The Wilmington morning star., 1946-05-08

a long time against Mr.. Churchill's
insistence that B r SHOULD
have the zone which, because i
contains the oceanic ports and the
Ruhr, is the key position in Ger.
many, and indeed in Europe. Presi
dent Roosevelt had to give in. As
a result it is only nominally true
to say that Germany has beer
divided into four zones of occupa-
ton.
The more revealing way to de.
scribe the arrangement is to say
that the Soviet Union and Britain
have divided Prussia between them
leaving the South Germany states
to be divided between France and
the United States. Now since 1856,
when Bismarck defeated the South
German states, Prussia has domi-
mated Germany. Prussia contains
all the essential elements of the
German power: the strategical
gateways into the Low Countries
and France, the oceanic ports, the
primary resources, the basic indus
t r i e S, the strongest and most
numerous population, the political
party machines and their bosses,
the headquarters of the trade
unions, of the banks, of the c~artels,
Of the communications, the main
markets, the apparatus Of public
ity, the Lutheran Church, the
homeland of the military caste, the
centralized bureaucracy, and, last
but by no means least, the capital
city of Berlin.
Whoever rules Prussia has for
the past eighty years ruled
Germany. The Americans are not
ruling in Prussia. The British and
the Russians have divided it be-
tween them, and the inner drama
Of Germany is the contest between
them for the control OF Prussia.
The outcome of that contest is
bound to determine the destiny of
the whole of Germany and of Eu-
rope, and OF the world.
IT the reader now asks how all
this is to be reconciled with the
spirit OF the Allied pledges to dis
arm and demilitarize GERMANY. I
am afraid the answer is that only
among the Americans and tn e
French is the avowed policy the
real policy. The real policies of
the British and Of the Russians
are disclosed by their actions
rather than by their formal state
ments: They may be described.
l think, as a r%eversion, gradual
but accelerating, by drift rather
than by clear intention, to their
pre-war illusions about Germany:
namely, to the notion that each
ear find a way to use a United
Germany. The British, who like
to think OF the continuity of their
foreign policy even when it is
wrong, are reverting to the notion
OF Neville Chamberlain: that
Britain can turn Germany against
Russia. The Soviets, who also have
a remarkable continuity, are re-
vertlng towords the basic concep.
ton which produced the Molotov-
Hlobentrop pact of 1899: that
can be turned away from
RUSSIA against the west.
Much Of this Anglo-Soviet duel
IS hidden from view, yet not so
much but that we know that much
IS hidden. The German officers
VINO were captured at Stalingrad.
and were for a time used to make
propaganda against Hitler. have
disappeared behind the famous
ron curtain. But it would be naive
% suppose that they do not con-
Elnue to form an important con-
aectlon with important elements
u the German Army.
There is also a German armv
Iarge and good one. which s,,r-
'endered to the British. The story
II that surrender has still Ia he
old In detail. The story Of what