Evening star., 1944-12-31
Plans to Handle Germany

, Going several steps farther tha,
Kilgore's committee, Washingtc
official writing under the pseudomyi
of Cary Byers in the December i
sue of Harper's Magazine ties tt
Question of reparations in with tf
desirability, as he sees it, of takir
away Germany's basic industri,
capacity. He proposes that repair
tions be paid mainly in capital goot :.
such as metallurgical plants, chem.
cal manufacturing facilities ar
Ipatents, machine tools, heavy elet
trical and transportation equipmer
a policy that would stimulate indui
trial production outside German
and consequently increase the va
potential of non-Germanic Europ
One criticism of this propos;
would seem to lie in its presuppos;
ton that Germany's neighbors Wi
always remain hostile to her, ovel
looking the possibility of changir
European political alignments thu b,
might give Germany ready-mat
war resources. Another is that Ge,
many might, through the hoardir ,
and secretion Of some milital
forces, be able to thrust out swift:
to conquer its smaller neighbors an
quickly mobilize their existing Wa
facilities for more ambitious az
gression. Such a conquest, dipl6
matte and bloodless, was witnesse
in the speedy absorption of mum
ttions-rich Czechoslovakia precedin
the present war.
Fortune Magazine, in a series c
articles published in 1943, propose
a United Nations trusteeship fc
most of German industry. tn
guiding principle Of the interna =
tional trusteeship, at least during
transition period, would be tina
postwar Europe will need all thc
production it can get, and that tho
European economy and its powerful
German center should be kept op-
Grating as going concern. 1t was
also proposed that no business con-
troll of any sort should be left III
Nazi hands anywhere in the world,
and that until Germany has re-
gained its place in civilized society
no German resident of Germany
should be permitted to own or con-
troll any enterprise outside of Ger
man borders.
The magazine did not look with
favor upon dismernberment of Ger
many, but suggested a redrawing
OF the various states within the ma
ton in order to give them more
local autonomy and encourage the
natural diversity" of cultures and
groups in the Reich. In essence this
plan was one of "de-Prussianiza-
ton" It contemplated reduction of
Prussia to its original size, thus
freeing the Rhineland, Westphalia,
Hanover, Silesia and other parts of
Prussia from Berlin's domination.
In fact it urged that the capital OF
the new German federation be city
other than Berlin. Also suggested
was a moral reawakening of Ger
many through thorough reform
|of its educational processes.
To sum up, there are prolific ex-
pressions of American attitudes on
what to do with postwar Germany,
Most of the disparate groups, how
ever, are long on citing their rea-
sons for hard" or soft" treatment
OF the nation in the generations to
come, but short on projecting spe-
cif1c programs. Within the limits
of reasoned and non-vengeful, nom
whitewash programs that have been
projected by Americans, the ones
enumerated above are a representa-.
tive cross-section.
While divergent American atti-
tudes may be regarded by some as
academic in view of the submission
of a United States proposal to the
European Advisory Commission, the
fact remains that our formal pro.
gram is tentative, subject to revi.
sion and possible improvement.
printed BY special arrangement with thu
st. Louis Post-Dispatch.)