Yes, Let's Get Together, But . . .

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East Germans also count other costs of becoming Westernized. There are the usual bugbears of crime, pornography and AIDS, as well as more ethereal concerns over competitive pressures in the ellenbogengesellschaft, or "elbow society." Some Easterners feel their identity is already being eroded by the encroachment of West German politicians in the campaign for next month's parliamentary elections. Western parties have adopted each of the major Eastern parties, providing them with money, organizational support and clout. Former West German Chancellors Willy Brandt and Helmut Schmidt, among others, have been crisscrossing East Germany, drumming up support for the Eastern counterpart of their Social Democratic Party, which polls predict will win as much as 54% of the vote. "The West Germans are hijacking our campaign," moaned Barbel Bohley, a founder of New Forum, which led the popular revolt against the Communists last year.

While East Germans fret about being swallowed whole, West Germans worry about indigestion. Expanding the deutsche mark's territory into East Germany risks setting off a torrent of inflation in a country that has traditionally been paranoid about rising prices. The currency issue aside, West Germans know that to prevent the total evacuation of East Germany, they will have to flood the area with money to reconstruct its aged industrial base, raise income levels and provide unemployment insurance. Earlier estimates that put the price tag for unification at $12 billion have been raised to some $50 billion.

Despite their anxieties, few Germans on either side of the border want to stop unification. But Germans of all persuasions are learning, as the adage goes, to be careful what they wish for, because, from all appearances, they are certainly getting it.