Evening star., 1932-06-12
BY FRANK H. SIMONDS

past ten days constitute in them
i selves happenings of incalculabl,
historical significance. First o
all they represent the end of that re-
public which was established by tn,
Weimar Convention exactly dozer
years ago. Control of Germany ha.
now passed from the hands of the re-
publican parties, the Social Demo
Gratis, the Catholic Center and the
Democrats, who constituted the decisive
majority at Weimar and have with the
help of the Peoples Party during the
| life OF Stresemann dominated both ir
the Reich and in Prussia. As the Rev,
olution of the Ninth OF November, 1918
| ended the Hohenzollern regime, the
coup d'etat-for in effect that was what
| it was-of Hindenburg on May 81 ended
| the republic.
For the momeh. however, power does
not seem to have passed to the National
| Socialist Party of Hitler which has been
rising to control with rapid strides ever
since the election of 1880. On the con-
trary Hindenburg seems to have en-
deavored to forestal this ''Nazi' con-
troll by attempting a coalition of the
army, the Junkers and the great indus
trialists. In word he has taken con-
troll from the hands of the republican
parties, now become a minority, but
he has not transferred it TO the Fascists.
who without yet constituting a majority
are far and away the strongest group
numerically.
1t Is clear, then, that the Hindenburg
government rests upon no solid political
foundation Whereas the Bruening
cabinet did count upon a majority in
the present Reichstag, albeit a thin
and doubtful majority the Papen cabl-
net or any other similar combination
can hardly count ON the support of any
but the Nationalist Party of Hugenberg,
which counts less than 50 members in
a total of more than 500 in the present
Reichstag 1t can exist. if al all con-
stitutionally, only as 1t is tolerated
either by the Republican or the Fascist
groups.
Intentions Questioned.
1t may well be questioned, however,
whether Hindenburg and the soldiers
who have now supplanted the polltl-
clans as his authoritative advisors have
any present intention OF submitting to
constitutional methods. Despite the use
they have made of the Hitler crowd and
the "NaZi" movement nothing has been
more obvious than that the army, the
Prussian landholders and the industrial
magnates have little sympathy with the
socialistic and even communisttc doc
trines which constitute an important
part Of the National Socialist Credo.
And in understanding the present sit
uation in Germany it must be per-
ceived that while the "Nazis" profess
supernationalistic policies in the foreign
field, they also advocate revolutionary
principles at home.
What has happened, therefore. has
every evidence Of being an attempt Of
the elements that dominated Germany
under the old Hohenzollern regime TO
seize control again alike by evicting the
republican parties and by anticipating
the National Socialists. Their reliance
is primarily upon the army, which has
in the main been kept free from politl-
cal elements They must also count
upon taking over the Prussian police.
which is body and soul republican, but
not less paSsionately anti-Hltler. Big
business is with them and the task OF
seizing control of banking cannot be
difficult, because under Bruening the
German banks have passed completely
under government control.
Controlling the army and the Prus-
sian police the new coalition can for
I,
depend eventually upon the support of
the old Nationalist elements which have
temporarily enlisted in Hitler'S move
ment, and those elements in the re-
public and parties which prefer a
Junker dictatorship to Fascist regime
But success must eventually turn upon
ability to take the Hitler movement
away from the group of demagogues
who have organized it and led it to
amazing success. Failing such success
it must in the end fall between the two
stools Of Republican and Fascist parties
Pathway Blocked.
The primary condition of success.
however, must be an Improvement of
the economic ana financial situation in
Germany accompanied b. the attain
ment of some show of achievement in
the field of foreign affairs And here
the pathway seems completely blocked.
What chance is there that a military
dictatorship can succeed in obtaining
foreign financial aid or foreign political
concession-where Bruening has failed?
The cause of the failure of the former
chancellor has been unmistakable. In
the Reichstag election of 1880 he per-
mitted one of his ministers, DR.. Tre-
VA dliuo, W lCOPCI lllC QuCotlOll Va tANols
revision and commit the responsible
government to the policy of suppressing
the Polish Corridor The sole conSe-
quence of this was to produce the first
run on German credit, to alarm Poland,
France and Europe generally.
Six months later he authorized an
other minister DR.. Curtius. to plan an
Autro-G German tariff union But in
all European eyes this constituted a
challenge to France. termination Of
the Anschluss project. The immediate
consequence was the fall of BRAND, the
destruction Of the Locarno association
of France, Britain and Germany and
the beginning of series OF financial
episodes which eliminated in the fall
of the British Labor cabinet and the
dropping of the gold standard in Brit
ain. 1t also insured the relative failure
of the Hoover moratorium, because
France, now wholly alarmed over
Bruening's course. held up the applica-
tion Of the moratorium during many
critical days.
Moved to Left.
Last summer. when he came to Paris
and London to seek financial aid, Bruen-
ing steadfastly refused to make those
political agreements without which
French financial assistance was unat-
tainable. At the Disarmament Confer
ence in Geneva he appeared demanding
equality in armaments with France. At
the recent meeting in London he sent
DR.. Buelow to demolish the Tardieu
plan for Danubian union. The result
has been that although France has
moved to the Left in its recent election,
Herriot leader of the Radical Socialist
party, has adopted the thesis of Tardieu
in the matter Of disarmament as he
accepted that of Laval in the matter
Of the Austro- German tariff union.
Bruening's various adventures in ag-
gressive foreign policy and his total re-
lection of the Locarnian policy of
Streseman have ended by convincing
the mass Of the French people that they
are in the presence of a Germany not
divided between pacific and chauvinistic
elements but united in common pur-
pose to demolish the peace treaties and
prepare for a new war
The Hindenburg coup has insured in
fact, if not in theory. a French govern
Il