The Wilmington morning star., 1944-07-20
TODAY and TOMORROW
Shaping The German Settlement

Within the past two weeks there
has ben considerable progress to-
ward defining the terms to be i'm
pcsed upon Germany. In the nature
Of things, because they are Ger
mays two largest next-door neigh
bors, the definition of the German
terms could not in fact begin until
Frace and Poland took their po-
sitions.
They have now done that. When
General de Gaulle was in Wash
ington he made a public declara-
ton at his press conference which
covered the western boundaries
OF Germany and also the control
from western Europe of Germany
military power. The Polish govern
ment has now followed by COM
rlitting itself in principle, and to
considerable degree in substance,
on the eastern boundaries of Ger
may. This will shape the rela
tons of all the counties east of
Germany among themselves and
toward Germany.
The French position is to abjure
any claim to the annexation of
territory held bv Germany in 1889.
But France will for a long time to
come occupy with her armies the
German territory on the left bank
of the Rhine, and she will ask
that the two great centers of war
making power in western Ger
many, namely the Ruhr Valley and
the Saar Valley. be administered
by international economic author
ltv. Here in concrete terms is the
French contribution to the policing
of Germany in the immediate post
war period.
If it is agreed to, as almost GER
tainly it will be by the big three
and by Belgium and the Neither
lands, the foundations of the west
ern half of the structure of the
settlement will have been laid. In
effect it will mean that the i'm
n.diate neighbors of Germany will
De the first sentinels during the
period of probation, and that at
taeir side but in the main behind
them in strategic reserve, there will
b ethe power of the British Com
monWealth and of the U n e d
States. This is the only workable
solution. For France can sit, be-
cause she must sit, on the German
frontiers as long as Germany is
to be under a special regime. Brit
ish and American troops cannot in
large numbers sit there very long.
The formal claim by the Polish
government to the annexation of
East Prussia is a decisive step in
settling the disput between the
Poles and the Soviet Union. When
this German territory is placed I'm
der the Polish flag, the postwar
government in Poland must be-
come the ally of the Soviet Union.
AL the other questions in dispute
have to be composed, whether they
relate to the personnel of tn Polish
government OF to the eastern boun-
diaries. For Poland that has in
ccrporated East Prussia must re-
nounce forever the pre-War policy
of being neutral as between Ger
many and the Soviets, and antago-
istic to both The Germans will
not willingly give up East Prussia,
and only a very strong Poland
allied with the Soviet Union can
hope to retain East Prussia.
So important is this conclusion
that there are strong reasons for
asking, as the most statesmanlike
Of the Poles are already asking
privately, whether they ought to
accept, even it the Soviet Union
agreed, the whole of East Prussia
If Danzig becomes a Polish city,
as it should if Poland is to have
secure access to the Ba&c, then
would it not be wiser if the onus
Of German resentment were shared
by agreeing to nave the Soviets &C.
cupy Konigsberg? That is very
German city, and as it lies to the
east Of Danzig end is close to the
Soviet frontier, there are Poles who
think that the Soviets should take
it thus assuring a combined Soviet
Polish defense of East Prussia.
In these two actions, which are
not unrelated, fy the French and
the Poles. we nave moved from
the general to the specific. Our
of Germany cannot be
decided upon until we have fixed
the German frontier and have set
tied the relations among thenselve
of Germanv's neirhbors and of the
three great powers.
Then within This territoria1 and |