . gorbachev would have only intensified the image problem he had come to europe to solve . a riddle to his aides so it was little surprise that mr . kohl and mr . bush seemed so ebullient . what was less immediately obvious was why mr . genscher also seemed so satisfied . it was not that he had any less reason to be happy with the last minute compromise , which he had played a critical role in shaping . it was just that the longtime master of german foreign_affairs remains something of a riddle even to his aides , and is chary of revealing his real feelings . at a convention of his liberal free_democratic_party on the eve of the summit , mr . genscher made an impassioned defense of his call for early talks on short range missiles . these were the very positions that had brought the alliance into disarray , and the timing of the call seemed to portend a stalemate . at the end , the nato compromise managed to split the difference with some diplomatic legerdemain . it agreed to call for negotiations on the weapons , but only for their ''partial'' reduction satisfying bonn 's desire for talks and washington 's fear of a ''third zero , '' as the total elimination of land based nuclear_weapons in europe is referred to . delay in deployment the compromise also said that any talk of deploying new short range weapons would not begin until 1992 , when it would be raised ''in the light of overall security developments . '' this allowed mr . genscher to claim , as he did , that the weapons could still be effectively eliminated if conditions in 1992 proved no need for a replacement for aging lance missiles . mr . genscher had won time . but his antagonists could argue as prime_minister margaret_thatcher promptly did that negotiations would hardly begin anytime soon , and that the ''third zero'' had been effectively rejected . there was evidence , however , that mr . genscher 's real satisfaction ran considerably deeper than a satisfactory compromise , which after 15 years as foreign_minister was hardly likely to be a novel sensation for him . possibly most important for mr . genscher was that he had brought washington and the alliance considerably closer to his view of the opportunities offered by mr . gorbachev . a line from genscher the opening line of the nato communique declared something that mr . genscher had long been shouting ''our meeting takes place at a time when developments in east west relations suggest that real progress may be possible , particularly in the field of arms control . '' the new american proposal , with its emphasis on urgent negotiations and deep cuts , likewise reflected a strong new streak of what has become known as ''genscherism . '' as the foreign_minister said in a television interview , ''i am very happy that our idea of a joint political strategy in dealing with states of the warsaw_pact has found such wide support , and that now everywhere in the world and in the entire western alliance , the opinion has grown that it 's worth it to take gorbachev seriously and to take him at his word . '' so as mr . bush flew off into the setting sun , it seemed that for now at least , everyone was reasonably happy . for how long was another story . the broader differences if washington and bonn had once again found a way around a disagreement , the broader differences that make these two the most troublesome and interdependent members of the alliance remained intact for another day . ''after the united_states , west_germany is by far the most important member of nato , and so both are fated to be forever raising questions about the distribution of risks and burdens , '' said a longtime nato diplomat . ''compared to the load the americans and germans carry , the rest of the europeans basically get a free ride . '' that remark probably explained the relief felt by mr . bush and his hosts as much as any specific issue resolved or postponed . for the moment , at least , the two allies had managed to balance their differing and sometines conflicting needs . ''i think we were all winners in brussels , '' said mr . kohl , ''and that 's a rare experience for a politician . '' bush's hour taking control , he placates germans and impresses british

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the bavarian state parliament today passed a new law ordering crucifixes to be hung in school classrooms after the german supreme_court ruled the southern state 's previous law unconstitutional . the federal constitutional court ruled in august that bavaria could not insist that crucifixes hang in state classrooms because this violated the religious_freedom enshrined in the constitution . the new law , which could be again be challenged in the constitutional court , says that " in view of the historical and cultural character of bavaria , a cross is to be put up in every classroom . " if parents or children oppose the crucifixes , it calls on school principals to reach an " amicable agreement " with them . world news briefs

