Polish Commuters Revive A Sleepy German Town

[Crvena zvezda]

Polish Commuters Revive A Sleepy German Town
By Michael Sontheimer

EU enlargement and the evaporation of border controls are fueling the economy in the poor German border region of Western Pomerania. So far, it's mostly a neighborly win-win.

With his casual linen jacket and black shirt, Lothar Meistring bears a slight resemblance to Jack Nicholson. But there's nothing glamorous about his office in the town hall of Löcknitz. A large map of Germany hangs over his desk. Western Pomerania, in the upper right-hand corner, is barely on the map, and Löcknitz is on its eastern border.

Meistring, 59, is an experienced seaman. He also has a degree in sociology and is the honorary mayor of this small German town (population 3,000). Is Löcknitz off the beaten track? That all depends on your point of view: "We can see ourselves either as the last town in Germany," Meistring says, "or as the outskirts of a big city."

By "big city" the mayor means Szczecin, which lies 19 kilometers (12 miles) to the east -- in Poland. With its more than 400,000 inhabitants, Szczecin has Poland's second largest port and is linked by direct flights to London and Dublin. "Without Szczecin this would be the armpit of the world," says Meistring. "If I can use such drastic language."

The situation in the district of Uecker-Randow certainly lends itself to drastic expressions. This is one of the poorest districts in Germany. Over the past few years the forlorn region has led the nation only in negative statistics like unemployment, depopulation and election victories for the far-right NPD party. The unemployment rate runs at about 20 percent.

Polish Immigrants to the Rescue

And yet a small miracle appears to have taken place in Löcknitz. "The seemingly endless slide into oblivion has been stopped," says the mayor. The fall of the Berlin Wall led to Poland's accession to the European Union. Since border controls were lifted last year (more...), things have significantly improved here and in neighboring communities. Meistring can point to impressive figures that are atypical for Western Pomerania. Two years ago, fewer than 3,000 people lived in Löcknitz. Now the population is 3,226.

Meistring lived here before the fall of the Wall, when 40,000 soldiers were stationed in the region. He experienced the long economic and social decline, saw how young people moved out in droves. For a while it seemed to be just a matter of time before the last inhabitant in Löcknitz turned off the lights. Then the EU's eastward enlargement made it easy for Poles to move to Germany.

When Meistring looks out the window of his office in the town hall, he sees a five-story concrete apartment house. These architectural relics from the former East Germany are troublesome eyesores for other communities. In Pasewalk, whole blocks had to be demolished because it was impossible to find tenants. But not in Löcknitz.




Business has never been better for the local housing authority. "There are no vacancies," says manager Maria-Theresia Odendall. "All of our 1,300 units are rented."

It's the Poles from the booming port town of Szczecin who are reviving the economy in one of the poorest regions of Germany. In early 2005, only 35 Poles lived in Löcknitz. One year later, there were 97, and at the beginning of this year the number had soared to 210. Over 600 Poles have settled in the 13 communities of the Löcknitz-Penkun administrative region. There are even four Polish players on the squad of VfB Pommern Löcknitz, a team in the regional soccer division.

Up to 10 Poles a day contact the housing authority to ask if anything is available. Odendall has hired a Polish man to serve the new customers, and the Web site has been translated into Polish. "There's a real upbeat mood, just like after the fall of the Wall," says the manager.

But Poles, of course, do more than just rent apartments. They buy houses and establish new businesses and send their children to local schools. Dissatisfaction with the sluggish real estate market in Poland is the main motivation for moving to Germany. "On our side of the border," says a nurse from Szczecin who wants to move west, "the rents are not much higher, but it takes years to reach the top of the waiting list." What's more, apartments in Germany are "in better condition," she says. "Everything looks more orderly here."

Most Poles who are interested in moving say they appreciate the traditional German sense of correctness. The nurse says things are above board when dealing with government agencies. There's less crime and corruption than back home, she adds.

She and most other recent arrivals from Szczecin are members of the middle class, but there are also newcomers with larger salaries, like the manager of the McDonald's franchise in the neighboring town.

Last fall 13 Polish children were enrolled in the first grade of the Löcknitz elementary school. After long negotiations, Mayor Meistring managed to get an extra teacher hired to ensure that the Polish pupils were given German lessons. Now he's trying to raise €2 million ($3 million) to build a new daycare center.

Knowledge of the German language is the key to success for many Poles. This makes the German-Polish high school, the Niemiecko-Polskie Gimnazjum, particularly attractive. "Szczecin is our future," says the school principal, Gerhard Scherer. Currently, 280 Germans and 150 Polish young people are attending this school that offers both the German and Polish versions of the diploma. And half of the German students are learning Polish.

"There are a few German-Polish couples," says Ania Wlodarczyk, 18, a senior student. However, animosities still exist -- despite today's atmosphere of European openness. She says she was verbally accosted on the bus by a German boy who said, "Fucking Polack, get off the bus."

For the Germans along the border, today's new brand of neighborliness represents a departure from age-old prejudices and stereotypes. Many Germans used to see Poles as dirt poor, detested competitors who were prepared to work in Germany for any wage. Now the tables have turned. A shipyard welder in Szczecin can earn €1,200 a month. Jobs on the German side of the border often pay less, so it's only a matter of time before Germans start working in Szczecin.

'Keep Löcknitz German!'

Jan Rybski, 52, is a Pole who doesn't quite fit the cliché. He settled down in Löcknitz as a business consultant and real estate developer. Before moving to the region, Rybski lived for over 10 years in Hamburg. He's now working on a housing project for single-family homes and duplexes. On the Polish side of the border, building land costs €50 a square meter (11 sq. ft.) and is not well developed. On the German side, it can be had for as little as €25.

Rybski, whose son attends the German-Polish high school, is only one of 80 Poles who have registered a business in Löcknitz. Next month, a company that makes spice mixtures will begin production -- and create four jobs. One wealthy Pole plans to launch a project for an amusement park on a picturesque lake, a business venture that would generate 20 new jobs. On top of that, he intends to open a car dealership for British luxury cars.

Maria-Theresia Odendall, the housing manager, has plans for these proposals on her desk. But she also has her share of stories to tell about certain elements of society that are unhappy with the German-Polish success story.

Last summer someone scrawled a hate message on the wall of her office building: "Watch out, Polack whore! SS." On numerous occasions, NPD members have distributed flyers with slogans like "Close the borders, keep Löcknitz German!" During the last state parliament elections, the NPD won 21 percent of the vote.

Recently, right-wing extremists smashed the windows of six cars with Polish license plates. Before police arrived on the scene, a Polish TV team from Szczecin filmed the vandalized vehicles. The underlying tone of the report in the main evening news program: Poles are not wanted here.

Afterwards, Odendall advised a doctor who lives in one of her rental units to register his car in Germany to avoid these kinds of attacks.
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