Berlin Exodus Alarms Authorities

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29916, 1 September 1962, Page 11

Berlin Exodus Alarms Authorities

(N.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) LONDON, August 31. t Labour-starved West Berlin—with a shrinking industrial output capacity—was sending out desperate appeals for workers from Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey, the “Daily Express” reported today.

In a report from its Bonn correspondent, the “Daily Express” said that in the last year—since the Berlin wall was built—so,ooo people had fled from the city, but only 18,000 had moved into Berlin during that time.

about four-fifths of them are not ’genuine refugees’ who beat the wall. “They were in West Berlin or West Germany when the news of the wall came, and decided not to go back into Red territory. “In the days of uncertainty over the city's future, the number of people fleeing from West Berlin soared to an average erf 3824 people a month. That was between September, 1961, and January, 1962." Almost no-one had moved into Berlin in those days, and the next month the panic had stopped. “The Bonn Government today pays part of the costs for West Germans who removed to the former German capital and who stayed and worked there, and is offering generous tax concessions to people who will go to Berlin to establish new businesses and industry. “The German authorities are trying to hush up the recent wave of people running away from the city “They are keeping exact figures a secret. But an official of a big transport firm said: ‘There has been a rush on our vehicles for furniture. But we and most other firms are booked out for the next few months—in one direction only’,” the "Daily Express" said.

The newspaper said a new exodus—which began with the recent cold war crisis—was worrying the authorities.

“The situation has developed because the wall has stopped the growing flow of refugees from East Germany into West Berlin," the “Daily Express" said. “At the height of the refugee movement from East Germany to the West, just before August 31. 1961—'Wall Day' —up to 3000 a day came into West Berlin. “Since then 12.000 refugees have been registered, but