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you could call it exhibit a . it 's a drawing in a text used to teach islam to muslim students at german elementary schools , and it shows a family at a table , a father , two children , and a mother , with plates of food in front of everybody except the mother , who wears a head_scarf . ''the mother is shown like a servant , '' said marion berning , the principal of the rixdorfer grundschule , a large elementary_school in neuk lln , a largely immigrant neighborhood of berlin . ''this is a big problem for the girls . '' ms . berning has become something of a figure in berlin lately for the complaints she has been raising about the way a german muslim group , the islamic federation , has been teaching about islam in the local public schools . her complaints , moreover , are echoed by some people in the berlin educational establishment , who believe that , under the cover of giving court mandated religious instruction to muslim children , a sort of fundamentalist or , at least , separatist philosophy is being imparted to children inside the very schools that should be teaching equality and the essential sameness of all people . representatives of the islamic federation , which is believed to have about 30 , 000 members in germany , vehemently deny that accusation , saying that the difficulty they confront in trying to carry out a program already being carried out by other religious groups is a bias against islam , not an accurate description of what takes place inside any classrooms . ''whatever we do , the way the schools look at this , we 're going to disagree , '' burhan kesici , the chairman of the board of governors of the islamic federation and the person in charge of the islamic education program , said in an interview . mr . kesici , a german born , german educated political_scientist whose parents came to germany as ''guest workers'' several decades ago , recounted a long list of incidents showing what he regards as this bias . in one case , he recalled , a school principal actually washed his hands after shaking hands with mr . kesici . in many ways the argument about religious instruction seems to bring together several currents in germany today , not least the uncertainty palpable in a country fully realizing for the first time that the muslim population that exists here is both large and permanent . there are 2 , 300 mosques across this country . in the school where ms . berning is principal , some 74 percent of the children are foreign born or have parents who were , and a vast majority of them are turkish muslims . berlin , which is both germany 's capital_city and a state , has a special situation in this regard . unlike the practice in other german states , where classes in religion are part of the regular school curriculum , in berlin , parents decide whether they want their children to have religious instruction or not , and outside groups , in the past almost entirely protestant or catholic , have the right to teach their religions inside the public schools . for many years , the berlin government tried to keep the islamic federation , which it plainly did not and does not like , out of its schools . but the federation went to court , and then went back to court again , and after 20 years of trying , it finally won a ruling identifying it as a ' 'religious community'' with the right to do the same thing that the other religions were doing . it now holds classes in 28 schools in berlin , and plans to expand to 15 more schools next year . so what 's the difference between the muslims and other religious groups , whose presence causes no alarm ? ms . berning and those who share her view note several things most important , perhaps , that the islamic federation does not allow outsiders like ms . berning to attend their classes , so the impression is given that something secret is taking place in them . but beyond the specific worries is the more general feeling that the islamic federation 's version of islam is a very conservative one , possibly fundamentalist , and therefore at odds with german values . ''i do not believe that they are teaching their pupils to make bombs , '' klaus b ger , the senior education official in the berlin city government , said of the federation , ''but i think they are rejecting our society and are teaching an intolerant form of islam . '' ms . berning says that some muslim girls , under the influence of their outsider muslim teachers , have stopped taking gym and swimming classes , and that a few of them have started wearing head_scarves . the broader notion that worries her , as she summarized it , is that ''there are two kinds of people'' muslims and non muslims , with the implicit suggestion that muslims are better . mr . kesici 's rejoinder is that , in fact , very few girls have stopped gym classes or wear head_scarves in school and that there is no evidence that more of them do those things in schools where his group teaches than in schools where they do not . his teachers , he said , do not talk about head_scarves or swimming lessons , since parents are going to decide those issues themselves . as for the two kinds of people , the idea taught , he said , is that ''in islam , we have obligations to our muslim brothers and sisters , but we should not forget that we are all human beings and we are all created by god and we have to find a way that we can all live peacefully . '' but just last week , the credibility of explanations like mr . kesici 's was shaken when an advisory board in the state of north_rhine_westphalia announced the conclusions of a study of textbooks used in a private islamic school in bonn . according to german television , which reported on the board 's conclusions , muslim children are taught that ''the muslim people 's existence has been threatened by jews and christians since the crusades , and it is the first duty of every muslim to prepare to fight against these enemies . '' there is no evidence that such ideas are being taught by the islamic federation in berlin , but that has not lessened the widespread suspicion that something wrong takes place in the muslim classes . ''it is a political organization it represents political islam , '' a turkish born member of the local state_assembly , ozcan mutlu , said of the islamic federation , explaining why he opposes the group 's presence in the schools . ''i feel they do a good job in many ways , like teaching muslim women to read and setting up programs to help children with their homework , '' mr . mutlu said . ''but they also say 'we do n't belong to this society . we are different . ''' letter from europe

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lead president_bush hailed east_germany 's opening of its borders today as a ''good development , '' but privately his administration is growing concerned that the postwar european order is coming apart before any new stable structure has been established . president_bush hailed east_germany 's opening of its borders today as a ''good development , '' but privately his administration is growing concerned that the postwar european order is coming apart before any new stable structure has been established . speaking at an impromptu news conference at the white_house after being briefed on the day 's developments , mr . bush said , ''of course i welcome the decision by the east_german leadership to open the borders to those wishing to emigrate or travel . '' ''if it 's implemented fully , '' he said , ''it certainly conforms with the helsinki accords , which the g.d.r . signed . and if the g.d.r . goes forward now this wall , built in '61 , will have very little relevance . it clearly is a good development in terms of human_rights . '' political system is key the upbeat tone of the president 's remarks was in contrast to the deeper concerns in the administration over the uncertainty of what may happen next in east_germany , in relations between the two germanys and in europe as a whole . the entire structure of the postwar european order , which maintained stability for the last 40 years , has been based on a divided germany . the key questions now , administration officials said , is what kind of political system develops in east_germany and whether the country will remain independent or somehow merge eventually with west_germany . east_germans who leave for the west will determine their own future , but those who stay may well determine the future of europe by the type of state they and their leaders form . in his public remarks the president seemed to mask any concerns about the rapidity of change in europe , but those concerns nevertheless came through in his careful answers . when asked whether he saw a danger of events in central_europe spinning out of control , mr . bush said ''well , i would n't want to say this kind of development makes things move too quickly at all . i 'm not going to hypothecate that it may . but we are handling it in a way not to give anybody a hard time . we 're saluting those who can move forward with democracy . we are encouraging the concept of a europe whole and free . and so we just welcome it . '' 'i 'm very pleased' when reporters observed that the president in his initial answers seemed less than elated by the day 's events , he responded in a more enthusiastic manner . ''i 'm elated , '' he said . ''i 'm just not an emotional kind of guy . oh , i 'm very pleased , and i 've been very pleased with a lot of other developments . ''i think the united_states' part of this , which is not related to this development today particularly , is being handled in a proper fashion , and we 'll have some that 'll suggest more flamboyant courses of action for this country . we 're handling this properly with the allies , staying in close touch trying to enhance reform , both political and economic . the fact that i 'm not bubbling over , maybe it 's maybe it 's getting along toward evening because i feel very good about it . '' on capitol_hill , the senate_majority_leader , george j . mitchell , democrat of maine , struck a more unequivocally enthusiastic note , saying , ''this is an historic event . '' ''it can be made even more so , '' he added , ''if the east_german government now acts to tear the wall down . i urge them to do so . only then will we know that their proposal of today has lasting substance and meaning . '' remarks are recalled the chairman of the senate foreign relations committee , claiborne_pell , democrat of rhode_island , also declared ''east_germany should now tear down the berlin_wall'' and ''emulate poland and hungary by announcing democratic elections so that the east_german people can build a secure future without having to leave their homes . '' in his own way , the president also seemed to encourage east_germans to stay at home and work for reform in their own country instead of flooding to west_germany . ''you may remember that before i went to poland i was asked by a polish journalist , if i were a young pole what would my advice be , '' the president recalled . ''and what i said is i think you ought to stay there and participate in this dramatic change in your country . you ought to feel the surge of freedom , feel the move toward democracy , and be a part of it . ''and these are germans , and germans love their country , and at some point i think a lot of germans who have felt pent in and unable to move are going to say , 'look , we can move but would n't it be better to participate in the reforms that are taking place in our own country ? ' so i think it 's too early to predict that because of this opening that means everybody is going to take off . '' at the pentagon , defense_secretary_dick_cheney said in a statement that the odds of using military forces from east_germany against the west appeared to be ' 'significantly lower now than at any time in the postwar period . '' 'a revolutionary situation' as events in east_germany take unexpected new turns each day , bush_administration officials say they are discovering that while they have a great deal at stake in the final outcome they are virtually powerless to influence it . as a result , american policy today consists largely of hoping for stable change , urging all sides to exercise restraint and quietly praying that if there is to be a reassociation of east and west_germany there will be enough time to work out arrangments satisfactory to all the parties in europe . ''i admit that when all is said and done it is a policy largely of stated desires and rhetoric , '' said a senior bush_administration policy maker . ''but what would you have us do ? what we are dealing with in eastern_europe , and to a lesser extent in the soviet_union , is a revolutionary situation . revolutionary situations have a dynamic of their own . '' under such conditions , the official added , ''we can watch , applaud , hope and work together as closely as possible with the west germans . '' ''they know how best to deal with their own countrymen , '' he said . ''they can influence events inside east_germany , to the extent that anyone can , through their aid programs and their political_parties , but even the west germans have little influence . '' as events unfold in east_germany , administration officials feel powerless not only to direct those events in any way but also to discuss any alternative security system for europe if the postwar order based on a divided germany becomes obsolete . 'fulfillment of our dreams' ''the reason we seem to be so helpless is because what east_germans are demanding is the fulfillment of our dreams , the exercise of our values , and that is something that is inconceivable for us to oppose , '' said michael mandelbaum , an expert on east west relations at the council_on_foreign_relations . ''yet we are dealing with a country , germany , which if it becomes united and independent transforms the entire strategic landscape in europe . the germanys we had fit into an order which despite its injustices and maybe even because of them gave us peace for 40 years . we do n't know if a new arrangement for germany can fit into a stable order . '' summing up the administration 's quandary , herbert s . okun , a former united_states ambassador to east_berlin , remarked ''we want the east_germans to be free and we want their freedom to come about smoothly and gradually . but as lenin said , the path to revolution is not smooth or broad , and neither is the path to freedom . it is bumpy and full of turns . ''that simply underscores the fact that we urgently need to replace the present structure that has kept europe stable with an alternative . we want the east europeans to be free . the russians are ready to let it happen slowly , provided their security is not damaged . but we need an understanding soon . ''

