Evening star., 1943-03-08

Detter nor worse tnan Eng gllShmen.
Americans. Swedes, Poles or Rus
slams. But the Prussian tradition
OF the last century, and especially
the Nazi education Of the last 10
years, have created psychic entity
so monstrous and so dangerous to
the entire world that it is absolutely
vital to exercise some control over
German education when the war
comes to an end. Prussian school,
masters have been of greater i'm
portance to the German Army than
Prusslan captains. and Prussian
text books have had greater value
than ammunition. 1t is the dis
ciplined will to power and the wor-
ship of war as the method OF power
that have made the German Army
such terrible instrument of force.
Just as Hitler took the Prussian
military tradition and organized 1t
into gangsterism, so he took the
Prussian education system and
streamlined it to marshal the mil
lions of German boys and girls be-
hind his evil conspiracy of world
conquest. Hitler's children have
been trained to believe implicitly
that the state is more important
than the individual, and that the
individual must be willing and ready
to sacrifice himself for the German
nation and for the Fuehrer.
Stresses Leadership Principle.
Starting with the young mothers
and fathers. married or unmarried,
and taking the children through the
day nurseries and a series of schools
for different ages. Hitler has in
doctrinated the German children
with what he calls his leadership
principle'-that among men as in
nature is an eternal struggle be-
tween the weak and the strong, and
that the "decadent' democracies are
destined to crumble before the su-
perior might of the Nazi elite. Ger
man boys have been Systematically
trained in brutality. German girls
have been Systematically trained to
believe that their supreme duty
is to be mothers. married or un-
married. of children dedicated to
the service Of the fatherland and
the Fuehrer. Through the use of
mystic acknowledgment dances,
bonflres, sun festivals on mountain
tops and many other types OF ritual
both boys and girls have been
trained to look upon Hitler as divine
and they pray to him as God.
The evil influence of this sys-
tematic degradation of millions of
German boys and girls can not be
counteracted in a short time. Even
Hitler's death will not end it. be-
cause many of Hitler's children,
conditioned AS they are, will believe
that he is still their leader, in the
spirit if not in the flesh. Hitler
dead may be almost as dangerous as
Hitler alive.
This, then, is the vastly difficult
problem with which the United Ma
tions will have to cope, if the VIC
tory which now is coming closer is
to bring more than just a short
breathing spell before another Prus-
sian attack is launched upon the
world.
Sees Nazi Disillusionment.
1t is not up to the United Ma
tions to say just what the German
schools of the future should teach :;
and We do not want to be guilty of
a Hitler-like orgy of book burning
But it is vital to the peace of the
world to make sure that neither
Prussianism. Hitlerism nor any
modification of them is taught,
There are many cultured German
scholars with an excellent attitude
toward the world who should be put
to work on the job. of rewriting, the
German textbooks in their own way.
believe these men wodId glorifv
peace and international honesty, re-
establishment of the German Gull
ture OF Beethoven, Schubert, rSchil-
Ter and Goethe, and the gradual
preparation of the German spirit
for an appreciation of the fact that
bill OF rights for the individual is
as vital as bill of duties toward
the state.
Doubtless thousands of German
boys will come home from the war
bitterly disillusioned of Prussianism
and Hitlerism. Thousands of both
young and old at home will feel the
same way. They will honestly want
to help build up a new democratic
Germany. and We, without yielding
at all to the old warlike spirit of
Prussia. should encourage them to
try. We shall need the help of all
Germans who give convincing evi-
dence that they do not subscribe to
the master race myth and are
genuinely opposed to the doctrine
that might makes right. The re-
education we insist upon should not
crush out any sincere desire to prac
tice democracy and live at peace
among the world family of nations.
1t Will not be necessary for Ameri-
cans to teach in the German schools
The all-important thing is to see
that the cult OF war and interna-
tlonal deceit is no longer preached
as virtue in the schools. We can
not countenance the soft. lazy for
getfulness which characterized Eng
land and France in their treatment
OF Germany in the 3Os. The cost of
such short-sighted appeasement is
too great IN men and money. We
must not 60 down that mistaken.
tragic road again
Marx Does Not Preach War.
All Of my discussion thus far has
been concerned with Prussianism.
Now I want to talk about Marx
ianism. This philosophy in some
ways is the child OF Prussianism, be-
cause Marx, its high priest. was
nodded in his thinking by Hegel,
the great philosopher OF the Prus-
sian state. MarXianism has used
the Cheka, just as Prussianism has
used the Gestapo but it has never
preached international war as an
instrument of national policy. 1t
does not believe one race is superior
to another, Many of the MARKHAM
activities of the last 10 years which
people of the West have most con-
demned have been inspired by fear
OF Germany. The Russian people,
who are the chief believers in
are fundamentally
more religious than the Prussians.