East Germans who sought refuge in West German embassies in Czechoslovakia and Poland rode trains to the West early Sunday under terms of a remarkable accord between Soviet bloc and NATO nations.
The agreement announced Saturday covered nearly 3,500 East Germans who began crowding into the West German Embassy in Prague several weeks ago and more than 800 East Germans at the West German Embassy in Warsaw.Early Sunday, Bavarian Radio in West Germany said about half the 3,500 refugees in Prague were en route. In Poland 809 refugees boarded an East German train that left Warsaw's Eastern Station at 2:50 a.m. Sunday. The journey was expected to take about 10 hours to the West German border city of Helmstedt.
The accord and its details were announced by officials in West Germany, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Poland.
East Germany, a hard-line communist nation that had harshly criticized Warsaw Pact ally Hungary for allowing a similar refugee exodus earlier this month, said it was granting the transfer as a "humanitarian act" and spoke of the refugees being "expelled."
There was no explicit mention of the policy toward future refugees, but ADN, the official East German news agency, said East Germany hoped West Germany would follow "normal, international customs" at its embassies abroad after the transfer.
That appeared to indicate East Germany would oppose continuing emigration of its citizens to the West.
The first train left Prague Saturday night. An olive green East German locomotive left the city's northern rail terminal at 8:50 local time pulling nine passenger cars.
About 400 East Germans were on board - some cheering, others singing, still others appearing a little dazed by the sudden end to their ordeal.
"We are coming, we are coming," a group of young refugees yelled in unison from an open train window, as Czechoslovak uniformed police looked on impassively.
A young woman from Dresden said as she was about to board: "I can't believe it, tell me it's not a dream."
ADN said trains would carry the Prague emigres back to East Germany from Czechoslovakia and on to West Germany. Czechoslovak state TV said the East Germans would be issued exit papers while en route to West Germany.
The route was seen as a face saving measure permitting East Germany to say it had allowed the emigres to go to West Germany from its territory and not from Czechoslovakia, a Warsaw Pact ally that had vowed not to allow the transfer.
In Bonn, a West German government spokesman said the East Germans would take two special trains from Prague and arrive in the Bavarian city of Hof late Saturday night.
A Polish government spokesman in Warsaw, speaking on condition of anonymnity, confirmed that the approximately 600 East Germans in the Polish capital will be allowed to leave "like in Prague, but I don't know any details."
In Warsaw, the refugees were smiling but still anxious as they were gathered at the West German Embassy Saturday night, escorted to the compound from the houses in the residential nieghborhood where they had been staying.
"I am happy I am happy" one young man said through the bars of the compound gates.
The refugees said they did not know how they would be taken to West Germany, but a dozen buses were parked along the tree-lined streets.