has a location of germany

lead president_reagan , citing west_german chancellor helmut_kohl 's decision today to dismantle 72 pershing 1a missiles in west_germany , predicted that ''we can wrap up an agreement on intermediate_range nuclear_missiles quickly . '' president_reagan , citing west_german chancellor helmut_kohl 's decision today to dismantle 72 pershing 1a missiles in west_germany , predicted that ''we can wrap up an agreement on intermediate_range nuclear_missiles quickly . '' ''we are near an historic agreement , '' he said . but even as mr . reagan and other senior officials expressed cautious optimism that an arms control agreement with the soviet_union was near , the president challenged the soviet leadership to publish its military_budget , publicize the size and nature of its armed_forces and ''open for debate in your supreme soviet the big issues of military policy and weapons . '' military glasnost is urged ''i say to the soviet leadership , it is time to show some glasnost in your military affairs , '' mr . reagan said , addressing the town hall of california , a speakers' forum here . his talk was transmitted by satellite for simultaneous broadcast to the soviet american meeting in chautauqua , n.y . excerpts , page_a8 . mr . reagan 's speech contained other barbs he accused soviet_forces of ''indiscriminate bombing and civilian massacre'' in afghanistan , for example but by and large his language was more restrained than it has been in the past . officials said the tone reflected the president 's desire to avoid irritating the soviet leadership excessively while arms control negotiations move toward a final stage , and to mollify american conservatives who are angry with him for what they perceive may be his abandonment of the nicaraguan rebels . reacting to mr . kohl 's announcement today , the white_house issued a low key statement saying it supported the decision . a senior administration official traveling with the president added that the united_states exerted ''absolutely no pressure'' on west_germany . 'the way has been smoothed' the senior official also said the west_german announcement , along with the american decision on tuesday to accept fewer on site inspections of nuclear_weapons sites , means ''the way has been smoothed considerably'' for an agreement . nonetheless , the official and the president warned that , in mr . reagan 's words , ''there are still issues to be worked out . '' only a small portion of mr . reagan 's talk was devoted to arms control , and it was clear from the rest of his remarks that an arms control agreement would not be enough to insure warm relations with the soviet_union during the 17 months that remain in the president 's term . mr . reagan called on mikhail s . gorbachev , the soviet leader , to demonstrate that he was serious about improved relations and offered what he called ''guideposts and pointers'' toward that end . repeats earlier challenges in addition to urging ''a departure from the habits of secrecy that have long applied to soviet_military affairs , '' mr . reagan urged the soviet_union to tear down the berlin_wall , to pull its troops from afghanistan and to end its aid to nicaragua . mr . reagan also said the united_states would no longer be satisfied with the policy of containing communism and allowing the soviet_union to maintain its own ' 'spheres of influence . '' ''we have not forsaken deterrence or containment , '' he said , ''but working with our allies we 've sought something even beyond those doctrines . '' and at another point he said the united_states could not ''be content anymore with accepted spheres of influence , a world only half free . '' instead he called for full democracy in eastern_europe . all those suggestions have been made before . though mr . reagan 's language was more restrained , his larger message was little changed from a major address on u.s . soviet relations to the british parliament in 1982 . the senior official traveling with the president said ''i do n't think we 're asking for things that ca n't be done or things that are unreasonable . we 're saying , 'o . k. , if you 're going to make some changes , if you are truly interested in a new relationship with the west , let 's not just hear propaganda . here are some tangible steps that you can take . ' '' glancing reference to nicaragua it is not ''an act of belligerence , '' mr . reagan said today , ''to proclaim publicly the crucial moral distinctions between democracy and totalitarianism . '' he made only glancing references to the subject of nicaragua , a sore point for the white_house today as it tries to balance its support for the contras with its endorsement of peace negotiations . mr . reagan said ''soviet_bloc arms shipments'' to central_america ''have been speeding up during the past year increasing by more than 100 percent . '' that suggests , he said , that the ''soviet_union has stepped up its efforts to impose a failed system on others . '' the president is scheduled to meet with the contra leadership here on thursday afternoon as a further demonstration of support for the rebels .

