News 2. Germans Yearn Past on Fourteenth anniversary of End of Berlin Wall
[WORDS]
* cornerstone : n. 초석, 기초
* synagogue : n. 유대 교회
* Jewish : a. 유대인의, 유대교의
* border : n. 국경, 경계
* prosperous : a. 번영하는, 성공한
* yearning : n. 동경, 열망 그리움 -v. yearn
* be devoted to : ...을 주제로 한, 헌신적인, ..에 빠진
* (the) DDR(the Deutsch Democratic Republic) : 독일민주공화국(동독)
* icon : n. 우상, 영웅, 인기인
* trace A to B : A가 B에서 기원한 것으로 보다
* fad : n. 일시적 유행
* shield : v. 숨기다, 가리다, (방패로) 막다
* coma : n. 혼수(상태)
* nostalgia : n. 과거를 그리워함, 향수
* gloss (over) : v. ...을 그럴듯하게 얼버무리다, 겉을 꾸미다, 겉치레를 하다
* regime : n. 정권, 체제
* dictatorship : n. 독재정권
Trabant
In Munich today, a cornerstone was laid for a new synagogue, recalling the violence 65 years ago today when thousands of Jewish businesses and synagogues were attacked. Today is also the anniversary of the end of the Berlin Wall. Fourteen years ago, communist East Germany opened its borders. The Wall quickly fell, and within a year, the two Germanys were reunited. For millions of East Germans, the day brought hope for a more prosperous future. So, who would have predicted, fourteen years later, the past would look good to so many? ABC's David Wright explains.
In a city no longer divided, there is a yearning for the way things used to be. West Germans used to laugh about East German products. Now, many pay a premium for them. And on TV, the hottest new show this season is devoted to the DDR, the Deutsch Democratic Republic. The host herself, an icon of East Germany, Olympic skater Katerina Witt.
Two years ago, Bianca Munche bought her 1989 Trabant for one German mark, about two dollars. Now, it's worth thousands. Most trace this fad to the huge success in Germany of a film released last year. In it, a young man tries desperately to shield his mother from the news that Communism is dead. She just awoke from a coma. 'When you live in a time which is not the best one, people tend to think that everything was better in the old days.'
It is true that, since 1989, somethings did not change for the better here. When the Wall came down, the West German economy was riding high. Now, unemployment is at record levels, bankruptcy rates are skyrocketing, and Germany has the worst performing economy of any country in Europe. Some are offended by all this nostalgia saying it glosses over the horrors of the old regime.
'We have also to remember the political system, the people who went to prison, and also the dictatorship of the former Communist Party.
And it turns out that at least in the new Germany, Communism is worth a fortune when it's cleverly marketed by capitalists.
David Wright, ABC News, Berlin.