The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1922-06-09
100000 GERMAN
OFFICERS ON
PEACE BASIS
Now Find Employment In
All Walks of Life In
the Republic

at the time of the armistice
While the majority held only wa
time commissions, there were ,
large number of veterans fol
whom the lifting smoke of tn,
conflict revealed that they haC
suddenly been uprooted from theiI
chosen careers and were forced tC
begin afresh in new fields. 1t wa.
especially difficult for the ageC
officers, who were no longer Wig
orous and adaptable enough tC
battle effectively in an economi,
maelstrom already burdened witt
keen competition.
The German army and navy il
peace times included an active of
fcers' corps Of 55,760 of whor
$4,000 were in the military forces
When the war broke out, this list
was augmented by 10000 OF
those who We're retired or on re-
serve. In addition there was tho
commissioned staff of the medica,
branches numbering $4,000 killed
and 96,213 wounded.
Since the Treaty of Versailles
permitted the retention of but
1000 officers IN the Reichswehr, q
vast majority of the war surviv-
ors became factors for absorption
in civilian pursuits. Today they
are to be found in nearly every
walk of life, some having even re-
sorted to the position sof writer
and porter in order to gain a live
lihood. Some were connected with
trade, labor. or industry through
family ties and thus found stu
atoms comparatively easily. 9th
ers returned to official positions,
and a part enlisted in the newly
Security Police.
A considerable section of the
cX-officers turned to university
particularly could they
be seen at judicial and medical
lectures and in polytechnic schools
In the first period of transition,
some worked in subordinate exc
cutive positions as assistants and
some at manual labor, even as
miners.
There are none of the larger
and industrial concerns
today in which former officers are
not active. In some banks one
runs across an occasional general
Former staff officers were in posi-
ton to receive tempting industrial
offers because of their unusual
and their knowledge
of languages. Already before the
wal, officers were in demand in
the insurance field as inspectors
and agents, and this number has
been noticeably increased. The
industry too, has at
tractcd many. Detective agencies
and warehouses have employed
them in divers capacities.
In short, the huge network of
Gelmany's trade, commerce, and
industry is fairly dotted with these
former heads of companies, bat
talions, and other units in the old
and wartime armies. They are
in the mines, metal works, ma
chine factories, electric plants,
technical offices, quarries, and eX-
port houses; some have drifted to
the film industry.
The former surGeons-majo in
the army have condcScended to be
mere medical men or have become
Many went into the chemical in
in their profession.
Many went into the chemical in
lustry or took places in hospitals.
Officers blinded in the war were
mostly instructed at the School
for Blind at Marburg, where they
studied political economy and 81
simultaneously learned typeWriting
and stenography.
Certain of the officers who, af-
ter the close Of the war, resolved
to begin life anew as settlers in
some foreign land, are reported
to have really unhappy experience
eS. Some died miserably after sore
privation while some few others
succeeded in getting back to the
Only a small min
GRITTY made real progress abroad.
Very few left the country, how
ever, it is said and the charge that
German eX-oficcrs since the war
have joined foreign armies and ma
vieS is regarded here as unbound
ed.
The marked Transformation in
mode of living has valiously af-
fectcd the family life of eX-oifi-
GERS, not all of whom maintain
their former social status. For
example, there is the case of the
we'll known First Lieutenant Berg,
who in the world war was the
commander of the "Appam," taken
as a prize ship by the "Moewe'.
He obtained situation in Ham
burg leaving his wife and children
in the Danish town of Apenrade,
formerly German. With his
slender income Berg was unable
to meet the cost of his family's
upkcep, which became increasingly
high due to The Danish standards
of valuation. He finally killed
himself when the family had been
reduced to want.
Individual instances of resource
fulness were of everyday occur
ence. One lieutenant used his last
resources to buy a taXicab which
he and his former orderly drove
alternately. Now the taxi belongs
to the orderly and the lieutenant
can devote to study the humble re-
ceipts of his enterprise. Three
U-boat officers combined and
bought a small sailing cutter,
which they ply as a freighter be-
tween German and Scandinavian
ports. They themselves comprise
the crew, loading and discharging
all cargoes personally.