has a location of germany

the countless construction cranes that hang over berlin do n't just change the skyline with construction at 35 , 000 sites every year , getting across town by car is a serious challenge . the routing complications caused by the two separate road systems that evolved over the 28 years that the berlin_wall divided the city do n't help . add the extra car traffic generated by the relocation of the german seat of government from bonn to berlin , and the result is traffic snarls that can paralyze roads for hours . so , like other cities around the world , berlin is betting that the solution to its traffic problems will be a new kind of data collection and communications technology . with money from the berlin government , a consortium that includes daimlerchrysler , siemens , bmw and volkswagen is developing a ''traffic management center'' in the city . the project will use data collected from a variety of sources throughout berlin to make real time information about traffic conditions available to the public over the internet , cell phones and palm size devices . starting in the next two months , siemens will install about 140 infrared sensors at key intersections . mounted on street_lights and bridges , the devices will monitor the volume and speed of vehicles , then transmit any changes ( for example , lowered speeds because of an accident ) via radio to a control center . at the center , the data will be run through a program that will generate a continuously updated model of the traffic situation . the data will also be combined with information from police and emergency services and public transit agencies , as well as specifics about construction schedules and special events , and made available on a web_site . commuters will be able to check the site before they leave for work to see if they should drive or take the bus or rapid_transit . the web_site will even include information as to availability of spaces in parking_lots and eventually , under present plans , data on the rapid_transit system . michael beer , head of the division of transport technology , telematics and international_relations for berlin 's ministry of construction , housing and transport , said that one advantage to this system is that commuters will be able to check only the information that is relevant to them . ''you ca n't talk about 35 , 000 construction sites in a 30 second spot on the radio , '' he added , noting that traditional reports may not note disruptions on small streets . traffic problems are not unique to berlin , of course , and neither are attempts at electronic monitoring to cope with them . many cities have various systems in place , including speed or weather sensors and video cameras , and private traffic monitoring companies , like those that provide updates to radio and television stations , abound . but what will really change traffic management in the next few years will be projects like berlin 's , linking all of a city 's diverse monitoring systems in a central location and making the information available via the internet or cell phones . government sponsored initiatives for this kind of centralized traffic management started earlier in europe than in the united_states ( berlin has been working toward this for the last three years ) , but american projects are moving at a more rapid clip . ( berlin has yet to sign a final contract between its public and private partners . ) in the united_states , projects similar to berlin 's are beginning in san_antonio , seattle and phoenix , and another will be started in december in the new york metropolitan_area . the united states department of transportation has committed 1 . 3 billion to traffic management projects over the next six years but takes a less controlling approach than its european counterparts . ''in europe in general , you 've seen this develop in a european fashion , that is to say , government led , '' said geoff halstead , president and chief executive of traffic station , a company based in los_angeles that is working with the four american pilot projects . ''in america , it 's american driven by entrepreneurship . '' technological approaches differ , often according to what kinds of technology are already in place . the seattle project uses a combination of sensors in road surfaces and video cameras to monitor traffic flow . other projects monitor traffic speeds using radar or electronic toll collection devices . the trick is to be able to meld information from very different sets of monitoring systems . ''we 're trying to bring a patchwork of technologies into a quilt that covers the nation , '' said roy courtney , director of architecture and standards at intelligent transportation society of america , a public private advocacy_group created by congress in 1991 . but , he added , ''we 're still trying to mature this industry . '' in berlin , traffic_jams are a fairly new phenomenon . ''until the end of the 80 's the public transportation in west_berlin was very good , '' mr . beer said . ''a lot of people did n't have cars in the west . in east_berlin , of course , you had to wait 10 or 15 years for a car , so the number of cars was even lower . ''after the reunification of berlin , everyone wanted to go from east to west , or to regions around berlin that you could n't get to with public transportation , so a lot of people got cars . there was a big increase in car buying after the wall came down . '' mr . beer envisions a system in which drivers can check traffic conditions from their cell phones while driving , see that there is congestion in the city center , check to see which nearby lots have vacancies , park their cars and take public transportation for the final leg of their trips . ''we want to encourage public transit use , '' he said , adding that because berlin is now the capital , traffic will only increase . ''we think that in the next years it will be impossible to come to the city center by car , '' he said .

