>■■ -'T TW^mWiif^msKm: ip^i^^^^^^r^?^^
:lJ.mi^r^
Zon^i Sound i ,es — ^^
Lander Bouiddr es ■xh ■»_]■« ^^
fDENMAHK
ISch i-iv-rjo^Tk^^ --
=^^=- Kilo" sbP'i io£j
li/a 2<J0
V^.
"A-^
tube^k.
HOLLAND
''2I#^
^
Coiognei
v^>
ftS
<i$>
■*■**,,
Frail kfort
<}?
K3
S^.
X
.S**"^
©1 ^.
I- R A N C E
x
\''i
Munich
>#^W»1
GERMANY'S
NEW NAZIS
PREPARED BY
THE ANGLO-JEWISH ASSOCIATION
WOBURN HOUSE, LO'NDON. W.C.2.
PHILOSOPHICAL LIBRARY
Publishers
1952
15 East Fortieth St.
New York, !6, N.Y.
Fim published in Great Britain
by Jewish Chronicle Publications
in 1951.
Copyright in the U.S.A. and Canada reserved
by The Philosophical Library, Inc.
Copyright elsewhere throughout the world
reserved by Jewish Chronicle Publications.
PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
THE JEWISH CHRONICLE. LTD.
32, FURNIVAL STREET,
LONDON, E.C..1.
Library
University of Texas
Austin, Texas
CONTENTS
fn',uispicce.: SKETCH MAP OF WESTERN GERMANY
I* If II' ACE
( MAIMER
1 WEST GERMANY'S INFANT DEMOCRACY
ir DEMOCRATIC FORCES
III SOCIALIST RIEICH PARTY
IV OTHER EXTREME NATIONALIST GROUPS
V TROJAN I-iORSES
VI ANTISEMITISM
VII DEMOCRATIC COUNTER-ACTION
VllI CONCLUSION
66
vu
^ O ^
PAGE
ix
1
8
14
35
48
55
64
71
PREFACE
MN( 'B the time when the question of German rearmament first
^ lu-gan to be the subject of vigorous controversy, events have
' moved fast and over an extensive field. The Washington and
ir. Declarations of the autumn of 1951 are the culmination of
niMirs of events which seem destined to lead to the integration
f ilir Cicrman Federal Republic into the political military, and
iHnnnic complex of Western Europe.
Wlicn controversy over this question gathered momentum in
spring and early summer of 1951, the Foreign Affairs Com-
iiltlrr of the Anglo- Jewish Association became acutely conscious
|ti (111- paucity of reliable information on the facts of West Germany's
H til Ilia I colour, and especially on the relative importance of the
m\ Nazi groups. It was therefore decided to commission this
iHoUct and thus to give, in a simple but reasonably comprehensive
|t'Mim. the salient aspects of the subject.
Mow stable is the democratic fabric of post-war Germany? To
vvJiiii extent are Germans still permeated with the virus of the
'hiril Reich? What is the significance of neo-Nazi electoral
II ♦ rsses ? Does the creation of the League of German Soldiers
i-ir,ent a danger to the well-being of GeiTnan democracy ? These
It Ml I other questions are discussed in this booklet.
I lie main burden of the work of preparing the booklet was
ili'lrp,ated to a well-known journalist, now foreign correspondent
of II national daily newspaper, who has spent a considerable time
hi (icrmany since the war. It is recognised that some of the
f« .up less ions of opinion are contentious, and it should be pointed
on I I hat they are not necessarily the opinions of the Anglo- Jewish
ANsociation, Inasmuch as the booklet will stimulate discussion and
Hinught on a vitally important subject, it is, however, within the
Irmlitions of the Anglo-Jewish Association to sponsor it.
'I'he Foreign Affairs Committee is indebted to a number of
(leople for their advice and criticism, but would like to express
ix
1
/
special thanfe to Professor Norman Bentvvich, OBE MC
F. Goldschmidt. of the United Restitution Office Mr'n
Goodman, J P Mr. J. M. Japp. Mr. Neville Laski, K.C Mr
Alfri w'" ' ?t ^"' R'='=I'"^«n- Mr. Eric Stenton. and D
Alfred Wiener and the staff of the Wiener Library
Rowland Landman,
Chairman,
Foreign Affairs Committee, A. J. A
CHAPTER I
WlSl' GERMANY'S INFANT DEMOCRACY
w
\ P)45 twelve years of Nazi rule had destroyed the multitudi-
iiiHis political, professional, religious, artistic, recreational,
liid other group social threads, out of which the democratic
mT a country is woven. In their place a national structure,
MHtiutM'd of individuals torn from normal group relationships and
iKtli Lilly fused into one single national-ideological body, had been
Wi\, When that body crumbled to dust before the might of the
ttiKril Nations, the German public, as a political entity, was — so
t hpcak — atomised. Each person was thrown back on his own
lidlvukial resources, without the reinforcement of any group
■ ■ lititv Painfully and hesitantly the Germans have since been
. Ml-, 10 weave the threads of democratic life anew.
