Evening star., 1950-04-23

Thousands Of Young Communists Together With Thousands
OF Home-Troned Police Could Stort Trouble for West
By Creston B. Mullins

By Creston B. Mullins
A spark will be lit in Berlin the
last week end of May-Whitsun-
tide-which could set of the ex-
plosion of World War III.
That spark is the Communist
youth march from all parts of
Soviet-occupied Eastern Germany
to East Berlin. A half-million
members of the Soviet-Sponsored.
Nazi-like Freie Deutsche Jugend-
according to the advance billing
of the East German Communists
will converge on the former
Reich capital May 27-29. there to
parade and demonstrate.
Their slogan is Peace" Ca Com
munist peace) and unification Of
Berlin and all Germany. Their
real goal is the seizure of all Ger
many-eventually. If not "immedi-
ately-for Russia. Their tactics
are the tactics of Hitler. Goebbels
and Himmler.
They have threatened to invade
the Western sectors of Berlin to
bring the whole city under Com
munist-what they call people, S
democratic-rule. Behind this
threat-moderated. it is true. in
recent days-is something more
than braggadocio. 1t could be a
real, live threat, endangering not
only the position of the United
States. Great Britain and France
in Berlin, but also the peace of
the world.
West Is Prepared
The threat lies not entirely in
the force which the FDJ itself
represents, although 100000 fan
atical youths hurting themselves
bodily into Western Berlin could
literally overwhelm it. The threat
lies nearly as much in the expected
presence-also for purposes OF
parade and demonstration OF
many thousands of East zone
Volkspolizei, the Russian-trained
and Russian-equipped People, S
Police which has all the appear
ance of a new Reichswehr.
A half million youths and thou
sands of trouble-seeking People S
Police could, by invading the
Western sectors, create such dis
order that failure of the Western
powers to control 1t could give
Russians the excuse for marching
in to settle matters in their own
way-and to their own advantage.
That is the situation which the
Western powers face as May ap-
proaches. Just where do we stand
on the threshold of this challenge
to Western authority in Berlin?
The answer can be simply
stated: The Western powers will
be prepared to cope with any
emergency arising from the youth
march on Berlin short of a Rus
| sian determination to touch of
war. The initiative in launching
the military phase Of theil
struggle for world domination is
of course, in the hands of the
Kremlin masters. They coulc
choose May 81 for it. or they
could wait S. 10 or Is years.
All American officials-as vel
as their British and French col
leagues-are giving the most seri-
Gus attention to the approaching
week Of crisis. They do not-as
has been charged-laugh off the
chance that the youth MAI ch may
be the spark which will touch of
serious trouble in Germany. AT
the same time they are not yield
ing to hysteria and rash action
which would make them look silly
if the march fizzles.
To make 1anicky preparations
to fight the Reds in Berlin and
then to see the FDJ march re-
suit in nothing more serious than
a Boy Scout iamboree would make
us look pretty silly. AS a matter
Of fact, the present strategy Of
the East zone Reds is to convince
us that nothing more than q
jamboree is being arranged, and
that all activity will be limited to
the Eastern sector. The danger
that the rallies will spill over into
the Western areas remains, how
ever, and with 1t the possibility
of. real trouble.
Two Lines of Action
It is the extremes of blind in
difference and hysteria that
American officials are striving to
avoid. They are remaining calm
but firm in the face of what they
think could become a major crisis.
but which. they believe. may well
turn out to be nothing more than
a propaganda display.
The Western Allies are pursuing
two general lines of action in their
preparation for the events of
Whitsunday:
/. They are taking steps to
n