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be suffering not knowing their son's fate the personal brutality of the totalitarian
system really hit me, and I felt literally almost like crying in sympathy.

Thursday afternoon we went to a refugee camp to observe the living conditions
of some of the really unfortunate ones - those who cannot work (as injured veterans
or old people) or cannot find work, and those not granted full refugee status
in the hearings (who must therefore just remain in such camps indefinitely).
They live in dreary old barracks converted to this use from old munitions
warehouses etc - they usually have very little income, and little hope, and the
life is pretty depressing - small 1-room apartments, with beds and furniture
crowded (and I mean crammed) into the tiny space - often families of
6 or more in this small space. This is just one more hazard of becoming a
refugee - the situation has to be pretty unbearable in the east zone for
people to risk such a future.

On Friday morning we were free to do as we wished, so I went into East
Berlin to walk around. Went to several bookstores - but had no luck in buying
anything yet - there are controls on spending the east German currency and
I'm still looking for a store that will overlook these. It's easy to buy propaganda
material or history, art, etc of the communist countries, but as for general
books on art, etc., it's much harder. Then we went for a couple of hours to
an exhibit in an east Berlin museum - part on "15 years of Freedom in
Hungary" and part on the history of the fight of the German communist
party against nazism and imperialism." Very artfully displayed - large
blown-up photographs, etc, with of course some propaganda slant on the
historical events. It's fascinating here in Berlin to see and hear the
competing propaganda efforts of both east and west - lots of important
issues have been sharpened and clarified in such an atmosphere, though
I think if you stay here too long you would gradually be shifted over to
a hard pro-western line - most of the officials (even American) we
have heard have done so.

Yesterday afternoon we had a rather ordinary reception by an official
of the West-German govt. - coffee and speeches, etc. Then last
night a social gathering with students of the Free University of
Berlin, lots of talk, movies, etc.

Got to run again! Another "little" letter soon - sorry they're
so rushed but there's so much to see and so much news to write.

I love you,
George

P.S. Annie - Got your letter yesterday, even earlier than expected. I LOVE YOU! XX