What is now the democracy of Western Germany was born in
1^' mhble» hunger, and bewilderment of a defeated nation. This
Ht I mm auspicious birth was made the more difficult by the fact
Dull I lie greater part of administrative and technical expertise on
W'liH'li a State must rely in order to govern was compromised by
tt/i affiliations. While a rough-and-ready attempt was made,
h rough the de-Nazification Tribunals, to sift the true Nazi from
\\w ordinary run of willy-nilly fellow-travellers, the Occupation
powers to some extent filled the gap with their own personnel.
An soon as possible, however, a growing amount of administra-
tive responsibility was put into German hands. As the months went
fiv ihis was done at an increasing rate, which made correspondingly
Ui ruler demands on qualified Germans. Thus, it was inevitable for
Itu* de-Nazification process to become more and more a bad joke,
wlH'lher the fact was welcomed by German public opinion or not
The result has been that the functionaries of the new Germany are,
III \oo many cases, uncertain in their loyalty to democratic ways.
I'his somewhat unstable political institution was, from the very
(1fs(, subjected to a series of tremendous strains. All the victorious
jinvvers were unanimous about the necessity for a democrafic
1
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
on the part of one of them, involved the buUdk
up of a monolithic one-party State in the Eastern 7 "'" """^TJ'*' '"^"''i^' ^'^^i the subject of constant argument.
'Sl^l^mT'"'''''' ^PP^"dages of totalitarian CoZUsfrll* ' '" ' """' "°"'' °* *' ^"'"''"' '' '^''^''^ '*'"
Hiuuaing tuu per cent subservience
WEST GERMANY'S INFANT BEMOCRACY
II- between the Land and the Federal Republic is obscure,
an
tlv
great and small. Even the Western Ak!^°a-7 !." '" 1""'*'°
.sues regarding the sJrl:^^:^^^ TeH
a different demoeratic gospel TtatHfte' Oc Sofzonl
Sm=rret~fr~^^^
the title of "democrat" Ke Eas ern^Zone"' '"f '''°" '°
With the rales reversed, was^'beinrdTveS ^^'^ "'""^
cynicism by the Russians.
a consciou
democracyhad not developed into a sickly child
have been surprising if Germai
'\ "li'^r"^-'.""" "^' ucvciopea into a sickly chi
\ What, in fact, is its state of health to-day
At tliis point
settin*:
THE GERMAN FEDERAL REPUBLIC
The Republic of Western Germany is a fedfr.iu.r. ^ ,
amt^uous status. It is not a I.nd, ^^^ ^^ ^
economic control within its own territSi ^o"-derable
itselfw^s^X^runTil^Sli-a^ifthl^^^ "^^ ^^^""'^
tiona, Control had compleS? b^otnto^n^ i.To"^^^^^^^^^
always, and police forces for special duties (.1 Sir contS
It raises vanous taxes (including income tax), and in ma "y fleldS
Republic is elected directly on a limited
I ol [iroportional representation for four years. The Upper
- (l-ederal Council) consists of representatives directly
-11 led by the Lander Governments — usually the Land Prime
I -it-r and some of his colleagues. It meets relatively much less
.1. .n I lie Lower House, its assent is necessary for all laws, and its
^tmiion is to safeguard the rights of the Lander. Its opposition
I" (M. Adenauer's well-known jcentralising tendencies has been
I'lrsscd in the selection of its Presidents. The first was Karl
I :^-'ld, of North Rhine Westphalia, who opposes Adenauer inside
ii. < hristian Democrat Party.
I he Basic Law (which serves as the Federal Constitution) has
Ml mid to produce a stable government. It has concentrated;*
I mi'.idcrable power in the hands of the Chancellor (or Federal
l»nmr Minister). He is appointed on a vote of the Lower House J
Htnl I hereafter he forms his government as seems fit to him. \
This has the effect, at any rate by Adenauer's interpretation,
mI making him an autocrat who runs a cabinet of lieutenants.
( nllrctive cabinet responsibility has little meaning in the Federal
Ucjuiblic. To call the government "Dr. Adenauer's adrainistra-
litMi " is literally true.
( onsidering the difficulties which attended its birth the Federal
( nnstitution has not worked badly. The Germans, of course, have
jilL'ilt experience of the federal form of government; even Hitler
never quite succeeding in abolishing the remnants of local self-
fHU'crnment.
At present, however, a large number of Germans (both Right
uml Left) believe that the federation is too loose. Centralism is not
necessarily a danger in itself. Although Hitler was a great centraliser,
he rose as a local leader and his new disciples also seem to thrive
I Ml localised politics. Excessive federalism creates bridgeheads
where nationalist fanatics can consolidate themselves before
rxpanding their activities from the local to the national scale.
DEMOCRATIC PARTIES
Although slightly less strong in the Federal Parliament (elected
Ml 1949) the Social Democratic Party of Germany is almost
■tainly the strongest party in the country to-day.
