The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1946-04-18
.Rutledge Reviews
Book On Germany
Analyses Hauser's "The Ger
man Talks Back" In Last Of
Library Spring Book Reviews.

Whether Heinrich Hauser's views
as expressed in his book, "The Ger
man Talks Back" are true and cor
rect, is an academic questionable
point is, does Hauser reflect German
opinion and thus give us a clue as
to our course in dealing with Ger
many? Mr.. Hauser does, according
to Irvine Rutledge, who revived
Hauser's book in the last of the
Washington County Free Library's
Spring book review series Tuesday
evening.
Mr.. Rutledge should know, since,
as an officer of the American Mill
tary Government in Germany, it fell
to his lot to interrogate some 1000
Germans, fact which gave his re-
view an authority that could not
have been equalled by one less ac-
quainted with the German mind.
''The German Talks Back" was
reviewed in the Globe-Indeepndent
some months ago. Briefly, the au-
thor is a German intellectual, mar
ried to a JewesS, who fled Germany
in 1889 to protect his family from
the Nazis and established a refuge
on a small farm in New York State.
He voluntarily returned to Germany
! Loo EIT,ai4+Oy, 1Nafx.yCOH, Vt u ot,1
| VI Days, Hauser expresses freely
| the German distaste for our country
and our institutions and explains
why, in terms of his own views on
German history, there can be no
meeting between ourselves and the
Germans.
At the time it was written, Mr.
Rutledge explained, Hauser was an
ticipating our policy toward Ger
many, and actually he prophesied
rather accurately the final plan
adopted last month by the Allied
Control Council in regard to the
elimination of all industries consti-
tuting a war potential, limitations of
many products, and the goal of a
standard of living for the Germans
bv 1949, on the basis of their 1882
Sandard
What Mr.. Rutledge has concluded
from his own direct experience falls
pretty we'll in line with Hauser's
thinking. Hauser insists that we
cannot punish the Germans-Mr.
Rutledge says that the Germans are
not suffering for their crime except
indirectly. Hauser tries to excuse
the German people, placing the
blame on the Nazis, on the other
hand Mr.. Rutledge claims that
even the face of the evidence, all
Germans plead lack of knowledge
of concentration camps and atrocities
and he believes that a principal OF
law that holds people responsible
eff they knew or should have
known" could we'll be applied to
them.
Mr.. Rutledge contends that the
Germans are without a sense Of
same-only in the village of Dachau
infamous for the concent1 alton
camp of that name-did the Germans
go about with downcast eyes, and
our officials are not at all sure that
shame was responsible for that. The
theory of the Master Race, Mr.. Rut-
ledge, thinks is so deeply inbred in
them that they don't care what hap
pens to other peoples whom they still
feel are inferior.
Mr.. Rutledge explained that no one
is trying to sell the Germans bill OF
goods on Democracy. Officers of the
military government were taught
from the start that the Germans have
no desire for Democracy and have
never had. We have therefore pur-
sued negative policy in Germany
with the exception of destroying
Nazi propaganda books.
In the final analysis Mr.. Rutledge
and Heinrich Hauser are in agree
ment on the German state of mind:
The Germans feel that they are COM
pletely misunderstood by the whole
world-an idea that they have al
ways found useful In conclusion
Mr.. Rutledge told his audience that
the Germans frankly state this fact
that none of us should forget: "We
will get bigger and we will try ii
again"
Mr.. Rutdedge was introduced by
Roy Dancer, chairman of the citizens
committee, which cooperated with
Mrs. Henry Holzapfel, III, librarian,
in presenting the Spring series of in
teresting and vavried views.