Question

of the berlin wall
that for a few weeks people will wait
reforms come and if there is no light at
tunnel they will run away from east
at numbers. this would be a catastrophe
velopment; good people are leaving. the

• 230,000 have come. their average age

25 and 30. this is a catastrophe for
they are doctors, lawyers, specialists
replaced. they can earn more here.

• helmut kohl,

chancellor of west germany,
november 10, 1989
background information this 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
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 germanys problems are much
worse than those of east germany.

Explanation:

The text emphasizes that a large number of people (230,000 in a year) are leaving East Germany. Their average age is between 25 - 30 and they are professionals like doctors, lawyers, specialists. Kohl calls this a catastrophe as they are hard to replace.

Answer:

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