Evening star., 1938-10-07
Bx WALLACE r. DEUEL.,

ny "AAAAOL NJ DLOELs
Chicago Daily News Foreisn CORRESPONDENT.
BERLIN, Oct. IA mortgage Of
death hangs over the German people
today. 1t is a mortgage contracted
during the World War.
Approximately 100000 Germans
were killed during the war. The block
ade starved to death another 1,000,-
900. according to the estimate Of DR..
Friedrich Burgdoerfer, director of the
Reich statistical Office. And 3,500,000
fewer babies were born between 1918
and 1919 than otherwise would have
been, DR.. Burgdoerfer believes.
1t Is the loss of these 3,5000 900 un-
born babies which has created what
DR.. Burgdoerfer calls the German
mortgage Of death. For the fact that
they were never born means that now,
81 years later, there are 100000
fewer men and women In Germany
(minus small proportion who would
have died meantime) to have babies
Of their own. The war classes" now
coming of age are only so to so per
cent as strong numerically as normal
classes" are.
A People Without Youth.
Germany is people without
youth"-to use a further phrase Of
Burgdoerfers-in still another and
even more serious sense, too. Be-
cause for more than generation,
and quite apart from consideration
of the war, more and more people
have lived longer in Germany every
year, while fewer and fewer babies
have been born.
The result is that larger and
larger proportion of the total popula-
tion is made up Of people past the
ages when they have children, and
past the ages of their best energies
and achievements, and smaller and
smaller proportion is made up of
youths and of people at the ages
when they do have children. people
at the height of their powers.
The average length of life in Ger
many has increased by more than
20 years since 1871, and by more
than II years over the average for
the period 1901-1910.
The total population of Germany
increased by eight per cent between
1910 and 1925. The number of per-
sons over IS increased by rs per
cent. But the number of children
under Is actually declined by per
cent.
Before the World War one-third Of
the population of Germany consisted
Of chilrden under 16. Now only one
fourth of the population does.
This collective aging of the Ger
man people has struck at the national
vitality in two ways Not only has
the number of persons of marriage
able age begun to decline but the
number Of deaths has begun to in
crease.
As early as five years ago the aging
of the German people began to
add $4,000 each year to the number
Of deaths in the Reich. This num-
Der tends to increase steadily. There
tends to be steady increase in dis
eases Of old age in the Reich as more
and more people live to older ages:
Cancer and other malignant growths,
tuberculosis, apoplexy, paralysis, heart
AloSdSCo dilu tSpCCldlly SClllc ucCdy.
Eighteen per cent more persons died
of senile decay in Germany as long
ago as the first quarter Of 1885 than
did during the corresponding period
Of the year before.
Germany's mortgage of death from
the World War is heavier than those
of most other peoples. But all the
others who fought in the World War
have such mortgages, too. And in
Germany is typical Of most of the
white peoples of the Western world.
Whole White Race Threatened.
All the white races are threatened
with dying out, just as Germany Is,
owing to the same kind Of decline
in the birth rate, lasting essentially
the same period of time as in Ger
many. The problem posed by the
German birth rate and the attempts
of the Nazis to solve that problem,
therefore, are important to the rest
Of the world.
Germany needs 100000 live births
per year to maintain its present pop
ulation. In 1900 there were approx
mately 100000 live births in the
Reich. But in 1882 there were only
993,l26 and in 1888 only 971,174.
Put another way, Germany needs
81 live births per 1000 inhabitants
per year to maintain It's present popu-
lation. In 1900 there were 35.6 live
births per 1000 inhabitants. In 1901
this rose slightly to 35.7. But in 1882
there were only ISL live births per
1000 inhabitants, and in 1888 only
lat.
Put still another way, Germany
needs an average of 34 children per
family to maintain its present popu-
lation. But in 1882 only 1877 per cent
of German families averaged more
than 3.4 children each, only 20 per
cent averaged just that number, and
62.s per cent averaged fewer than
34 children. The national average
was only 2.3 children per family.
Such are the omens of decline
which threatened the German people
when the Nazis seized power.
The Nazis set out to check this
decline with characteristic energy and