Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-07-20
Washington DIG:
Nazi Influence Remains !
To Vex Allied Control !
lndoctrinaton of Youth and Lethargy of Mass
Of People Obstacle to Efforts to
Reconstitute Beaten Nation.
BY BAUKHAGE
Netps ANALYST and Commenfnfo

WNU service, Union Trust Building,
Washington, d. c.
This is the first Of f,Do articles BY Mr..
Baukhage revealing hoto the results OF
Hin.snler's planned terror" are making it
hard for the Americans to run" Ger.
many.J
The hearings of the Kilgore SUBJ
committee on war mobilization con-
cluded in the last weeks of con-
gress and are to be resumed next
September. Testimony before the
committee has revealed certain "se-
cret documents" showing plans on
the part of various German indus
trialists to subsidize Nazi under
ground party.
The purpose of the hearings, Sena-
tor Kilgore's associates tell me, is
to prepare the United States
against future recrudescence of
German militarism.
If such underground organizations
exist and continue to exist it will be
necessary to hunt them out of
their hiding places if we can. This
is going to be especially difficult
since some of those hiding places
undoubtedly will be on foreign terri
tory and it may not be easy to reach
across the frontiers of nations not
too unfriendly to the Nazi Fascist
idea.
Meanwhile there is an immedi-
ate problem to be faced and that is
the practical task of running Ger
many" something which it is gen.
orally admitted is going to be hard
er than we thought.
There are many battling factors
of a purely physical aspect which
enter into the scheme but I do not
intend to deal with them here. I
want to talk about the psychological
problem which is recognized by
trained observers on the scene but
perhaps not as fully understood as
it might be.
1t may be recalled that some
months ago there appeared in these
columns an exposition of the organi-
cation and the indoctrination of the
German people and the Indignation
of all elements in Germany into a
single unit, created for the purpose
of waging total war. This dealt with
the positive steps taken in the train
ing of the youth and conversion or
compulsion exerted over such of the
older generation as were sufficiently
pliable. In this and succeeding ar
ticle I propose to deal with what
might be called program of mega
ton since its purpose was to destroy
the quality of resistance to Naziism
on the part of those too old or too
stubborn to accept, actively or pas
sively, the Nazi regime. It is what
I have alluded to as the program
of planned terror"
Notification Extended
To All Glasses
First, it must be remembered that
since the Nazis were in full power
for about IL years and the real in
doctrination of the Germany youth
began at about the age of IL, there
might be presumed to remain a
group of middle-aged Germans who
escaped the full blight of Nazi in
doctrination. Normally they would
be the ones most likely to offer COL
Elaboration with the American or
other officials and most amenable
to an acceptance of democratic
methods and beliefs.
Of course, there are some such.
On the other hand, although this
group who by age or inclina-
ton were less favorable to Nazif-
cation, the majority have not
escaped the effects of Nazi rule.
These men were brought up in a
more or less normal goth century
atmosphere, regimented to some ex-
tent, it is true and with the long
tradition of German militarism be-
hind them, but at root a kindly,
businesslike, churchgoing folk whose
evils were environmental and not
necessarily hereditary as they
proved when they left home and set
tied on our shores.
They are the ones in Germany
whom we blame for failing to arise
and overthrow the Hitler regime, for
accepting it and its inhumanities.
We find them now, according to
most of the persons who have visit
ed Germany, befuddled, submissive,
yet resentful; but honestly reject
ing all personal, individual RESPONSE
bility for war guilt of Germany and
the atrocities of the Nazis. For the
most part they have proved about
as valuable in assisting in the
governing of their country as a
large piece of slightly rancid dough.