has a location of germany

in an extraordinarily intense and personal cross_country exchange , president_clinton and senator bob_dole challenged each other 's values and personal integrity today , focusing on the issue of late term abortion in a daylong series of increasingly vituperative attacks . that exchange began when mr . dole , the presumptive republican presidential_nominee , went to a philadelphia convention of editors of roman_catholic publications this morning and asserted that mr . clinton 's veto of a bill that would have barred a kind of late term abortion procedure " pushed the limits of decency too far . " excerpts , page_a14 . barely had mr . dole spoken when mr . clinton , who until now had left the attacks on his rival to aides , delivered a severe response that starkly reflected the candidates' disagreements on abortion , one of the nation 's most divisive social issues . speaking in milwaukee at a joint news conference with chancellor helmut_kohl of germany , mr . clinton characterized mr . dole 's approach to the bill , which would have forbidden so called partial birth abortions , as being one of " there was too much political support behind this , i did not want to be bothered by the facts , it 's o.k . with me whatever if they rip your body to shreds and you could never have another baby , even though the baby you were carrying could n't live . " the president added sharply , " now i fail to see why his moral position is superior to the one i took . " in his philadelphia appearance , at the annual convention of the catholic press association , mr . dole offered a new campaign proposal a credit that taxpayers would be able to claim for donations to groups that assist the poor . but it was overshadowed by the latest exchange of what the campaigns like to call " rapid response , " in which mr . dole , having returned to washington , got in the last shot before this evening 's television news programs by inviting photographers to his private balcony on the west side of the capitol . there , the senator said of mr . clinton " he is on the fringe , subscribing to abortion on demand , and now he 's upset about it . i think what he should do is just admit he made a mistake and urge the congress to override his veto , ask us to override his veto . that 's what he should do . " though today 's exchange centered on mr . clinton 's veto of the abortion legislation , each of the candidates engaged in a broader underlying assault on the other 's character . those attacks startling for being so sudden and so furious , and for coming so early in the presidential race coincided with intense pressure to which both men have been subjected as they wrestle with politically troublesome issues within their parties abortion for mr . dole , same sex marriages for mr . clinton . it was mr . dole who set the bar for the day when he told his audience in philadelphia that he viewed the presidential_election as " a referendum on the basic values of the country . " mr . dole said he worried that the country was in a " moral drift . " " as a society , " he said , " we ca n't shake the feeling that our culture is in trouble and our values are under assault . " he suggested that mr . clinton was largely to blame . " we have an administration that reflects the most troubling features of our culture , " mr . dole said , " an administration that seems to believe in everything and nothing . " it is , he continued , " an administration guided by nothing more profound or permanent than the latest polling data , an administration constantly exhorting itself and lecturing the public but itself fundamentally adrift , without direction or moral vision . " he offered as evidence mr . clinton 's veto of the abortion bill . the relatively rare abortion procedure that the legislation would have banned is performed only after 20 weeks of gestation . in the procedure , the fetus is partly extracted from the woman , feet first , and the brain is then suctioned out , allowing the rest of the fetus to pass through the birth canal . before the bill 's passage earlier this year , mr . dole won the addition of an amendment that would have allowed the procedure if needed to save the life of a woman endangered by her pregnancy . but mr . clinton said he could not sign the measure in the absence of a second exception , allowing the procedure to safeguard the woman 's health . the legislation 's advocates said this second exception would in effect permit the procedure on demand , and it was not included in the bill that congress sent to the president . as a result , mr . clinton last month cast his veto , a decision later condemned by the roman_catholic_church . in his talk to the catholic editors today , mr . dole , reading carefully but quickly from a video prompter , said " let me speak to this issue as simply as i can . i am opposed to abortion on demand . i am pro_life . but i understand that reasonable and decent people can disagree on certain points . " but this was an easy call . here was an issue where all americans can come together . with his veto , president_clinton pushed the limits of decency too far . " mr . dole 's remarks reflected in part a rising frustration within his campaign over the speed with which mr . clinton has moved to co opt the senator 's issues . last weekend , for example , mr . clinton endorsed a welfare plan that mr . dole was about to embrace . and on wednesday the clinton white_house , aware that mr . dole was to speak to catholic editors today , put out word that the president would sign a bill refusing federal recognition of same sex marriages if the legislation reached his desk . the clinton organization today displayed another trait that has come to annoy the dole camp a quick response to the senator 's remarks . mr . clinton 's political aides had begun paging reporters on their beepers to offer a reply to mr . dole 's speech even before the senator left the philadelphia hotel where he had delivered it . in milwaukee , mr . clinton , who has come under criticism from even members of his own party for the abortion veto , defended his decision . he noted that at the gathering where he vetoed the bill , he introduced five women who had undergone the procedure and who might have been left physically disabled had they been forced to proceed with birth . " what would senator dole say to those five women who stood up there with me ? " he asked . " i am always a little skeptical when politicians piously proclaim their morality , " the president continued . " he has to answer to those five women . " in the tumult of the day , the discussion of the first element of an emerging dole tax plan was almost lost . the senator said he would support a tax_credit of up to 500 for a single filer , and up to 1 , 000 a couple , for donations to religious or other charitable organizations that help the poor . mr . dole borrowed the idea from senator daniel r . coats of indiana . currently , taxpayers may take only a deduction from income for charitable_contributions , and even that benefit is available only to taxpayers who itemize their deductions tax_credits , in contrast , are subtracted directly from the tax owed and may be claimed by any taxpayer , whether itemizing or taking the standard deduction . mr . dole 's aides said his proposal would cost between 17 billion and 20 billion a year . they said they were not ready to discuss how he would pay for it . politics the challenger

