Question

I could imagine . . . that for a few weeks people will wait to see if economic reforms come and if there is no light at the end of the tunnel they will run away from [East Germany] in great numbers. This would be a catastrophe for economic development; good people are leaving. The figures this year -- 230,000 have come. Their average age has been between 25 and 30. This is a catastrophe for [East Germany]. They are doctors, lawyers, specialists who cannot be replaced. They can earn more here.

—Helmut Kohl,
Chancellor of West Germany,
November 10, 1989

Background information: This passage is an excerpt from a telephone conversation between US President George H.W. Bush, and West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. The chancellor is giving his opinion of the effects of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

What point is Chancellor Kohl making in this conversation?

West Germany is facing economic problems now that the wall is gone.
East Germany is losing its most highly trained workers, and they are not easily replaceable.
He is hopeful that he can encourage more East Germans to move to West Germany.
He thinks that West Germany’s problems are much worse than those of East Germany.

Answer 1

East Germany is losing its most highly trained workers, and they are not easily replaceable.

Kohl cites large numbers (230,000), young professionals (doctors, lawyers, specialists) leaving, calling it a “catastrophe” for East Germany’s economic development.