By Leon Mangasarian - Oct 3, 2011 4:01 PM MT
Addi Brittnacher is one German willing to pay a Greek ransom to save his way of life.
The 61-year-old retired machine worker is from Saarland, the western corner of Germany wedged beside France and Luxembourg and a region built on coal and steel that became the heart of the European Union’s genesis. His wallet used to bulge with three kinds of cash and an identification card to cross the borders a few hundred meters from his home.
“There are no more borders here and people don’t have borders in their heads,” said Brittnacher, as he drove a van on a rutted gravel road along vineyards above the Mosel River. “It’s worth saving Greece to save the euro.”
Saarland is the birthplace of the European integration project that emerged from World War II and culminated in monetary union and the introduction of euro bank notes nine years ago. That makes the region a microcosm of why German Chancellor Angela Merkel may have to do whatever it takes to prevent Greece from blowing the 17-member euro apart.
The region, which was swapped between France and Germany as war booty, has had seven currencies since 1914. The people there don’t want another one because employers such as 263-year-old ceramic maker Villeroy & Boch, Ford Motor Co. and automotive- parts producerRobert Bosch GmbH depend on exports.
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