has a location of germany

lead the united_states is backing a proposal by the west_german foreign_minister that a reunified germany be part of nato but that no nato troops be based on the territory of east_germany , a senior administration official said today . the united_states is backing a proposal by the west_german foreign_minister that a reunified germany be part of nato but that no nato troops be based on the territory of east_germany , a senior administration official said today . the official , speaking to reporters after a meeting at shannon airport in ireland between secretary of state james a . baker 3d and foreign_minister roland_dumas of france , said a majority of nato members appeared to favor such a unification formula . the official said mr . baker would raise the issue with president mikail s . gorbachev when he goes to moscow on wednesday . after his brief layover in ireland , but before his trip to moscow , mr . baker stopped in prague for talks with president vaclav_havel . the genscher proposal the remarks by the administration official , who is in a position to speak authoritatively on behalf of the state_department , amounted to the first indication that the bush_administration was ready to back the unification proposal , which was presented to mr . baker last friday by the west_german foreign_minister , hans_dietrich_genscher . mr . genscher , who is the chief of the free_democratic_party in west_germany and who often floats ideas on foreign_policy , has been discussing his unification idea with european officials . the plan has not been endorsed by east_germany , which officially seeks a neutral and unified germany sometime in the future . it has not been endorsed by the west_german chancellor , helmut_kohl , who heads the christian_democratic_union in the coalition_government , or by the government itself . but it has gained widespread support in bonn , and government officials there say it is likely to become policy . american officials added that they were not wedded to the proposal , meaning that if it proves impossible to put into effect , or if a better idea comes along , they will also consider those . 'a pretty good one' ''genscher has come up with one proposal , and we think that proposal , in terms of not having nato forces move further east , is a pretty good one , '' the senior official said . ''it maintains a nato structure that will try to achieve not only the new missions we 've talked about but the political purposes of the alliance . so we think that is a very positive contribution . this is the sort of thing that will have to be discussed among the various parties nato , the germanys , the soviets . '' asked what kind of support the proposal had in the north_atlantic_treaty_organization , the official said , ''i think many of the other countries in nato think that this serves the elements that we set and will help maintain stability . '' up to last week , bush_administration officials studiously avoided lending support to a detailed or concrete plan for german unity . four conditions instead , whenever the president or the secretary of state were asked for their preference on the unification question , they answered that they supported the basic principle , provided that it took place with four conditions . those conditions were these unification must come about through the free voting and self_determination of east and west germans . as mr . baker said in his speech in berlin on dec . 12 , ''we should not at this time endorse or exclude any particular vision of unity . '' unification should occur in the context of germany 's continued commitment to nato . for the sake of european stability , unification must happen step by step . there should be no enlargement of germany 's postwar borders , except through peaceful negotiations . administration officials said they were forced to move from those general principles to a more detailed blueprint two weeks ago , when the troubled east_german government announced that it was moving up elections from may to march 18 . 'takeover' or 'merger' given the fact that the vast majority of east_german parties running in the campaign urge unification , the voting is expected to be followed by the establishment of a new east_german government that will immediately take steps toward merging the countries . as the administration official put it , washington recognizes that after the elections , ''you can expect a very quick process dealing with the economic , political and legal aspects of unification between the two german states . '' the question for the administration became more immediate on whose terms would unification take place ? in wall_street terms , would it be a ''takeover'' of east_germany by west_germany , or a ' 'merger'' between relative equals ? the east_german prime_minister , hans_modrow , weighed in last week with his own proposal , in which a ''united fatherland'' would cease to be a member of nato or the warsaw_pact and would set up its government in berlin . brakes on modrow plan it was in an effort stop the modrow proposal in its tracks , before it gained any momentum with the german public , that mr . genscher , encouraged by the administration , came up with his own concrete proposal in a speech on jan . 31 . the hope in bonn and in washington is that by the time the vote takes place in east_germany , the west will have a formula for keeping a unified germany in nato and resisting calls for its neutrality . the genscher formula postulates that a united germany remain in nato but that nato promise that its troops in west_germany would not be extended into east_german territory once the nations were merged . the hope is that such an arrangement would make german_unification less threatening to the kremlin . mr . genscher has also proposed that the soviets be allowed to continue maintaining some troops in east_germany , ideally in much reduced numbers , and that those troops could even engate in joint exercises , exchanges and other confidence building measures with nato troops so that germany would be , as he puts it , a venue for east west reconciliation , not confrontation . avoiding a public stand to date the bush_administration , unlike mr . genscher , has declined to take a position on soviet_troops . officials traveling with mr . baker said , ''we do n't want to rule them in or out . '' they do not want to rule them in so as not to appear to be sanctioning the presence of the soviet_army in east_germany , the officials explained , and they do not want to declare that they must leave by a certain date because to do so would probably undermine hope of soviet cooperation . the soviets have about 390 , 000 troops in east_germany . the soviet position on the german question appears to be in flux . as to a meeting last week in moscow between mr . modrow and mr . gorbachev , the soviet president for the first time gave a cautious endorsement for a discussion of reunification . but a day later , foreign_minister eduard a . shevardnadze seemed to back away from that idea , saying that given germany 's nazi past , unification was a concept that might be best put before an international referendum . thousands rally in prague prague , feb . 6 ( ap ) thousands of people filled prague 's old town square today and demanded that 75 , 000 soviet_troops in czechoslovakia withdraw unconditionally by may 31 . the crowd , estimated at 8 , 000 by a western reporter and at 30 , 000 by the official press agency , applauded a speaker who demanded that vasil bilak and other former leading communists be put on trial . mr . bilak and the others are deemed responsible for inviting troops into czechoslovakia in 1968 to crush the liberalization movement known as the prague spring . the new coalition_government , headed by president havel , has demanded the withdrawal of the soviet_forces by the end of 1990 .

