Evening star., 1945-06-03

All this is strictly in keeping with tne
speech Premier Stain made in No
vember, 1912, when he stated that the
aim of the Red Army was not to destroy
the Germans and Germany but to ex-
terminate Hitler and the Hitlerite gang.
The officers of the Wehrmacht who
we're so afraid that they would be de-
ported to Siberia and other faraWay
places across the Ural Mountains are
beginning to come out Of hiding and
are no longer afraid of the Russian ter
rorism. The Free Germany Committee
in Moscow is broadcasting at least twice
daily that all those who have not been
directly connected with Hitler need have
no fear. The Germans believe this not
only because the Russians have dis
PLAYED no real i'll will toward them but
also because they have become con-
vinced that the spokesman for Mar
shall Won Paulus and Gen. Won Seydlitz,
| who are at the head of that committee,
are telling them the truth. These off,
GERS are scions of real junkers and
there is a feeling among the defeated
trap them.
Reds Provide Food.
The fight of the Germans-civilians
and off1cers-from east of the Elbe to the
west has stopped and even reverse
movement is noticeable. They have now
discovered that while the American pri-
vate is kind and generous. the officers
who have been placed in charge Of
Occupied Germany have to be stern
lest they are punished by the higher
ups. The Germans see that while the
much-feared Russians are endeavoring
to bring foodstuffs and other supplies
into Germany, the western Allies are
letting the civilian population forage
for itself as best it can.
According to available indications,
it will be no later than next fall that
the Moscow government will decide to
| install in Berlin trusted" govern
| ment in the shape of the Free Ger
many Committee to which may be
| added a number of Germans who have
been underground during the whole
of the Hitler regime.
There can be no objection to such
| measure. Every one of the occupying
! powers is at liberty to administer it's
zone in accordance with its own ideas.
| The Russian government is fond of
| handing over the administration of
liberated or conquered territories to
| their own people provided it is Moscow
which picks.the men. We have had the
| example of what happened in Bull
garia, Romania, Hungary, Austria and
Poland But while in all these countries
the establishment of national govern
ment friendly to the U. S. S. r.
created a diplomatic friction because
Moscow had acted in contravention to
the Yalta agreements, there is nothing
| pleases in the Reich.
Long Range Policy.
The Russians have a long-range
| policy in regard to Europe and the rest
of the world. 1t is not emotional. 1t
is strictly practical and realistic
The Free Germany Committee was
established within a few months after
the German disaster at Stalingrad
| that it would be only a question of
| time before the Germans would be de-
| feated.
From the large number of prisoners
they had taken they picked out the
very men who almost defeated them
at Stalingrad to make them the spokes-
men for future permanent German
Russian amity and close collaboration.
1t is true that there are some Com
munists and Liberals in the Free Ger
many Committee. But the kernel is
composed of junker generals, colonies
| and officers of other ranks.
The Russians understand the Ger
mans. Their collaboration is mot of
recent date. Back in the 20s, when the
| German Republic was not allowed to
build tanks, planes or have a general
staff openly, a military mission headed
by Gen. Jodl-the same man who sur
rendered the Reichswehr to the Allies
in the west-spent several years in
the U. S. S. r. He was heading a mis-
sion which worked on new prototypes Of
planes and tanks and also helped the
Russians organize their own general
staff, which in the end showed a great
improvement over Hitler's
Hitler broke the collaboration on his
unwarranted attack in the east in 1e4l
The Russians, of course, reacted, and
with the assistance of the United
States and Great Britain finished him
off. But that does not mean that these
two countries will not work together
again. The great monarchs of Russia
Peter and Catherine, relied on German
help to build up and modernize the
empire.
Could Use German Skills.
There is no reason to believe that the
third greatest leader of all Russia
pire than in the 18th century-will
spurn the collaboration of his next
door neighbor. Germany has been
utterly defeated But there is in Ger
many vast number of skilled tech
nicians, particularly in the art of wa,
and modern weapons, who can be o1
great assistance to an empire which
has already established its hegemony
over Europe and is reported to have
similar aims in Asia.
A chaotic Germany can be of no use
to the Russians. Neither do the Rus.
sian leaders believe that a country
kept under foreign occupation in which
every move of the inhabitants must
receive the approval of some foreign
| y,,ilifo wv ,,oop will bovo M &sx,1