Evening star., 1955-03-06

" teSeHt WCSNs uSWH9 ot HN
hond the economic. political and
soeioI resureenee Of the Gemon
people.
and asking them over for lunch.
The idea behind the hospitality
is simple: To give the reporters
a clear picture of how German
induStrialiSts feel about things
that are going On today in Ger
many and the world.
In the course of the lunch and
the talk that ranged from Ger
many to Korea and back again,
a few rather clear impressions
of your hosts have also emerged.
Self Confidence Shown.
The first is an impression of
Self-conf1dence. In their quiet
spoken, well-bred way, these men
seem sure of their power, i'm
portance and the rightness of
their opinions. It's no illusion,
either. Much of what Germany
has done since the end of the
war-the swift recovery from
ruin, the growth to a new posi-
ton of power and prestige-has
been due to the will and the en-
ergy of the German industrial
lists.
If the country has been blessed
with a stable government, these
men can claim much of the
credit because of their over
whelming backing of Chancellor
Konrad Adenauer. There is even
a faint note of contempt for
"those politicians down in
Bonn"
IF you want to know the real
Germany" they tell you. You
have to come to Dusseldorf"
In the same spirit, they are
undismayed by the possibility
that DR.. Adenauer might leave
the political scene. Other leaders
can be found, they say. Until
after the war, nobody ever heard
of DR.. Adenauer either. A list
of possible candidates is reeled
off in a casual way. Today there
are no firm favorites, but the
idea is plain: When these rSen
do make up their minds, they
will have a powerful voice in
picking DR.. Adenauer's success
sor.
Undisturbed by New Ideas.
They are equally confident Of
being able to keep Germany on
a steady political track. The dis
turbing new ideas that one hears
about so often don't go very
deep, they say. The great major
ity of Germans are much too
| hard headed and practical to go
aStray.
Opposition to German rearma-
ment, you are told, is combina-
ton of communist propaganda
and political opportunism by the
Socialists and trade unions.
Don't worry too much about
the things you hear young peo-
pie say" says one industrialist.
youngsters are always making a
fuss about something or other.
| The ones who are making most
of the trouble now are the older
ones who remember the war. The
younger ones who will actually
be conscripted in two years will
be different"
/ There is less confidence, how
ever, about another G Germa a n
problem. Each of your hosts be-
lieves firmly in cooperating with
the French. None has much hope
of actually being able to do it.
You gather. in fact, that the
political outlook in France is
worse than you had imagined:
For us, the most disturbing
thought is that Germany might
be surrounded by Communism to
the west as we'll as to the east.
But this is possibility that We
cannot afford to overlook in
planning ahead"
GO-Getting Spirit Seen.
! The second general impression
Of your hosts is one Of carefully
modulated ambition: the kind of
restless dissatisfaction of men
who have done much and who
plan to do great deal more.
It's q go-getting spirit which
shapes their opinions on almost
any given subject. 1t seems to
boil down to the slightly remi-
niscent formula that What's
good for the Ruhr steel industry
is good for Germany"
Viewed from this special per-
spective, number of German
problems resolve themselves into
clear and easy answers. Since
the future lies in close economic
and political ties with the West,
German rearmament is a neces-
sary gesture. An even more i'm
portant task is to preserve a gov
ernment in Bonn with which the
western allies can get along,
which believes in the maximum
OF free enterprise and which re-
lies heavily on the support Of
German big business. The ques-
ton Of German reunification Is
! ....ll a..,aals.