Evening star., 1936-07-07

universities Of the rest of the world
show that spirit Difference? It s not
necessary to interfere nor to illuminate;
but why should one send delegates
5000 miles to listen solemnly to and
help to publcize the expression Of
ideas which lay an Ak at the roots Of
all our concepts Of academic freedom?
Why ask us to rehearse the obsequies
Of our own world?
word on the subject very early in the
Hitler regime. Bareuth invited the
great conductor and great friend Of
German music TO lead the orchestra at
the festival. But Toscanini raw, with
the simple clarity Of q Fundamentally
honest mind, that there was no DOS
sible collaboration between the world
Of art to which he was dedicated snd
the one which had been created In
Germany. And he refused with the
dignifled and unanswerable statement,
Il am wounded in my feelings as an
artist and as man"
Are those who love and believe In
freedom not supposed to have feelings?
Are they less becoming to the acad-
emician than to the artist7 The Naxis'
philosophy is clear enough. They have
not hidden 1t. Prof. Krieck and Bern.
hard Rust took advantage Of the Held
elberg celebration to restate 1t. Prof.
Krieck said emphatically, I'VE do not
recognize truth for truths sake, nor
science for sciences sake. The science
Of q nation u the expression of its
total life, bound by the necessities, d.
rections and purpose Of that national
life. We seek science that forms the
human character In accordance with
our racial and political task" That Is
clear enough and they are free to seek
that science II they can find it. But
why then are we there? How can we
collaborate internationally for so purely
nationalistic an aim?
Registering Tolerance.
Why did they want us there? To
seek Illumination? To listen to and
publicize in German newspapers the
idea of academic freedom? Obviously
not. They wanted us there to increase
the prestige Of the government. They
wanted US there for the same reason
they wanted us at the Olympic games
and the International Conference of
Penologists. We ought to have learned
from that meeting what the technique
Of international conferences in Nazi
Germany is. 1t was padded with an
overwhelming preponderance of Ger
man delegates who then passed resolu-
tions supporting the existing system Of
German justice, and the people OF
Germany were informed through the
tireless propaganda machine that
Western civilization does nothing Of
the kind and truth was thus con-
founded. Precisely the same result
will be achieved by the Heidelberg
celebration. Whether we intended to
do 20 or not, we shall have been put In
the position Of registering tolerance, II
not approval, Of academic practices
hostile to our most cherished ,)rin-
ciples. And Herewith we shall dis
courage even more profoundly the
German scholars, who, in q demoral-
lied world, still try to keep alive the
principles to which they were origin
ally dedicated. Those principles still
gleam shyly through the columns Of
the learned publications, their express
sion yelled but sometimes pathetically
eloquent. Collaboration between indi-
vidual scholars may still go on and
doubtless will with every possible hon.
est encouragement.
But the celebration was political
ballyhoo and as in all public meetings
in Germany today the real wirepuller
was DR.. Goebbels. Oxford and Cam
bridge displayed ordinary common
sense. They declined politely to be
accessories.
Copyright, 1885. New York Tribune. Ine.)