Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-02-12
By Crosby S. Moves
FoTeian Correspondent of The Stor

BERLIN.-The room in the
old building at IS Kaiser
damstrasse is bare and drab. A
single light bulb hangs from
the ceiling. There are maps
tackled up on the yellow. peeling
walls In the center of the room.
three people, two men and a
woman, sit around three sides
of a huge desk, studying records
in front of them. Facing the desk.
a dark-haired girl about Is years
old sits in a Straigh- backed
wooden chair, twisting her fin
gers nervously in her lap.
The girl is a refugee-among
the latest to have fled from Com
munist East Germany to seek
refuge in West Berlin. She is up
for her first interview with the
West German authorities. And
the going is tough.
She is no ordinary refugee. In
her written statement to the ex-
aiming board, she has admitted
being an active member of the
East German Communist youth
organization. At two different
times she served as a member
of the Peoples Police. The ques-
ton is, why did she come over?
The answers come glibly in a
taut. monotonous voice. There
had been an incident several
years ago. She had made a tele-
phone call to some one in the
West zone-a friend of a party
official. The security police had
heard about it and had raised
q fuss.
Disciplined by Group.
Since then there had been jobs
as a telephone operator, as a
post office clerk, as an office
worker for the youth organiza-
ton. During her second tour of
duty in the police. last June, she
had refused to fire on demon
strating crowds in Weimar. She
had been disciplined-not by the
police but by the youth organ
1zation.
Possibly as a result of this. the
old charges about the telephone
conversation had been revived.
In October. she had been dis
missed from the Volkspolizei.
Later she had been charged. tried
and sentenced to eight months
in jail on political charges. She
had skipped out before the Jail
sentence was to start.
The board is skeptical. The
questioning is polite. but stub
born. The board members knowl-
edge of conditions in the East
zone is as specific as thousands
of interviews can make it. There
are no details overlooked.
What were the names of her
friends in the youth movement?
Where was her assignment in the
police? What were the details
of this mysterious telephone
call? Why had she stopped work.
ing in the Office of the youth
organization? What were the
specific charges brought against
her in her trial? Had she had
an attorney?
The answers grow wagner.
There is a slight flush on the
girls cheeks as the questioning
comes to an end.
When she has left the room,
the board members talk it over.
There are too many unexplained
facts. There is. a slight chance
she is telling the truth. But there
is also strong suspicion that
she has been convicted of some
quite proSaic crime and is cover
Ing up.
Verdict Given.
The board finds that on the
basis of the evidence so far, the
government cannot issue the girl
papers as qualified" refugee.
She is advised to get in touch
with an organization of lawyers
here in West Berlin, who can
contact her East German defense
attorney and get the papers on
her case. When they have the
facts. she should come back for
another hearing.
No one is sent back. Even
people suspected of being GRIM
inals or Russian agents are al
lowed to stay in West Berlin.
In the case of suspected agents
of which there are very few
they are released under police
surveillance and possibly arrested
In the long run.
To qualify as a refugee. a per-
son must satisfy the board that
he had an urgent reason to leave
the Russian zone. The simple
notion that life might be better
on the other side of the Iron
Curtain isn't enough.
Those like the girl who fail to
qualify can seek shelter at
refugee camp or live with friends
in the city. There are no re-
strictions on their movements
and many eventually get jobs on
the black market cat less than
the minimum wage), or drift into