Evening star., 1953-07-01
East German Army
Reported Facing Cut
For Failure in Revolt

9E6LA4N, July 1.-NOLIIL1uIllSb
East Germany today was re-
ported slashing in half its
125 5.0OO-man army which so sig
nally failed to put down the re-
cent workers revolt.
The move appeared designed
to free men and money for the
Reds announced new program
to placate the East Germans
with more consumer goods.
Reporting this fact, the So
eialist-edited West Berlin news
paper Telegraf said over $4,000
Of the Soviet-trained soldiers
would be sent back to industrial
jobs by July Is.
The East Zone army failed dis
mally when it was sent into ac-
ton against the June II revolt.
After Russian armed forces in
tervened to put down the rebel
lion, German soldiers were put
on police duty under. Soviet COM
mand.
Arms Expenses Reduced.
The force repeatedly slated to
be cut in half is the Kasernierte
Volkspolizei (KVP. an organiza-
ton separate from the 100000
man Volkspolizei or peoples po-
-lice). The KVP is completely
militarized and has undergone
infantry training since 1949.
A vast reduction in armament
expenditures had been ordered
by East Zone Premier Otto
Grotewohl's regime on the eve
of the uprising. The cutback ap-
parently will be carried out now,
despite the anti-Communist dis
content still seething in East
Germany.
The newspaper Rude Pravo
said today CzechoSlovakia has
made it a criminal offense for
workers to stay away from their
jobs four times without good
reason.
The newspaper gave details of
a decree issued Monday and
limited that convicted workers
would be given terms in forced
labor camps.
The government in its new
"butter instead of guns" policy
counts on taking the equivalent
of $500 million a year from re-
armament funds and investing
it in workers housing and con-
sumner industries.
Several German soldiers have
been executed and scores SEN
fenced to long prison terms by
Soviet military courts for diSo-
bedience during the revolt. A
total of 467 troops and Red
peoples police deserted to West
Berlin in June-an all-time rec
ord.
Outbreak Reports Continue.
But East Germany still was a
big headache to the Communists
today. amid reports of other
workers outbreaks in Poland
and Czechoslovakia.
The West Berlin newspaper
Nacht-Depesche said Polish
mobs. shouting Free Poland
from communism" were joined
by Communist-officered Polish
militia in clashes with Soviet
Army units in the streets on
June II, when news Of the Ger
man revolt spread. A state cell
lulose factory in KostrZyn (Jues-
trim was burned in the fighting,
the paper said, and a mob de-
molished theater showing
Soviet films in Frankfurt
Dammvorstadt and ripped down
and burned Soviet placards.
The fighting spread to Gorzow,
Krosno, Skwierzyna and Swie-
bodzin, and Chojna, the report
continued. CThe German names
of these places are Landsberg,
Crossen, Schwerin, Schwiebus
and KoenigsbergD
The paper said Farmers also
stormed houses of collective
farm chairmen and killed some
in the Zielenzig- Miedzyrzecz
(Sulecin- -Meseritz) areas, and
partisans dynamited the railway
at several points between Frank
furt-on-Oder and Liebenau.
Food Stores StOrmed.
Nacht-DepeSche, which gave
an East German railway worker
who claimed to be an eyewit-
ness as the source of most of
its information, quoted him as
saying Frankfurt Dammvor
stadt at the height of the riot
was "like boiling witches
brew" with crowds sWarming
into the main squares and
Btorming food stores.
In Czechoslovakia Prague l4ews-
papers and radio admitted that
production in key industries has
dropped critically because of
worker absenteeism and diplo-
mats in Vienna speculated that
workers who clashed with police
H.. Ii ;@A I~ Il