3
.1^
-o
10
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
Socialists strondy oppose the ri" ''?'''■ ^" ''^^ G^™'!
true exponents ^fSL ^ST"''' '^™ ^° ''^ *« -'
the _ Welfare State coSr^^^t'!; "'^ '' ^"""^'' "^ ^^
.wooers' participation in tS di.'ln^^^" '"' *^'"''"*
Jion of the basic industries ^'''■^* ^"^ nationaiis
n^inld'oStn^slL^rn i,'f ^^^^^^^ ''^"^ '^ ^ ""-h -o- detd
This it ow% -r ™ Itatr^SrSdir D ^^ ^^^"'"^
-a man of iron will wJio grew Vn h ^ ''• ^"" Schumach
as a Sociaiist tiaat cO^^E with thT" k? '" ^-J^ ^^^^^'^^
srirr-s'-Lrr^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
WEST GERMANY'S INFANT DEMOCRACY
The^strongest pany, however, in the present Federal Parliam;
is actually
:oSLT"ri"-^'TP^^'-i'¥«7::^r,
t-omoinafion of the North German rhr;. ■ ^ actually . H„i„iu,iny under the Guelf royal family.
and the Bavarian Christian Social Uninn Th" P^'"°^rat''= Unio |„„.„,| and, outside the boundaries of th
from the former only in-T. h^.f ^^^ '^"^^ S™"P diffei
for the Under ^"* '" * ^-"^^'^^ ''^B^ee of freedo.
a Right win
two
two wings work uneasily together the T Vf tT ■ --^^P^aiia. ih
the minimum State control
' -^'zsz::^'t;:^'f^^ '-- -^^^^ ^^^^
Germany, and the Conserva"v CatMics JT""-' l" ^^"'^^
Catholic influence predominate, .T 7 ^^^^''^- ^" **" 'N
the Protestant ^e££ZS :'^,::^ ^^"^^^<>^ ]
who could nnf .r.... „.:.^ . , ^ -intenor, Herr Hememann
agree with Adenauer
over the
could not
remilitarisation. ^"""" '"'"''^ ^"^ question
large, the party do s what he ll s iralti:^ ^hT"" ^"'^- ''^ ^^
on which all sections agree It fAril ? *''' "^ *^^ '^^"«^
it. uncompronaisingly c^seLre eT^nS^i :^£r ''^ ^^'
It was Dr. Adenauer who decided in S^^^L coalition
pai^ iIm Hij'ht, and abandon the classic Socialist-Christian Democrat
i u.Mi pattern of the Lander.
r I lose as his first partner the Free Democrat Party, led by
■ liliiccher and Theodor Heuss. T)nginally71h'erparty^-strong
• iiiiiil Germany— had been secular, liberal, and free-enterprise
M |H)Iicy. Since Professor Heuss became Federal President his
I. (.iiing influence has been withdrawn, and tjie party has moved
H I iciiLly to the Right. It can now, with little exaggeration, be
.11 .1 A nationalist-inclined party, representing the viewpoint of
iniiialists and well-to-do professional people. In some parts of
Ml I. my it has become a convenient cover for nationalist activities
nil a more suspect flavour,
Ht. Adenauer's other partner is the even more conservative,
■ iilcrprise German Party. This party has little power outside]
1 Saxony, where it appealed to conservative separatists who
>>■ vr. in theory at any rate, that there should be Hanoverian
Its appeal is therefore
e old State of Hanover,
ti I', regarded as rather comic. Nevertheless, it has served as a
II.. 1 1ll rallying point for less sentimental and tradition-ridden
ihi Ik nudists. It will be seen that the German Party has provided a| '.
M . lul cover for nationalists, though by now that sort of support!
"ill JKLve found more congenial parties to vote for.
A SOVEREIGN STATE?
Suice 1945 the German authorities — both Federal and Land—
Imvr been gradually vested with an increasing amount of administra-
M^ responsibility. However, the Allies still retained a wide
.1. Mction through the so-called "reserved powers" exercised by
ihr High Commissioners. At many levels of the administrative
,(tucture correspondence has been exchanged between German
tillicials and those of the Allied High Commissioners' offices on
.|HTilic issues; and though the Allies have become increasingly
irluctant to exercise their powers actively, those powers remain, at
.niv rate in theory, a potential restraint on the exercise of undisputed
..vcreignty by the Federal Government.
Needless to say, Germans of various political persuasions, Left
(Hul Right, have repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction at this
Mate of affairs, and have argued that Bonn should be released
liom such restriction. The answer of Western opinion hitherto
5
I
t
GEHMANY'S NEW NAZIS
can be roughly summed up as follows • " Yn„ n..
