Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-06-24

creative thinking for the coll
lective movement"
But by Friday the British COM
rades had climbed aboard the pro-
test train. They addressed a state
ment in which they demanded "a
profound Marxist analysis of the
causes of degeneration in the func-
tioning of Soviet democracy and
of party democracy" While
staunchly defending the exposure
of the evils of Stain and his regime
as correct" the British party
chiefs were sharp in their criticism
of the current Moscow leadership
on several counts, including the
ironic one that the Soviet regime
still permitted the death penalty.
Moves Behind the Curtoin
The Communist ferment was not
confined to the non-Communist
West. In East Germany on Thurs
day, the announced "re-examina-
ton" of the cases of thousands of
convicted prisoners resulted in the
unconditional release of more than
10000. Among the freed persons
were SOL members of the Social
Democratic Party, the Red regime
took pains to point out.
simultaneously with the re-
leases, the East German Communist
Partys Central Committee dashed
out at the Minister of Justice, the
notorious RED Hide" Benjamin,
and the chief prosecutor. Ernst
Melsheimer, declaring that they
let themselves be told by out-of-the-
world theoreticians that even a
minor traffic accident was an ex-
preston of an aggravated class
struggle"
There were signs that the justice
shakeup was only prelude to major
changes in the whole East German
legal system. But perhaps most
significant was the party charge
that the state security system had.
in bringing improved charges
against intellectuals and scientific
and technical personnel, checked
Creative endeavor" by causing them
to shun any possible political risk.
Reports from Poland indicated
continuing major reshuffle of the
state security police, with the en-
phasis on an easing Of the prevl-
ously rigid controls.
And in Czechoslovakia students
at the ancient Charles University
and other institutions Of higher
learning escaped the usual dire
penalties for "diversionary activi-
ties" when they demanded drastic
easing of state controls on uni
versity life.
More to Come?
Altogether the Communist orbit
had an exciting week. And there
are strong portents that the i'm
mediate future may be even more
exciting.
Among the party faithful there
were symptoms of serious unrest
in the wake of the leaderships' an
nounced stand on the Stain issue.
In Italy particularly the possibility
of a serious intra-party rift was
strong as such staunch Communist
veterans as Luigi Longo and Pietro
Secchia took dissenting stands on
the Togliatti concurrence in the
downgrading of Stain. The dis
sidents were expected to get sub
stantial support from the Italian
party's rank and file, long devoted
to Stain, whom they called "the
Moustache," as a symbol Of Com
munist strength.
The directorate Of the Italian
Communist Party, meeting in Rome
last week had nothing to say pub
licly about the latest turn Of events.
But the sessions could safely be
described as stormy"
French n-CommuniSt reaction
to the party's statement there was
marked by cynicism and suspicion.
The Communist Party newspaper
"L'Humanite" failed to record any
startling reactions from within the
party, but the nonparty press saw
in the developments a serious loos-
ening in the Kremlin's grip on the
party organization outside the Iron
Curtain.
But the conservative morning
newspaper lie Figaro" saw only
another carefully planned Com
munist double-play. The paper
said wryly that the Communists
had with remarkable discipline
obeyed q call to moderate indisci-
pline."
This Interpretation was tempt
ing to many other close observers
Of the peculiar meanderings of
Communist Party policies. It was