Evening star., 1945-11-13
Truth About Germany
Seen in House Report
Writer Calls Allied Policy on
Industry Misguided
By David Laurence


By David Laurence
1t has taken committee Of the House
OF Representatives. Republicans and
Democrats, to inject some sober truth
into the story of the plight of the
German people.
Writing report that is unanimously
signed by all 10 members, the House
committee of which Representative Col
mer, Democrat, Of mississippi, Is chair
man, tells the world that the cruelty
being inflicted on the German people Is
something that should weigh heavily on
the conscience of the American people
and their Allies.
"If hard peace" says the commit
tee report, requires the elimination Of
5000, 1000 or 10000 900 Germans, it would
be much more humane to eliminate
them at once. The committee feels
that the American antipathy to theories
OF racism includes an antipathy to
the theory Of racial guilt. Those Ger
mans who will suffer will in the main
be the very old who generally opposed
Hitler and the very young who were
hardly responsible for him.
1T would not be feasible TO make
Germany pay for the war without re-
constituting its industries beyond the
point needed for the support of the
population at minimum level The
committee warns that the prevention of
catastrophe in Middle Europe will
impose a further heavy burden on the
taxpayers of the United States and on
our occupying armies, If the present
contradictory directives stress repara-
tions and the elimination of all indus
try that can even indirectly support a
war as against the necessity for a mini
mum standard of living for the German
people.
Simple Question Asked.
"The committee cannot refrain from
asking the simple question: What in
centive under this plan exists for Ger
many to turn to democratic ways?' The
committee would like to recall the ORR
gins of the Nazi movement in the dis
integration of Germany during the
period of imitation after the last war.
The plight of German cities will cer-
tainly be worse this winter unless fuel
and food are provided on scale beyond
that presently planned"
The foregoing is no surprise to those
who followed minutely the events after
the World War when the policies of the
Allies directly aggravated Germany's
plight and forced the German people
to accept the domination of the military
group in desperate attempt to restore
their economic equilibrium.
After Yalta, the same warning was
issued in these dispatches and likewise
after the Potsdam Conference 1t is
remarkable that an official committee of
the American Congress should so soon
after the war proclaim to the world
such frank criticism of Allied policy
which, if it follows the pattern after
the World War, may SOW the seeds of
World War III and again cause the
American people to make sacrifices of
blood and treasure.
The committee points out, in effect.
that the American people will be held
responsible, for we have allowed the
Russians to partition Germany and strip
the country Of food, which is but an
other way of saying the American tax
payer must pay for the looting done by
the Red Army Of the food needed to keep
the German people from starving.
One of Two Things.
The committee points out that to strip
Germany of her transportation equip
ment and the machinery OF her factories
beyond the point recommended by Gen.
Clay's Advisory Committee of Experts,
can mean "only one of two things:
'(a) That a considerable part of the
German population must be 'liquidated'
through disease, malnutrition and slow
starvation for period of years to come,
with the resultant dangers to the rest of
Europe from pestilence and the spread
of plaques that know no boundaries;
"Or (b) the continuation both of large
occupying forces to hold down unrest
and the affording of relief mainly drawn
from the United States to prevent actual
starvation"
Very soon If the American news pho-
tographers do an honest job, as there is
every reason to believe they will, the
American people will see movies of
starving Germen men, women and chill
dren which will rival in their horror
the pictures of the Buchenwald concen-
tration camps. But these will be pic
lures of torture inflicted by reason of an
Allied policy of indifference or misguid-
ed revenge or plain blundering.
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