"Back then I came up with the slogan 'Im Konsum ist der Westen los' [a pun on how the West was now flourishing at Konsum, the GDR supermarket chain]. On 1 July 1990, the currency union, which was controversial among certain sections of the population, took effect. For many, this change came too soon. They feared that the economy might collapse in the East. In March, I took a look around Obereichsfeld, and the concern was palpable. When the new currency arrived in July, it was quickly followed by completely new products, naturally from the West. Eastern products were removed from the shelves and sold off for next to nothing. On that day, people gathered outside shop windows everywhere, curious to see what was going on inside."
Bernd Schmidt (Göttingen)
