Evening star., 1953-08-18
The KremIin on Germany

Moscow's new note on Germany greatly
strengthens the suspicion that the Kremlin-
despite its so-caled peace" offensive in recent
weekS-haS not changed Soviet policy in any
basic respect since the death of Josef Stalin
Certainly, as far as essentials CO. the line seems
very clearly to be the same old line and as such
it should disenchant anybody who has harbored
the wiShful thought that the Malenkov regime
may really be interested in negotiating good
and enduring settlements with the West.
To begin with, the note-addressed to
France, Britain and the United States-has all
the earmarkS of being primarily propaganda
Salvo designed to hurt Chancellor Konrad Ade-
nauer and the Bonn government in West Ger
many's elections on September g. This inter-
probation of it makes sense because of the
nature of its contents and timing-its delivery
just shortly before the free Germans are to
vote and during Anglo American con-
sultation on how to reply to the Kremlin's
earlier note on the same subject, a double
talking note transmitted fortnight ago.
In this earlier note-drafted in response
to the July IS Western proposal for Big Four
foreign ministers conference to discuss free
elections and other first steps toward Ger
many'S reunifcaton-the men of the Kremlin
gave voice to many antiquities, but they still
meeting. But now, in their latest communica-
ton, they have set forth-in addition to their
usual humbug about aggressive" American
policy-ideas that go far beyond the scope of
negotiations suggested in the July Is invitation.
To put it mildly, this makes it look as though
they have turned down that invitation by coun-
tering with proposals which they have made
deliberately outlandish in order to delay in
definitely any four power get-together on the
German problem.
Thus, instead of accepting the Vests bid
for meeting to discuss first steps, Moscow now
proposes nothing less than the staging, within
six months, of a full-dresS conference to agree
on peace treaty for Germany. To that end,
it further proposes that such things as the fol-
lowing be done meanwhile: Cd That the legiti-
mate West German Republic and the fraudu-
lent East German Red regime Immediately
confer and organize single provisional all
German government; CD that this "gov
ernment" forthwith conduct "free" elections
throughout the now-partitioned country, with
out any four-power or United Nations supervi-
Sions; 90 that it outlaw Germanys partici-
patton in defensive alliances like the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, and 4) that it
have key voice in working out the final defni-
tive settlement for unified Germany.
relieving Germany of reparations and sharply
reducing occupation costs, most of this is fun
damentally the same as the old Stain line, and
it is obviously aimed at putting Chancellor
Adenauer on the spot before next months elec-
tions. It's purpose is to exploit German yearn-
ingS for unification and to win as many voters
as possible to the side of the anti-Adenauer
forces, thus undermining the Western position.
True enough, the counterfeit quality OF the
thing should be apparent to all adult and liter
ate Germans, but still there is danger in it; it
may be effective enough to do real damage.
But this latest Soviet move is important
not only because of its propaganda objective
1t is important also because of what it means
as measure of the KremlinS intentions For
it shows, as the State Department has said,
that those intentions are to prevent genuinely
free elections and to avoid any four-power
meeting designed to pave the way for that es-
Sential precondition of German unifcation. In
the circumstances, the Russian peace" offen-
sive looks phonier than ever, with little or
nothing in it to indicate real change for the
better since the days of S&alin