your passage home We n«fp vr, ' Germans are work
understanding. Bui w 7"J17""" T T*""' '^"^^''^^y
happened in the la/tihttnvearswe". '''" '' ^" *^^
that German democrarv t 1 ^^ "°* ^^^ ^"'i^'^Jy satisl
-ake it safe fo nrtoliv 11'' "®T*'^ ^'^"^ °^ -^'"«
analysis, Germany remZn ''''.''''' P°*'^^ "?'" ^'^ ^e 1
irritating thZ suTrL°r "^''' f '""^ '^"-"'^-^ ^"^ «
Germanl thefhad „ staC 2 "^?°"'I"''^ ^^^ '"' ™
could muster *' P'" *'* ^"'^^ S^ace as
noZ Z'Xi:rTtXt ''' ^^^^'°P^^ -' of the ebb ,
the Nor h At] ntilw '"'"^'^ "P of the defence meastu-esl
western Powers by tS Sal^^ f ^^^7^^^^^^ '
troops being rais^an^d^ ^ip^^fSfdlLr ^fw^^^ "^ ^/"^
V ' ^^^' ™i^h announced the intentinn nf th^ ait
Republic was to be revoked, and the Allied Hkh rnm^
the offlce"; nf thp T ,n^ ^ . . ^"'=" nign Commission ar
.atther^otrrrS--^^^
r^^Tnd'^ScSTntt^^^^^^^
to retain ''°"""°" '"*'''«t of the four Stat»
At the time of going to press (December. 1951) negotiation, n
various matters of detaU are still in progress ThZ^nTT u
extremely important question of restituTon o Ae I'M ' '^
suffered at Gennany's hands during ^^TZl ^ *« T^X
WCST GERMANY'S INFANT DEMOCRACY
■' pl.iLi'il persons and the pi'ogramme of decartelisation of
. HI intlustry. On broad issues, however, agreement is reported
r hrcn reached. The only powers which the Allies will reserve
iiM jiisrivcs are those connected with questions affecdng a future
■ lit VI' Peace Treaty — i.e., relations with Russia, issues affecting
, luv as a whole (East and West) and, finally, factors involving
. iitily of the Allied forces. The Allies have even abdicated
. ilu' exclusive control of German armaments production. At
u.l 111' October the State of War between the United States and
MMiiy was ofhcialiy declared by Washington to be at an end.
\n 111 lure, therefore, the democratic Powers will be represented
"''■nil by diplomatic representatives with little legal power to
I .V in German affairs except by the consent of the Bonn
iniucnt. The presence of Allied troops on German soil would,
. imc, make possible the ultimate sanction of force, if the
<jM«-iii.il situation deteriorated sufficiently for this to be necessary.
tthi j-ain, considering that it is the Allies who are doing the wooing,
.,»(• h iiii eventuality can be safely discounted, and the bald fact
n-l that whether or not Western opinion is satisfied on the
^.iiluy of West German democracy, the Federal Republic will
mIv in a large measure assume all the rights^and duties— of a
n-iiiii. independent democratic State.
r
CHAPTER II
DEMOCRATIC FORCES
DEMOCRATIC FORCES
S
UCH is the child which the Western p„
launch in the great wide world ""'
s are now about
democracy Wke good7"rZ°",^^T"- '^'" ^^^ Gerna
making for optimism S i. '^ *"' "^ ^°«d el<="ie,
examimng the threat ;ftrpo:l:ar'X;r' '" '^""'^^^ ''^^J
rebuilt from scratch ince S "^r 7 ' *'''' ""'"" "^^^^^
of the late Dr. BoecklerIrS p vi "' ^'^'^ *" '^e personal
Federation, and pSy ^ t defeS"' °' "' °^™^" ^rade uj
nouor^eatthfmi^-^^
Federation, and
x—^-j .^ uic ueierminati
■e mistakes of Weimar. Boeckler, a silversmith
at the age of 70 heTaS f ° ^T' ^^'^ «'«-'^ ^^^^"^^
been destroyed in ,933 sl/"'"-"^ *^ '"°^^"'-' which h
the heavy industries emersS T. "'"^^ ""'°"''' ""^t'y based
The T ad o„ ^.SS'^'^::r,t^S''''^ "''
iJ"e^:.=rard^^:^^^^^
am
error of earlii
German fr.H^ '"'"^ -^ ^''''^'^^^ ^^^ fundamental
Communist; and other oaSr^ 1 T°'''- ^^'^°^^' S°"alist, aa
in the field. P'""'' '"''"'^'■'g t^e Nazis, were also acti'
a S^Ti::::^:':^. -^^'though Boeckler
has remained independent of the
two major partie
-Christian Democrats and -T ■
unionists in them SSdteChiS^^^ "T' '^'^ '-^'
its strength from Cafhnii^ ™e Christian Democrat Left wing derivj
Democra%rirSt of^No^i^R^^^^ ^™°"^' ^^^^
unionist and CathoUc ) ^'"' ^^^tphalia. is both trad
brinI£Eers"S;rnthi!?T?™^" ^^^'^^ ""-- wa
Ever since the First 'worSt rf""^ '" *' ''^'"''^ »°°^^'
world War German trade unionists ha(
I of controlling the savage forces of German heavy industry
fi Hill King workers' representatives to the boards of directors.
itH-ain came true when the British Occupation authorities,
it)|' ilie Ruhr coal and steel industries, gave German workers
* ■pivscntation with management in running the coal, iron,
<•! industry.
iH-isistent argument, by pressure through Christian Democrat
-iiiionists on the Federal Government, and finally by the
I ■< t*l a coal and steel strike, the unions under Boeckler's
' ' hip forced Dr. Adenauer to confirm Allied practice in a
I I.lIw. Workers* co-partnership is now safeguarded for the
111 coal and steel Boeckler intended that the principle should
I' luled to the other main industries, and it probably will,
lliHiirJi he has not hved to see it
\ >tii' of the reasons for believing in the fundamental good sense
III dniiocratic convictions of the average German trade unionist
iiH ihc way the struggle for co-partnership was waged. There had
III h>50 been no important strike about wages or conditions.
