Source
/The second German-German summit following the revolutionary events
in the GDR took place in the German capital Bonn. Federal Chancellor
Helmut Kohl received GDR Prime Minister Hans Modrow. The talks were
dominated by the rapid political and economic decline in the GDR. Tens
of thousands of GDR citizens are still leaving their homeland to move to
the Federal Republic of Germany - a major burden for both German states.
An economic and monetary union is to make a decisive contribution to
stemming this flow of migrants. The West German mark is to be introduced
as a means of payment in the GDR as soon as possible.
Speaking to
the international press, Hans Modrow took the opportunity to make a
dramatic appeal to the people of the GDR:
/Modrow: I urge everyone
to stay where their home is, everyone has a perspective, everyone has
opportunities.
/The Federal Chancellor emphatically ruled out a
national, unilateral path on the road to German unity:
/Kohl:
German unity must be embedded in the overall European architecture and
in the overall process of West-East relations. No one has a greater
interest in this than we Germans ourselves. [German unity] means a great
common task in our previously divided fatherland, it means a peaceful
future for a free and united Europe. It is the German and European
contribution to world peace.
Source: Deutschlandspiegel 427/1990. Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv ID: 29342