In Ch. 3, pg 60, we see that many regular people are crossing to west Germany to sell products or to work. But what surprised me the most is that there was a double standard between a business owner smuggling items from the east and an easter German selling items to the west or working in west. On pg. 59, the book says” Margarete Carl from Lauscha received a deferred sentence for crossing on Nov, 1949 because she was eight months pregnants… the court issued a warrant for her arrest in East Germany in 1951, and she spent two months in Sonneberg prison” (Sheffer, 59). The West and the East were also cooperating to see that most of those from the east were convicted for theft. But when western business went to the east to buy items and smuggle it into the west there were different ramifications. On. Pg. 60 “Neustadt businessman profited from smuggling and, if caught, faced minimal repercussions” (Sheffer, 60). While it is not surprising the west turned a blind eye for the business owner, but why not convict the business owner? Also, on pg. 64 “Western firms had been smuggling Lauscha’s glass wares over the border, but smuggling Lauschaers ultimately proved more efficient” (Sheffer, 64). My question to the class is do you think there is a underlying meaning as to categorize everyone from the east as poor or delinquent? and do you think these double standards are justifiable? Or is this is a justifiable cause because the company is doing it for the sake of the company. Or are there different reasons to convict regular people and not the business owners?
Through the Iron Curtain