!icn the coal and steel workers were asked whether they
-I i :;trike in order to preserve their right to see that industrial
" was not abused for political ends (for that is the root of the
!!' lor co-partnership) 98 per cent of them replied: *' Yes.'l
■ ' vigorous decision so startled their opponents (mainly in the
I )cmocrat Party) that there was little more argument.
i 'i ) partnership was accepted; and there was no strike. In brief
(m hade unions are a remarkably stabilising influence in the
!■ i.il Repubhc, They are more powerful than under the Weimar
" (luhiic. Their experience is now wider and their determination to
it*)H Nazism greater.
( icorg Reuter, Deputy Chairman of the Deutsche Gewerk-
^^t tuilish'imd (German T.U.C.), recently attacked the new Nazis,
ho-.c danger and significance will be described later. He said :
. . that trade union leaders had told the Chancellor : " if these
hobgoblins are not done away with we shall take action. We did
not build up our workshops and cities again to .see them sacrificed
mice more to the insanity of people like that." The Chancellor
Lould rely on the trade unions, but they would also keep a wary eye
on the Government's attitude towards these people. (Reported in
I he Wiener Library Survey of German and Austrian Press.)
I he robust reaction of the leaders towards the Nazi threat is
'iii'ulleled in the action taken by the members. Trade unionists
^i I
OERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
\ have consistently opposed meetings aiveii bv neo Na.i n..r
I may be easy to disapprove of thd/action whieh often I II
c uie: elT; '"' *''^'^^— y would not suffer ^o^^ f
acquiesced. We cannot blame them if they are determined m
untist' ::T ;' *: ^"^'""^ ~'- of G™
unionists, by according democratic good manners tn onn,„
em™ered""iH*^ 'T ™-- ^^ "eroerac . For '.7
remembered the trade unionists of the Weima
frequently blamed for the debacle of 1933.
ir Republic
DEMOCRATIC FORCES
«"iy of the Third .Reich— not to think of the fight against
■( as a prime need in the present situation. Nevertheless,
I H. ic, extreme embarrassment at the East- West split, the
.n,.|u:il Church has put a great deal of effort into its work.
" nl,ii[y in recalling the attention of its members to the evil
n.il. I's Germany.
.■ry encouraging facet of the churches' work is to be found
"lictics for Christian-Jewish co-operation. They exist mainly
.i^ \tncrican Zone as a result of the initiative of General Clay
■ < ii.S. Governor). These Protestant-Catholic-Jewish associa-
-• li.ivc set themselves the task of overcoming racial and religious
! I mcc through all the media at their disposal. They were
it under the guidance of an American minister Carl Zietlow,
ii'>sc tremendous energy they owe much of their success.
e^ments among the Christia„-SoS'"S^; rpli^:
i-tinct that they tip the scales a^ainTt ; p logLrS'^f
party which is firmly grounded in the CathoIicCrking 2s 1
trade unions and the best elements of the Catholic ofurch '
Rhine and Ruhr valleys-these are ballasr
Democrats, keeping it fundamentally democratic in spite of s<
dangerous vote-catching political manoeuvres
Many of the first Lander governments 'elected after the
were coalitions between the Christian Democrats and aI.;.. .
and in those days divisions were not sharp
,^ '^^^" *e nation„, .^uo
parties Dr. Schumacher and Dr. Adenauer m.Z ,
^rt s^vrrr • ^^ -^^ ^- ^- ^- ^
tragedy for the federal Republic, for Dr. Adenauer, m order
form hrs government, found questionable allies on hi Rirht
powerful coalitions of moderate conservatives and d moVr
socialists seem to be things of the past. This is a clear c^^
democratic disunity; and, as will be Lwn later the ex' Nazi
extreme nationalists have taken advantage of it
The third force which should be solialy behind democracy
the churches and religious organisations. Unfortunately altho
they have done much good work, it has been marred bvkn.
I and, above all, there has been a tendency-.-surpS ^ S
10
(i.ms and Jews in Britain may be inclined to wonder whether
Kiiewhat spirited transatlantic flavour of some of the activities
" (ly applicable to German needs. Tn fact, Germans in the
i' in Zone have shown a marked tendency to absorb American
'■I', and outlook. They will probably adapt this form of
■ ns-civic co-operation to their own requirements, and the
-D , - -w ^.ijujwi mm ' should be of great benefit to the strengthening of the
.Ji;!„ I i^.^^r^^^^^ „^^*^. ^^"^^t t^ the ChrijHu.Hiatic fibre of Western Germany.
