Evening star., 1941-05-17
BY DIR. HERMANN RAUsCHNING


BY DIR. HERMANN RAUSCHNING.
LONDON, May 17.-Rudolf Hess
flight to Britain represents for this
war what August 8, 1918, was In the
last war. Then German troops re-
fused to obey orders. Today it is
large portion of the German people
which says with Hess to its tyrant,
Enough; no further"
1t would be pointless and foolish
to count up at this moment what
Herr Hess is responsible for jointly
with others-formal war guilt, guilt
for terror, guilt for the penury and
death of millions. The question
which alone is important today, and
which must be answered without
passion, is what can be made out of
this event, out of the fact that the
German people in its broad mass
splits from its leaders as Rudolf
Hess has done?
1t is not yet the moment of COL
lapse 1t may become the capitula-
ton of those bearing power in Ger
many.
1t is in no way yet the end Of the
war, but that end may be hastened.
BY strong handling, however, Ger
man resistance may be stiffened, as,
for instance, If one judges the event
wrongly and one speaks to the Ger
man people without understanding.
Hess Flight Logical.
To any one who does not know
Germany this event is incompre-
hensible, but for him who is familiar
with the dissensions of the German
people, behind the facade of an
almighty machine, the Hess flight
was logical.
Herr Hess left Germany not be-
cause he was afraid of the Gestspo
tsecret police nor because he
thought himself sufficiently clever
| to be able to weaken the British
will to resistance at a conclusive mo-
ment. The fight is rather the ele-
mentary breakaway of a desperate
patriot who. however many mis-
takes he might have made. thought
he acted In the interests Of his
fatherland. A patriot who saw his
country led to destruction by men
possessed of devils.
1t was possibly the primitive, even
naive action of a man who. in spite
of belonging to National Socialism.
was a man of peace, compromise
and reason. It is escape from a
years-old inner conflict of initiating
duties, torn between obedience and
ones own sense of judgment.
Germany is country of compli-
Gated human beings and relation
ships. Is it possible to class these
| people as either black or white? In
the army there are men who were
against the war and who wished
to limit their objectives within the
bounds Of reason. Among them are
cold worshippers of might and vio-
lence as being the only realities.
These conditions exist in all Sec
tions of the German people, in
cluding the Nazis Among the lat
ter are large sections who since 1888
participated in the development OF
Nazi power with growing despair
| but were unable TO stem the for
ward movement of the party. in
which Germany was dragged along.
I know from personal conversa-
tions with many Nazis that they
feared war and never anticipated
the sort of sbomination that would
later be forced upon them.
Member of Better Group.
Herr Hess was q leading man
among the more sensible and better
members of the party. I met him
often-a man who smoothed out
difficulties, who might not always
have been intellectually equal to his
job but who was always at pains
to reach fair decisions. Personally
brave and bound by selfiess fidelity
to his friend, Adolf Hitler, he con-
sidered it his duty to withhold his
personal convictions in the interest,
of discipline, which represents o
sort of religion in Germany, not only
among militarists and Nazis.
No one can realize the interna,
developments which led to Herr
Hess fight. Surely there were nc
personal differences and neither
corruption nor unsatisf1ed ambition
played a part. Whatever persona
motives there might have been
whatever mistaken hopes and illu-
sions led Herr Hess to take extraord-
mary risks, in which only a mar
of highest bravery would venture
his action throws light on two facts
Things are going badly in Ger
many. The people do not want
more war. The people are moi
carried away by alleged victories.
Herr Hess was well aware of the
growing despair, Of the effect oi
bombing, of eight years of privatior
and armament efforts. all the speak
ing tubes of the party were oper
to his ears and he was best qualified
to reach a correct Judgment about
the real feelings Of the German
people.
Leaders Deeply Disunited.
The second fact, however, is that
the so-called sworn community O.
leading men in Germany is deeply
disunited. There are in the Reich
men of opposition. These hitherto
have been found among the op-
pressed, among the supporters oi
the old regime, among the perse.
cuted and among the masses.
This appears plausible at frs
sight, but is too simple for condi.
tions as they exist in Germany
Today opposition, despite propa'
ganda efforts, has become a realit,
and appears in the form in which
it would make 1t dangerous not Il
give 1t rightful recognition.
The real opposition in Germany
comes from the Nazi party itself
and is the only opposition which
side by side with an opposition
within the army, can have a practi.
cal effect. Opposition of the ole
political circles was large in mum.
bers, but insignificant politically
A real turn in affairs would come
only when opposition arose withir