| From the Editor |
Retiree Reunion in Berlin
By Dick O'Regan
Rudi Josten, who celebrated his 95th birthday in February 2002, is probably one of Europe's oldest AP retirees. Although he now lives on his own in an apartment near Karlsruhe in southwest Germany, he recently traveled to Berlin to visit the AP's new office in the Berlin Press Center.
Also making the trip to the new space were Richard (Dick) O'Regan, former director for Europe, Africa and the Middle East and his wife, Betty. The two traveled from Geneva, Switzerland, where they make their home.
O'Regan was news editor in Germany 1945-50 and COB 1955-1966 during the height of the Cold War. On his recent visit, he recalled Berlin from the days of the Russian blockade and the "Berlin Airlift" in 1948, the building of the Berlin wall in 1961 and the dangerous confrontation between Russian and American tanks at Checkpoint Charlie that almost led to war in 1963.
Josten joined the AP as an office boy in 1925 and was appointed head of the German-language news service in 1946. He continued to run the service under Dan DeLuce, Dick O'Regan and subsequent bureau chiefs until he retired in 1972. On this visit to Berlin, Josten went to see his birthplace and he remembered his days of hunger after World War I and again during the "last battles" for Berlin in 1945.
Both O'Regan and Josten said they were "highly impressed" by the changes in the city, but what they enjoyed most, apart from their reunion with each other, was their visit with Germany COB Steve Miller and the staff of AP's new Berlin office in the ultra-modern Berlin Press Center.