I lie fourth factor is the press. Here Allied policy has, broadly
' ii iiig, justified itself. After 1945 new papers were created, and
iiups of journahsts trained who, now that they have complete
ilHmial freedom, have maintained a fairly sound democratic
deep Dersonal int • u — """ ^-^«iy. By 1949, howe: Hlttide. As with all other sides of life there have been lapses. There
«.X. ^/';^f^gonism between the national leaders of the f- -I'U) been a good deal of intellectual confusion, while new
I ■ . of extremely suspect origins and policy are beginning to
l^jK .ir. But on straight issues like the re-emergence of Nazi political
. n\ ilics the major German papers have shown up well. A few
u(n I., have stood out like beacons above the others in their relent-
r, insistence that every political question must be judged on
III* basis of whether it helps or hinders the growth of German
(nil DC racy. Notably there are the Lett-wing Frankfurter Rundschau,
he Lonservative Die Zeit, the American-licensed Neue Zeitung, and
lu' Siiddeutsche Zeitung. Among periodicals the outstanding ones
II • I he Frankfurter Hefte, Die Gegenwart, and the Deutsche
(iuinlschau.
The fifth force for democracy is the whole apparatus of
n
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
lack of "£ aSLrjTwr """.'"''^^ ^'"^y - --
ex-Nazis and Nazfs7mpatS'Lf bT '° T'' ''^"^e"
reappeared in the umverSes schoolmasters
WeLTGe'r;r:;r„oTaVt^: "'^^ *^ ^^-«-' =^--
It is always hard to conl^I S ""'"' '""'"^ «« democr
methods Of den,;; 7a"e £71^'^ *^' '^-^ *™' ^^ '
impossible. Observers do not feel thattr"' " ''^"^ "^"
//strls leaving school and young peol ,1 "'T"' °^ ''°>'^
/ actually antagonistic to democracy But rt' ** ""-«--sities
/ ". and this .ust be accountrdTn^ralr^S/-*'*-'^
-firsiffo^xin''^?^^^^
the experience of 933 behTnH •" "'''' '^' groups, and «
young people 4ht L sfn^^ar H '' "°' ''"''="" '° ^^*^ ^"^ ^h
a revived Nazi Partv ZT "reumstances, easily swing over
however dis cteJ by o'te Zt '"' "?'' *= °^""^" ^"«'««'
once. Some good starts i ',,.'1'°"'^ ""' ^"^^'^'^ '° '^'^kle
instance, a small b ok issu d r'thefH ^T ''"''■ ^""''^ ''' '
for study in the ton forn^lf f "^"''"'^ "'^°°^ ^"*oriti
leaving Lsent^ti^^i ^^tS ^^f ^^^ ^-" ^
In an effective wav throimh ^i ^''^ ^'■^^' ^essag
great works of IhStureSlk r"''/°"?' ""'^ ^"°*^"°°^ ^
to preserve peace estrb'fde^^ ''' *'* *^'^ ""J^' """^t
tolerance. sfncet^ly^p'S^ed ITtKch: s '^^ *^ ^^"^^
work. It cannot be said, however that Gert ? '' ^" '"™'"^'
are doing anything like sufficTent on th^s eTes ^=*"°" ^"*°"*
n^eXlXret; f^rSe^^ - ^r ^ ^^ that severi
devoted democrats Th^ LT f Republic are sincere anj
Federal PresideTprlftorTheoS T °'"°"^ '^^^'"P'^ '^ '
/ fullest sense of the word J^^ ^T'' ^" '' ^ «''^«I *" «
the word soo, g;nui:e^;';p;t °"H?has ?" "" "^" '° ^^°-
active sponsor of the work If tb. ' '"''^"'='' '^^°"« ^
co-operation and hf LTutul o r95TT„ t '^''^'^"-'^™
Jewish New Year, joined with Dr. Aden Lr and 0^?^ °' ^'
.n sending greetings to German Jew/^ p^e Vsth t
Library
Univeriity of Texas
Austin, Texas
DEMOCRATIC FORCES
111 I lie faith of the average German for the new and still
lull [infamiliar pattern of democratic government.
1 1 I"* iliis average German who, in the mass, makes up the j
i(r*Htv which votes for the democratic parties. He is the basis
*!.■ ii.uJc unions and the churches. Often muddled, he wants to
I M ilist but fears the East; he wants liberty but fears it may ,
- '-oiiomic hardship; and, finally, he wants the best for his
-in hilt cannot choose between the multitude of remedies
1 Sometimes when things are hard, he has a tendency to
I' democracy with inflation and depression, and when it is
-H.d that Weimar democracy saw the mark inflate beyond
Mij.n-liension and unemployment bring Germany almost to a
M.-i (ill, this tendency must be counted among the major
^1 in /.cs of the attempt to build democracy anew. Post-1945
= i.uy, moreover, has made heavy headway against the
i HIS of unemployment and refugees, while the chronic housing
I iii;skes life a nightmare for many in the bombed cities.
