Evening star., 1952-04-02
Statement by Stain
Seen as New Attempt
To Win Germans Over
washington, D. c.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2. 1882
BY WiIIiom [, Ryon

HELS1NKI, Finland, April O.
Prime Minister Stalin's latest
statement may signal an all-out
drive by the Communists to pic
ture the Soviet Union as the only
champion of a unified Germany.
Stain said he considers the
present moment opportune for
unlfication of Germany. He said
1t at a time the Western powers
are planning to sign a peace con-
tract with West Germany, in be-
lief that no final decision is pos
slble in making peace with Ger
many as a whole.
The United States, Britain and
France have been unable to find
an approach toward such unfit
cation that is acceptable both to
East and West. The Soviet Union,
for one thing, has refused to do
business with a United Nations
Commission designated to find out
II alderman elections can be
held fairly and honestly.
Attack on Adenauer Seen.
But the unity theme has a great
appeal to Germans, including
many in the areas occupied by
the three Western powers. Thus
the Stain statement, coming on
top of Soviet approval of the idea
OF rearming a unified Germany,
may serve as the starting point
for concerted attack on the
government Of Chancellor Konrad
Adenauer.
A Germany unified on Moscow
terms would create a vacuum in
Central Europe despite Soviet
claims to the contrary. The Soviet
Union. of course, would like to
neutralize Western Europe and
bog down its building of defense
works.
Stain made his statement on
Germany in response to questions
sent by a group of American
newspaper and radio men on
March "a. Four days later Ade-
nauer announced that the United
States, British and French For
eign Ministers would meet with him
in May to sign a peace contract-a
way of life with Western Ger
many. The signing of such
peace contract would formalize
the East-WeSt split in Germany
and perhaps prove a permanent
block to Soviet plans for Europe.
Thus there is a feeling of urgency
In Moscow about Germany and
that is probably one reason Stain
decided to answer the American
newsmen's QUESTIONABLE.
Says War Is No Nearer.
Stain also said he considers a
third world war no nearer than it
was two or three years ago. That
is a welcome" mat for the in
ternational economic conference
opening in Moscow tomorrow.
This conference is intended to
build fire under Western govern
ments to turn them away from
United States leadership and to-
ward the East. for business. It
offers the bait of money to be
made by turning to a vast market
in the East. To increase this lure
the U. S. S. r. must try to con-
vince Western businessmen that
war is not inevitable nor even
likely-and that capitalism and
communism can exist peacefully
side by side.
Stain may have had still
another reason for giving one of
his infrequent announcements to
Westerners just at this time. It
was published less than "a hours
before Gen. Eisenhower's first an
nual report on what the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization has
accomplished during his first year
as its military commander and
what the general believes it still
needs to do. The Kremlinites may
have hoped to take some of the
headline space away from the
NATO record.
In short, there is no reason
4 to assume that Stalin's statement
is real move toward peace.