A. B. Carleial Consulting



Warum Unterschreibt Bonn Nicht?

A. B. Carleial (1969, Überarbeitung 2017)

(cf. die Schlagzeile einer DDR Zeitung am 28 Januar 1969)

“Warum unterschreibt Bonn nicht?”

fragt die Zeitung heute hier in Ost-Berlin.

Warum, frage ich, oder warum nicht?

Was wurde Bonn zum Unterschreiben aufgefordert?

Was ist das Problem? Ich weiss es nicht.

(Niemand auf dem Marx-Engels-Platz erklärt es mir, natürlich.)

Aber ich weiss,

irgendwo hier in Mitteleuropa

gibt es ein Dokument auf einem Tisch,

etwas zu unterschreiben,

das Bonn nicht unterschreiben wird,

und Walter Ulbricht

bleibt ärgerlich.



I have a penchant for foreign languages, yes, but I definitely cannot write in German! My original version of "Warum Unterschreibt Bonn Nicht?", written long before the demise of the DDR, has been corrected and received precious suggestions from German friends, to whom I am indebted. I hope this present version is not too awkward!

I bought this Neue Bild Zeitung (and a Russian Pravda) when I was in East Berlin by myself for a couple of hours in the evening on January 28, 1969, after crossing the border from West Berlin on the S-Bahn. The following day I went on an "official" scheduled guided tour of East Berlin with all my ITA engineering colleagues who were traveling together in Europe.

Tenho pendor para línguas estrangeiras, sim, mas com certeza não sei escrever em alemão! Minha versão original de "Warum Unterschreibt Bonn Nicht?", escrita muito antes do fim da DDR, foi corrigida e recebeu sugestões preciosas de amigos alemães, a quem agradeço. Espero que esta versão atual não esteja esquisita demais!

Comprei esse Neue Bild Zeitung (e um Pravda russo) quando estive sozinho em Berlim Oriental por poucas horas na noite de 28 de janeiro de 1969, após cruzar a fronteira de Berlim Ocidental pelo S-Bahn. No dia seguinte fiz uma visita guiada programada "oficial" de Berlim Oriental com todos meus colegas de engenharia do ITA que estavam viajando juntos na Europa.