"Once, when visiting the chemical industrial centre of Bitterfeld, I was keen to see the place for myself; to make my own impression of a place that had such a bad reputation for being so heavily polluted.
Someone working there told me that a reporter from the Bildzeitung newspaper had been two days previously. He had offered the employee DM 200 to film and photograph the interior – 'in there, where it smoulders'. The whole plant was really totally dilapidated.
While I was talking photos of the Chemie AG plant, two engine drivers stopped and climbed up onto the boundary wall. We chatted for a little while. I was much affected by the deep mistrust and strong prejudices these two expressed towards the West. For example, they asked me if it was true that tenants in the West had their tenancy agreements terminated each year. We were so engrossed in our conversation that none of us noticed the engine – and with it, their jobs – slowly roll away."
Bernd Schmidt (Göttingen)
