Evening star., 1948-11-19

C4AE<JS t"o H0"SAo
that the Ruhr Dorothy Thompsen.
shall remain German. are bitterly
opposed by the French, who want
to keep Germany divided into au-
tonomous states. with the Ruhr lin
ternationalized." This view finds
support in the United States, notably
from Mr.. Sumner Welles, who ad-
vocates a return to the realistic,
long-range policy of Teheran" (per-
manent division). Only this policy,
says Mr. Welles, spells security for
Germany's neighbors." He excori-
ates the English-speaking powers
for repeating their fatal error of
1920" and seeking to rebuild Ger
many as a buffer against Russia.
Unrealistic Thinking.
Such thinking is neither realistic
nor historically correct. The fatal
error OF 1920" was to fail to take
advantage of the democratic revo-
luton in Germany and the wave
of antiwar spirit that swept the
country to effect a permanent
reconciliation and partnership be-
tween the two leading powers of
the continent. Instead, the Yer
sailles system was designed to "con-
tain" Germany.
France based her security on q
system Of western defenSes supple
mented by a Gordon of East Euro
pean alliances, stretching from Po-
land to the Adriatic. With the ut
most lack Of realism this Gordon Of
dubiously viable states with no in
tegrated economies or defense sys-
TENS was designed both to contain
Germany and the Soviet Union. The
breakdown Of this system was the
cause Of World War II. It estab-
lished between Germany and the
Soviet Union a common grievance,
which they collaborated to rectify.
The first German political party
to raise the national banner against
the "iniquity of Versailles" was the
Communist. At the Genoa Confer
ence in 1922, Germans and Russians
exploded bombshell by announcing
the conclusion between themselves
OF the treaty of Rapallo. There
after, Germany won concessions
from the West by turning toward
the Soviets, and from the Soviets by
turning toward the West. The COM
mon grievance surmounted the ideo-
logical breach after Hitler, and re-
suited in the Russo German pact.
. Has the world forgotten how
Stain hailed the demise Of Poland,
that ugly offspring of the treaty Of
Versailles? Today Frances eastern
Gordon is safely In the pocket Of the
U. s. 8. r.
L0carno Came Too Late.
Locarno, in 1925, was the first
sign Of enlightenment-an attempt
to build Franco German system of
mutual security. 1t failed to be
complete because Of Frances East
ern commitments, and because it
came too late. German national
ism, fed by Illustration, had revived.
Stresemann, to Offset his acceptance
OF the status quo in the West, needed
to present some gain in the East
for instance, Danzig. An all-Euro-
pean settlement foundered on the
Eastern alliances which, when war
came, proved utterly useless. And
in France the cry arose: why die
for Danzig?"
Today, Western system that does
not embrace Germany and is, at the
same time, supposed to be a defense
against the U. S. s. r., is preposter-
GUS. As an American first line of
defense, France Is as weak an ally
as were the East European states in
1899 for France. That Germany, of
herself, can be a menace to any one
can only be imagined by those in
discriminatory obsessed with the
past.
Germany will be a menace If she
allies herself with the currently
most powerful military might on the
continent-the Soviet Union. And
that which happened in 1899, to the
disaster Of the West, will happen
again unless Western Germany is
integrated on equal terms in West
ern Europe.
The Ruhr could be International
lied (Europeanized) only In q Eu-
ropean economic confederation. But
fhA nrira uyo,,1d toy~ - - 49,