The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1944-09-28
COMMENT ON WORLD ,
EVENTS

|
ing a new and democratic Germany If
given an opportunity is sometimes al
most forgotten or ignored by many OF
| the experts" now busily engaged in
| telling the world what should be done
with Germany after the war
The Neue yolszeitung of New York
Oldest anti-Nazi German language
newspaper published in the United
States, presents information on the
leaders of German anti-Nazis which
should be given wide circulation, in the
interest of fair play and the building
of a just peace.
PublishingA special issue in honor
of Wilhelm Leuschner, who recently
was hanged by the NaZis together with
the former Lordmayor of Leipzig, Karl
Goerdeler, the Neue Volkszeitung point
ed out that he was one of the foremost
leaders of the anti-NaZi underground
in Germany. He was a Social Demo
crat, Minister of Interior of the State
of Hessen from 1927-1933, in which
capacity he fought the Oncoming Nazi
tide with every means at his disposal.
In fact, when Hitler was appointed
chancellor, Wilhelm Leuschner pre-
pared for an armed defense of democ-
racy in his state, mObiliZing the Hes
sian State police and the republican
workers organizations however, to
avoid war in Germany, the aged Hes
sian prime mi n ster cOunteracted
Leuschner's order.
Leuschner did not give up the strug-
gle against the Nazi regime. When rep
resenting the German trade unions,
prior to their oppression by Hitler, at
the International Labor Conference in
Geneva, Leuschner delivered scath
ing attack against Hitler's sO-called
Labor representative" Robert Ley. He
was Immediately told that he could
not possibly return to Germany, but he
did-he wanted more than anything
else to fight with the anti-Nazi under
ground in Germany.
Upon his return from Geneva he was
promptly arrested at the German bOr-
der and thrown into concentration
camp. Repeated Imprisonment in these
camps failed to break him.
Leuschner has now been disposed of
by linking him with the generals plot
as one of the staunchest antiNazis
fighting inside Germany. He has thus
been added to the evergrowing list of
thousands of anti-Nazis in Germany
who gave their lives for the defense of
democracy.
The. Neue VolksZeitung points to
these names as repudiating the often
repeated and utterly untrue statement
that there are no democratic Germans
fighting against the NaZis inside Ger
many; q list that includes many
former Social Democratic members of
the Reichstag and leaders of the
Weimar Republic; DR.. Rudolf Hilfer-
ding, former finance minister, who
was murdered by the Nazis in Paris
after the fall of France; the leader
of the German miners union, Fritz
Husemann, who was killed in a con-
centration camp; Adolf Bierdermann,
member from Hamburg,
whom the NaZiS killed in Germany
throwing him off a railroad train the
Social Democratic leader of the Nuern- |
berg underground, Johannes Wild who
was decapitated for treason; Prussian
member Ernst Heilman, who |
also was assassinated in cOncentra- |
ton camp; Reichstag member from
Baden, Ludwig Marum, who also was
killed i'm concentration camp; DR..
Rudolf Breitscheid, leader of the So
,ial Democratic faction of the Reich |
stag and delegate of the Weimar Re
public to the League of Nations.
When Hitler announced recently |
hat if he were to perish he would let |
so with him, he now--the
Neue Volkszeitung says = turned his
wrath against those who were heroic
enough to prepare for the democratic
'ebirth of Germany. Hundreds of thou
sands of victims i'm Germany testify to
he fact that there is another Ger
many, whose fight prompted Hitler to
.reate and maintain the largest and
'Ostliest machine of political terror the
world has ever seen.