On 06/01/12 21:55, Wolfgang Schwanke wrote:
Yes. East Germans were considered German nationals according to West
German law. They had full citizenship by birth, thus full entitlement
to all social benefits, the right to vote, and the right to settle
down. (Citizenship was another area of disagreement between East and
West Germany. Ask if you're interested, otherwhise I'll leave it at
that.)

Eastern Europeans of other nationalities who made it to West Germany
could plead asylum, and as they could credibly claim having escaped
from a dictatorship I should think they were all granted it. Eastern
Europeans who did not choose to plead asylum were subject to the usual
immigration laws. There were many Poles living in West Germany for
work, most of whom probably without pleading asylum.

Thank you very much. I really should know this, particularly as a large
chunk of my family studied or taught at the Free University in Berlin ...

Ian