has a location of germany

lead president_bush and president mikhail s . gorbachev of the soviet_union opened their second summit conference today , and both leaders indicated that differences between the soviet_union and the west on the difficult question of germany 's military status had narrowed slightly . president_bush and president mikhail s . gorbachev of the soviet_union opened their second summit conference today , and both leaders indicated that differences between the soviet_union and the west on the difficult question of germany 's military status had narrowed slightly . but an atmosphere of considerable confusion prevailed late tonight , as administration officials scurried to dampen expectations . at almost the exact moment when mr . gorbachev was remarking in his toast at a white_house dinner that this meeting might produce ''the biggest results of all the soviet american meetings , '' white_house and state_department officials , who spoke on condition that they not be identified , were conveying a far more pessimistic picture on the german issue . 'ideas and suggestions' speaking at an impromptu news conference earlier in the evening on the white_house driveway , after completing his second round of conversations with mr . bush , the soviet leader said the two sides had put forth ''certain ideas and suggestions'' for breaking the impasse on the issue . the two presidents , he said , had asked their foreign ministers to give the matter further study . mr . bush , speaking a few minutes later in the white house rose garden , said that he was pleased by mr . gorbachev 's suggestion that the gulf between them ''had been narrowed somewhat . '' in a brief discussion with reporters , mr . bush added , ''i took some heart from that . i was encouraged by that . '' he said that the talks had been ' 'very frank no rancor there . '' reassurance for west_germany later , a white_house official appeared at the press center at george_washington_university to dilute what he described as excessively optimistic accounts offered earlier by other officials . he did not explicitly contradict the two presidents' comments , but he said that ''the word 'progress' is wrong'' and added , ''the bottom line is that both presidents restated their well known positions'' on germany . the official said president_bush would call chancellor helmut_kohl of west_germany on friday to tell him that the united_states had not altered its position , amid reports that bonn had protested to the white_house when news of the comments by mr . bush and mr . gorbachev reached officials there . ''it is not here that the german question will be settled , '' mr . gorbachev had commented , reflecting the difficulty of reconciling his opposition to nato membership for a unified germany and the insistence of the united_states , west_germany and other western countries that such membership be permitted . mr . gorbachev 's spokesman , arkady a . maslennikov , pronounced the first sessions ''a good begining'' and predicted that mr . gorbachev and mr . bush would hold two more summit conferences this year to sign long awaited treaties covering reductions in strategic arms and in conventional forces in europe . the white_house said a number of agreements would be signed after two more meetings between the leaders on friday , including a chemical_weapons accord and probably an outline of the main points of the strategic arms treaty . negotiations on the start agreement were continuing late tonight , with discussions centering on whether and how the soviet_union would be allowed to modernize its huge ss 18 missiles , which have no united_states counterpart . good odds for trade accord on a third key question , a planned trade agreement , approval of which has been held up by the soviet failure to pass a more flexible emigration law and by moscow 's embargo against lithuania , senior american officials said there was a good chance that the agreement would be signed . but a waiver required to put it into effect would not be sent to congress until the administration was satisfied on the emigration issue and on the situation in lithuania and the other two baltic_republics , latvia and estonia . that formula would give mr . gorbachev a trophy to take home without exposing president_bush to allegations that he sold out soviet jews or lithuania . the conference between mr . bush and mr . gorbachev opened in a swirl of military pageantry on the sun drenched south lawn of the white_house , with howitzers , bands , a fife and drum corps in colonial dress , and an enormous contingent of photographers . from session to lunch the day included a session only for the two leaders this morning and a session including their aides this afternoon , a luncheon at the soviet embassy for prominent americans including several movie stars , a visit to the library of congress and the children 's museum by mr . gorbachev 's wife , raisa , and a torrent of words from him at the luncheon , at dinner , in the white_house driveway , on the lawn , and in the streets . this evening , at the height of the rush_hour , he stopped his black zil limousine on pennsylvania_avenue between the white_house and the soviet embassy and briefly worked both sides of the street , shaking hands enthusiastically and saying he felt right at home . in contrast to his dark mood on wednesday in canada , and despite the phalanx of problems facing him back home , mr . gorbachev smiled and deflected hard questions with soft words . former secretary of state henry a . kissinger , a guest at the luncheon , remarked on mr . gorbachev 's apparent serenity . in his arrival statement , mr . gorbachev said , ''the walls which for years separated the peoples are collapsing . the trenches of the cold_war are disappearing the fog of prejudice , mistrust and animosity is vanishing . '' mr bush , in his statement , said , ''we 've seen a world of change this past year , and now on the horizon we see what just one short year ago seemed a distant dream a continent truly divided east and west has begun to heal with the dawn of self_determination and democracy . '' mr . bush was ''upbeat and animated'' during the bargaining sessions , said his spokesman , marlin fitzwater . in his welcoming speech this morning , mr . bush pointedly mentioned the german problem and the need for soviet reconciliation with lithuania , while also saluting mr . gorbachev 's achievements . in his toast for the white_house dinner tonight , he praised his guest for ''creating within the soviet_union a commitment to change . '' while it was not clear what new ideas mr . bush and mr . gorbachev had put forward on the question of future german_military allegiance and the related question of troop_reductions in europe , including soviet withdrawals from former satellite countries in eastern_europe , officials on both sides said major difficulties remained , and mr . bush said he had not changed his basic position on the issue . one strong possibility , experts said , was some means of suggesting in the conventional forces treaty now under negotiation , which is known as c.f.e . 1 , that another agreement , variously known as c.f.e . 1a or c.f.e . 2 , would deal with limits on german troop_strength as part of broader limits . that is a tricky matter because of germans' antipathy toward anything singling out their country for special , punitive treatment . future force structures administration officials said that in the meetings , mr . gorbachev outlined the soviet position on future force structures in europe , proposing that the 35 nation conference on security and cooperation in europe be ''beefed up'' to give it a direct security role . he implied that he would prefer such an arrangement to the continued central role of nato . he also said that the soviet_union would like to see a transition period in which its troops remained in the eastern part of germany for an unspecified time after unification is completed . the soviet_union has been offering these proposals for some time , because moscow has a leading role in the european security conference and wants to defuse the atlantic alliance . mr . bush again opposed both of these suggestions , administration officials said . he reiterated to mr . gorbachev today that the united_states opposes any limitations on the sovereignty of germany and does not foresee any significant military role for the european security conference , they said . in a letter to european governments , the soviet_union renewed its proposal for the creation of a ''greater european council'' that would consist of the 35 nations in the current organization and would meet annually , an official said . changes in nato suggested another idea involves changes in the character of the north_atlantic_treaty_organization . vadim v . zagladin , mr . gorbachev 's chief adviser on europe , said in moscow this week that soviet public opinion opposed membership in the alliance for a unified germany . but he added that if changes took place in the structure of nato , ''then there will be a completely different situation . '' on the ''macneil lehrer newshour'' on pbs on tuesday night , andrei kortunov , head of the department on united_states foreign_policy of the institute of united_states and canada in the soviet_union , suggested that ''the best possible solution'' was to have germany as a whole in the political institution of the atlantic alliance , but the military institutions of the alliance somehow limited to the present west_german territory . it was mr . gorbachev , american officials said , who suggested turning the german issue over to the foreign ministers , to remove it as a potential irritant to the rest of the summit conference . secretary of state james a . baker 3d and foreign_minister eduard a . shevardnadze are expected to discuss the matter at some length at meetings here over the next 48 hours . on strategic arms , charges by conservatives that mr . baker had given the soviets too much leeway on testing and modernizing its remaining ss 18 's , whose numbers are to be cut in half from 308 to 154 , have made those missiles the main sticking point in trying to draw up an agreement on the main points of the strategic arms treaty . negotiations for the treaty have been under way for several years . paul a . nitze , the longtime arms negotiator who retired at the end of the reagan_administration , criticized what has been accomplished so far . he described the papers being readied for signature on friday as a ''not sufficient forward moving set of agreements , given the opportunities that we 've had to make progress in the last two years . ''

