Evening star., 1949-05-30
10 Million Refugees
From Reich Red Zone
Homeless in West

homeless iii WeSI
FRANKFURT. May 23 CNANA)
tBy Airmail) Over the border
every night flock hundreds of East
Zone Germans to become the
greatest question mark In West
German economy today. For per-
sonal, business and theological
reasons, they slip black" across
the zonal frontiers. swelling the
population Of the already over
burdened Western zones.
When they arrive they find
themselves homeless. unemploy-
able, unwanted and uncared for.
Because they are either German
or of Germanic origin-Sudeten
Czech. Hungarian or Silesian-
they are ineligible for IRO care
and displaced-person status. No
single Allied or German agency
has made provisions for these TO-
900 900, now comprising about 20
per cent Of the bizonal population.
In some areas the refugees out
number the native population.
Schleswig- -Holstein statistics in
. dicate that 81 per cent Of its
population is composed Of these
Germans. These numbers are.
moreover. being augmented
nightly, border patrols and local
authorities estimating the daily
influx at more than 1000.
Most of the refugees fed to the
Western zones voluntarily, think
ing Of Western Germany as a
land of plenty. They arrive with
out money. with only those be-
longings they have managed to
carry usually without friends or
knowledge of the area.
Can't Get Cards.
After less than "a hours, they
find they are unable to get food
cards as these are distributed only
to residents Of a town or district.
80 they are forced to buy on the
black market. They find them
selves in bomb-fiattened cities
where the original inhabitants
are living in caves and novels or
crowded five and six to o room.
They discover great numbers OF
people are jobless. They are. con-
sequently, greeted with hostility
by the native population and by
the already harassed local author
tiles.
An authoritative report points
out that most II not all the refu-
gees flee from conditions created
by totalitarianism F.. They came
to (Western) Germany seeking
the better conditions Of demo-
cracy. If they fail to find the i'm
provement their hearts are set
on. II after many months they
have to live under conditions un-
At even for animals they may
themselves become radicals. ready
to listen to the voice Of self-ap-
pointed leaders as bad or worse
than those they ran away from.
Already q number Of such loud
advocates Of the refugees taking
whatever they want are stirring up
dissatisfaction"
Radicals Developing.
Egon Salat, chairman Of the
North Rhine -Westphalia German
government advisory board on
refugees, In the British Zone.
warned recently: "The refugees
are becoming a strongly radical
element =. They are demanding
q leader, like Moses, or man Of
the newest history to lead them
out Of their distressed situation"
Already mass meetings. de-
scribed by military police as
"verging on violence" are begin
ming to take place In cities
throughout the zone. usually
called by a specific national group
for example, the 6udeten
Czechs. The meetings begin with
q speech on the homeland" Soon
however, the original group is
joined by the great variety of other
Germans who make up that bit
ter group. the refugees.