Evening star., 1955-02-17

military force created. The log.
ical conclusion-and one which
an increasing number Of respon-
sible Germans are reaching-is
that the West must be willing
to pay and pay heavily for any
concessions from the Kremlin.
Troublesome Suspicious.
At the same time. there is q
growing conviction that none OF
the Western allies are really In
terested in German reuniflcation
The suspicion got started at the
time Of the Berlin conferences
last year when. so far as the
Germans could see, neither side
showed any genuine inclination
to bargain realistically with the
other. It has been strengthened
since then by articles in influen-
tial western papers suggesting
that after all. everyone might be
better of if.the status quo-that
is. the permanent division OF
Germany - were accepted all
around.
The Western allies. to be sure,
are still solemnly committed to
the goal of reunifying Germany.
But since none of them has ever
come UP with a realistic means
Of doing 1t, the conviction grows
here that the allies will be con-
tent to wait for some distant.
improbable, happy day when the
Russians by miraculous change
of mind will hand over the east
ern territories Of their own
accord.
For their part, the Germans
are unwilling to wait SO long.
Within a short time after the
country's sovereignty is restored.
the West can expect a German
demand for negotiations. And
this time. if the Germans get
their way. there must be a gen.
uine willingness on the Western
side to bargain.
This Is the heart of the change
that has come over Germany
within the last few months:
Today, In order to reunify Ger
many, a rapidly growing num-
ber of German leaders would be
willing to bargain away virtually
every formal commitment which
the country will undertake in
ratifying the Paris treaties-in-
cluding il necessary, rearma-
ment, German membership in
NATO and the Western union
alliance. Indeed, If they did not
believe that this would happen.
1t seems quite probable that the
treaties would never be ratified
at ALL,
This is not, of course, the
official position of Chancellor
Adenauer's government. It is not
the position either of DR.. Ade-
nauer's Socialist opposition who
argue that the treaties should
never be ratified at all. There is
more than a hint, however, that
If the treaties are finally ratified,
something much more like a
solid German front will be
formed between these two poll
tical extremes. u
Opinions Differ.
Among leaders in Bonn there
are many differences when It
comes t0 dst4ils of what wogz1n
be acceptable br unacceptable.
But fn*a remarkable numbe sdf
cases the broad conclusion Is the
same: 4, Germany would accept
\ position between-and outside
ofNthe major military groups Of
the East and West. Although
the word neutrality" is avoided,
the parallel with Sweden is FREE
1uently suggested. It would ac-
cept limitation on the size of its
armed forces to what would be
needed to insure its own internal
security. It would ask in return
! new kind Of all-European Sc
,urity system in which German
territory would be guaranteed
BY everyone. including the
United States.
Some points are emphasized
strongly. Germany must con-
,inue to be closely bound to the |
West by political and economic |
lies. It would hope to remain a
member of the European Coal |
md Steel Community and would |
Welcome new schemes for the
economic organization Of West |
srn Europe.
Far from amounting to a !
'sell-out" to communism, sup
oorters Of the proposal argue
hat it is the only practical way |
If moving the Iron Curtain 200 |
niles to the east, eliminating
he Communist menace in Ger
many and removing one of the
most dangerous threats to world |
oeace that exists today.
There is always. of course, the
possibility - many think the
probability - that the Commu-
1ists would turn down the pro-
oosal. If SO, it is predicted that
Germany would face up to the
situation and enter wholeheart-
,dly into the Western coalition
by a united people.
Under these conditions, 1t is
out that the Commu-
lists would no longer be able to
'xploit the issue of reunification
o their own advantage and
would be thrown for the first
ime on the psychological de-
ensive. But the offer by the
Vest must be made first.
Such. briefly, are the main
outlines ofthe new German idea.
year ago this idea was pretty
much the exclusive property Of
liehard opposition and a few
adical thinkers on the fringe
+ the German political scene.
Today, it is common talk in all
'olitical parties and is gaining