1 1 1. 1 1 so many Germans, on the other hand, do appreciate that
■ racy in their country has always had to clear up the chaos \
" '1 by bouts of aggression and that it is the last bout which
. juvusible for the present troubles is clearly a hopeful sign.
ifheless, so long as the housing shortage, the high cost of
Ml (he fear of losing one's job, the bisection of Germany into
' -iiiinunist East and a democratic West with its attendant refugee
i I ins, and the nagging fear of war continue, faith in democratic
- must always be subject to dangerous strains and open to
iK I mining on the part of the new Nazis,
660783
s
CHAPTER Ur
THE SOCIALIST REICH PARTY
revival ot Nazi and near-Nazi groups is the Merest siJ
. n.a.ff ^'Jm'''"^ ^^^* «^™«"y'^ democracy of thLe
^most formidable is the Socialist Reicf: Party y'°*"i^^'^
J fie Socialist Reich Party is one nf .i,»
democralic counter ttafktoulH "'^"''- ^" "^'^ ^^^^°" '
yet at the same tii^tsht^M 1 elStrr^tre'^^'^
extreme nationalist organisation, whicl, "''' '^'"'^ °'
be just as dangerous.
may prove ultimately
THE LOWER SAXONY Etl-CTIONS, MAY 195
after the First World War Hitfer had
comparison be^we;; th sicLiirRei'^P '"' '^' ^^"='^^'^^-
;« National Socialist ^ST^^S^l:^ ''"' '"^^
because when the Federal Parliament Electionrwere held „
^votes. Ten
only three
years
per cent
per cent of
gainl
and those
not possibi
94!
l:Z:'T'''' Pany had not yet been founded.
OeiiSc<5E..rse^2irtr :• ^--^^-"C.rist,
It stretches from G5tdngen i" ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^oj
tl^e north; from the Dutch S^^^ntt ''" '"^ ^"^^^"
±^. Ltineburg in the east. The cStai " u ^"'' '' ^^""^^^^^ ^"
^ j poorest Lander in Germany hi. ""^ 7''*' '' '' "^^ ^^ ^^
. .If"!: ..^''"^..^ .^^S^^ proportion of Ea
an
ann Goerin
German refugees and what has been cM^ciT
fin Western Germany, cenS.ZthefT^''^''''''^'''
Iron and Steel Works at sSw . '/°™*^ H^^^nn Goerin
worked by small, predom£mIv r "■ v '°"'' *^ countryside ,
the peasant Mdi„rare Tc^Lt, a^d T""'^" '" *^ "°«"
-testant. On the Wur/LSUf ^ -^t Si
mii SOCIALIST REICH PARTY
% In Western Germany. It was here, in the flat, Protestant
<rtt (hr the Socialist Reich Party campaigned hardest and
niM'.i The party won most votes in an area where a higher
iImii itl (he arable land is held by large farms than anywhere
Wr'.irrii Ocrmany. It did best among the richer peasants and'^
Ihrrc is no evidence that it received any considerable
iiMii of ilic refugees* votes, most of whom appear to have
' '1 (he Refugee Party (B.H.E.), which won 16 per cent
♦ ". Mtirs cast. In Salzgitter* a working-class area of economic
t ■ Uiw and higher unemployment, the combined Right-wing'
i W iiirI the Socialist candidate had a comfortable majority.
Mi> •.iiiinlist Reich Party obviously did not have the confidence
I I A' < \\\v [lumber of refugees or unemployed industrial workers.
' II rnllccted peasant votes in an historically reactionary area,|
ihrni from the orthodox conservative parties which form
< .1111 Coalition. The peasants in Lower Saxony, as elsewhere j
.niiiny, fared very well under the Nazis, who treated them a?
■ .iri'rd caste. Their good fortune continued after the collapse.
ii !<)45-48 widespread hunger and a practically worthless
■ V y.iwc the peasants an opportunity to drain the towns of
' in:iining wealth. The townspeople brought jewels, furniture,
Mii <liilhcs to exchange for food which only the peasants, albeit
|j»'t<iilh. i-Duld provide. It was the period when, according to the
itit) I liiiinour of the townspeople, there were Persian carpets in
lir I II I". IK'S. Bleaker times began for the peasants in 1948 when the
Mihiiiv was revalued. The new dollar-backed deutschemark was
ri.ihlc currency to food producers outside Germany, particu-
lih 111 Holland and Denmark,
I'rirouraged by the liberal economic policy of the Bonn
( iihriiiiiicnt, foreign food began to How into Western Germany.
I hi inwiispeople, at last able to pick and choose, turned towards
1 1- upcrior foreign products, and the peasant, for the first
inn III \5 years, found himself exposed to competition. His
uituical holdings and inefficient methods penalised him in
ill. Mijiipetition with Dutch and Danish producers. His anger is.'
.hu'tiril against the free-enterprise conservatives in Bonn (thej
{ hriNlian Democrats, the Free Democrats, and the German Party)!
\k\u* Irl in cold air from the world market. They lost the peasant*s
The Socialist Reich Party picked it up by promising protection
n|.'
(I.I
end to the American-type liberalism of Bonn.