has a location of germany

lead following are excerpts from an interview today with president_bush in the oval_office on the crisis in panama q . from here , looking from washington , what do you think the chances are of another rising in panama ? a . i think any time you have somebody that is demonstrably evil as noriega and who is frustrating the will of the people , as he continues to do , there 's bound to be upheaval . following are excerpts from an interview today with president_bush in the oval_office on the crisis in panama q . from here , looking from washington , what do you think the chances are of another rising in panama ? a . i think any time you have somebody that is demonstrably evil as noriega and who is frustrating the will of the people , as he continues to do , there 's bound to be upheaval . there is bound to be . q . you do n't think , in other words , that what happened , the failed coup , or failed attempted_coup , has reduced the chance of upheaval ? a . no . . . . i think , if anything , it has signaled the discontent with noriega more , particularly in the military because of the way some of the people have been handled . . . . i think they 'll be prudent and very cautious because of the reaction . but what i 'm saying is , the response , his response post coup , in my view , has just shaken to the core the professionals in the p.d.f . that does not enhance his standing there or guarantee that they 'll put up with him forever . on german unity q . let me give you two things that are being discussed within your administration , among the europeans , among professors . can you see , presuming that you 're here for eight years , any beginning of american troop_withdrawal from europe , or troop reduction ? a . we 've already seen that in our proposal . . . . so my answer would be definitely yes . q . can you see any changes in the status of germany ? a . yes . . . . i do n't share the concern that some european_countries have about a reunified germany because i think germany 's commitment to and recognition of the importance of the alliance is unshakable . and i do n't see germany , in order to get reunification , going off onto what some are concerned about , and that is a neutralist path that puts them at odds , or potentially at odds , with their nato partners . . . . and yet , i do n't think we ought to be out pushing the concept of reunification , or setting timetables , or coming from across the atlantic over here making a lot of new pronouncements on this subject . it takes time . it takes a prudent evolution . it takes work between them . . . and understanding between the french and the germans and the brits and the germans on all of this . but the subject is so much more front and center because of the . . . rapid changes that are taking place in east_germany . . . . and who knows how mr . krenz is going to turn out to be ? is he going to be just a perpetuation of the honecker view , or is he going to be something different ? i do n't think he can resist total change . q . what 's our early appraisal of that ? a . it 's too early . i ca n't get a fix on it . . . . i think you 're going to see some accommodation at change . . . . he ca n't turn the clock back . . . . the change is too inexorable . on the capital gains fight q . turning for a moment to domestic issues . . . . we 're obviously in a bad way in the sense that whether you 're a republican or a democrat , whether you 're at this end of pennsylvania_avenue or the other . . . the country and the rest of the world are left to draw the conclusion that we 've got some difficulties making our process work . a . no question . we sent a budget up there months ago and they 're still floundering around up there on it and not acting on it . . . . when you have a president who feels strongly on some issues , indeed , thinks he was elected to deliver on them capital gains was one and then you have leaders in the congress who are frustrating their own majorities in the two houses , you 've got a conflict there . . . . i 'll give you an example . i know that there 's some less than full enthusiasm on the part of your editors for capital gains . but this was one of the issues . it was debated , and very clearly bush is for it his opponent is against it . the congress in the house , in spite of a lot of frustration , voted for it . the votes are there in the senate for it . the leadership , thinking they 're onto this old gambit , that man 's trying to help the rich and hurt the poor , are frustrating the will of their own majority . so why does the country look at this strange way of governing and say there 's some confusion ? because there is . on the limits of office q . . . . you 're coming toward the end of your first year . . . . do you feel boxed in on initiatives ? a . yes , sometimes i do . anti drug i wish there was some more money for that , although we have stepped up considerably the amount of money . q . do you wish there were more money for eastern_europe ? a . i wish i could just click off well , not yet on eastern_europe . i mean , i think we 're on the right track in working with our allies . the right track in encouraging reform and , indeed , helping reform . q . where do you feel frustrated ? besides drugs . a . oh , i 'd love to be able to just not even worry about the relief for f.e.m.a . and the hurricane and the earthquake both . i mean , it would be nice to just say we 're going to do this . . . . i 'd love to see a program that would help i think we could in terms of helping developing_countries , for example . our hands are tied . and , again , i 'm not for throwing money at a problem in the cameroons or in colombia , but i 'd like to if we had more funds available , they could be i think could be usefully used . . . . q . how about the cities ? do you worry about that ? i mean about housing and about policing , that kind of thing . a . i worry some on that , yes , i do . but again , we get but i do n't want to leave you the wrong impression that i think we need , if we just had tons more federal money , we could solve everything . i do n't think that 's the case . . . .

has a location of germany