Evening star., 1949-07-23
Nothing Even Begun
To Solve Problems
OF Divided Germany
Greatest Danger to West
Seen in Communism's
Union With NutionuIism
By Dorothy Thompson

By Dorothy Thompson
Nothing about Germany has
even begun to be solved-polit-
lcally, morally. economically. A
country so divided that relatives
cannot visit each other; split up
by the Western allies into II
laender, each with its own gov
ernment apparatus and bureau
cracy, some of these states ending
at the limits of cities and others
comprising areas that were pre-
viously mere districts: having the
insoluble problem of absorbing
into half of the pre-Hitler Reich
a population increase of 18 per
cent, and all these refugees actu-
ally prisoners, since they are not
permitted to move from the
camps or villages where they are
billeted without a permit from
the place where they wish to 60
which they rarely receive. since
every community is concerned to
keep out further influx of refu-
gees: the continual strangling OF
industry where conditions de-
mand more, notsless industrializa-
ton: this combination, created by
the Potsdam agreement, could
not have been more satanically
calculated to bring about re-
vival of militant German nation
aliSm.
Greatest Danger to West.
The greatest danger that besets
the West in Germany today is
precisely what Count Helmuth
Won Moltke of the German under
ground anti-Communist resist
ance warned against in his ne
elected memorandum to the
Western allies in 1913: the union
Of German Communism with Ger
man nationalism.
That the Russians have not
been overwhelmingly successful in
Germany is their fault. The West
did everything to create the con-
2ditions for their victory. But to
say now that there is no longer
any menace in Western Germany
is to commit the error of being
lulled by ones own propaganda
Communist propaganda is
wholly centered on German unity
When a Communist deputy in
North Rhine Westphalia ad-
dressed the Landtag on the sub
ject of further dismantling of
Ruhr industries he sounded like
Adolf Hitler and every other de-
putty had to back him up. I'VE
Communists" he said, will make
q common front with every party
and creed that stands for German
unity; liberation from the occu-
pying powers: and against fur
ther strangulation of German in
dustries by British competitors. "
The opinion that Germany must
get on with the Soviet Union. and
can exist in the long run only
within the Eastern economic
room" or as a neutral mediator
between East and West, is by no
means confined to Communists.
The views held by Andreas Her
mes, Herr Nadolay, and numbers
of former Reichswehr officers are
more widespread than our au-
thorities think!
And the Communists work from
the ground up, with energy and
discipline unmatched by the old
er parties.
Dynamic Idea Lacking.
What is lacking is a dynamic
Western idea. The only dynamic
idea the West has is of a united
Europe in a Christian, social and
humanistic renovation, accepting
Germany as an equal while de-
manding of her the most stren-
uous efforts to contribute to Euro
pean revival.
But he is a blindly wishful
thinker who believes that the
words of Western statesmen sig
nifying such a direction are trans
lated into acts. The French
Foreign Minister may believe in a
more constructive policy toward
Western Germany, but the French
people still think of Germany as
the perennial enemy. The French
policy, in every concrete situation,
works to keep Germany weak and
divided, Mr.. Bevin may present
himself as good European;
but the fear of German industrial
competition. expressed continu-
,ously in the British press-and
even the subject of a British doc
umentary film - always deter
mines the concrete measures.
The United States plays along
with the British and French-and
pays the bill-While there are still
American officials who say openly,
as one of considerable Importance
said to me in May, eve can't do
anything with these people and I
often think we should let the Rus
slams break their necks on them. :"
released by the Bell Syndicate, Inc.)
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