15
THE SOCIALIST REICH PARTY
i hi* Uurnvs on the opposite page show that the only marked
MP im (lie I .eft in the May, 1951, elections was a proportionately
IN for (he small group of Communists. The Socialists and
^'.ilholics of the Centre Party suffered little change. On
Mil- (wo newcomers, the Refugee B.H.E, and the Neo-
' ili'.l Reich Party made considerable gains. The losers were
n.,iui ( \):iliiion partners, the Christian Democrats and the Ger-
I I'jiKv (strongly conservative with a dash of Hanoverian
-1). The third Bonn partner, the Free Democrats (F.D.P.),
• .lij'Jitly over its 1949 figures after a highly nationalist
, ■ H on an independent ticket. The German Reich Party
'live ultra-nationalist), which sent five members to the
I r.iiliament in 1949, lost heavily, its votes going to the more
»l II I id more Right-wing Socialist Reich Party.
'!.'a-ivcrs report that the campaign was notable for the highly
LMithsiic tone of all the campaigning parties. Of the moderate
i\.uivc Bonn Coalition parties, only the one which dissociated
In mi the democratic principles of the Federal Capital— the
I k'lnocrats — held its ground. For the rest the Right-wing votes '
^\'rr Naxony went looking for more and more nationalism and
1 .1 growing preference for neo-Nazi socialism as against free
rM-,c conservatism. Great numbers of refugees have founded
I IV appealing specifically to them— the B.H.E. — though its
' is still unclear. The big peasants of Luneberg Heath — good
I Hi the Third Reich and the finest N.CO.s in the German
t\ liave taken out an option on the newest and most radical I
»' f- roups claiming to carry on where Hitler left off— the Socialist
1 I'arty,
THE LEADERS OF THE SOCIALIST KEICH PARTY
A", will be shown, examining statements of this party's policy I
U u roil fusing business. A better idea of its outlook is gained by I
tlf t i-xaraining its leaders. They were all Nazis and none of them|
« .hamed of the fact
(ftto Ernst Remer (39),
H rnier is the second Chairman and feature orator of the party —
lite noise of the S.R.P. but not its brain (Picture Post, 16.6,51). He
t^ M (all man with a fanatical expression who moulds his oratory
Mil Hitler, but has a curious resemblance to Goebbels.
17
GERMANVS NEW NAZIS
He appears IITLTX Z IT"' '' ''^ ''""" ^^™
its fringes When he hTLTl T. conspiracy, though only
the attLpe he out the n. 1 ''""'''' *"^ "^'^^^ ^ad survV
arrested many of h re^^ , ''! """' '''"'" '"''' ^-«'
'subsequently Lturedt.Hrf '?^'" ^'"°^' "^ ^"o"' «'
fenatic^ut reltl: et te^toT" "t,^ '"'"'"^^ ^^
deserted his division on he RiveTVlh \l ' '" ^'^ ^"'^
civilian clothes, and fled west^o . h '" ^"^^ ^^^^- §«* '■
Renier then spent two veTr' o "'P'"'" ^^^ "^^ R"^-^i=i
[After he emerged a German d" ' -f "''" P^^^^^-of-war can
'all political acfivit'v P ? denazification tribunal forbade
in helping to found ^^11, "'°'"'"' "P"^ ''"^ ^^ "ecame acti
of IndU^enSmlnstSLT'^'^" ""^' ^^ ^^^^
He was discovered by Dr. Fritz Dork „*
of the Federal Parliament. beloSn^to Ihe e.^' " ' "'"^
nattonalist German Reich Party mRP Hi =™^^^^«ivl
Remer was one of »he tlvn„ {• \ •'^■*^-^- His association wit
from the G.^:n Kl^7:.Tt:T\'''''': '" '^ ^"P^"'
founded .oon afterwaS "^''''"'^ ^^''^'^ P'-'«>' ''^^
. On May 26, 1951. Remer was sentenced f. f
•mprisonment for libelling Federal MinTster He T .™""'*
was not till seven months laf^r th J f""'^"''^-'' He appealed, and
m August a Lower Saxtyclt±^^ ''^ '"^^'^ ^'^ ^^'-^
the Land. Similar bans ZtTotS'Jn''^^^^ ''''' ^"^'^^'^^^ "
Remer's significance for the SocL, 1 .T"^''
.dentific the party beyond doubt as he nIZ ^'''' " *^' "
parties claim to want to reviv. L! successor. Othe
Remer is the man wl -acrdintf '"v"'^'"'^ "' ^^^■^'"- b'
National Sociahsm ft° ,h "rS 3°' ^f T '^?'"-">'--e
Violence and political' nj^ ab^t ^^T^ ^^^ Z
THE SOCIALIST REICH PARTY
• mil a iigure to reactionary ex-soldiers of the present
I 'I I in 11 as were Heines, Rossbach, and other members of
jh( ^iroups like the Vehme were in Weimar days and who, a
HthMii ago, were among the earliest supporters of Hitler. Remer
ihr vote of the 100 per cent unrepentant Nazis.
nt I lit:. Doris {41).
Ml I >c)rls is the nominal leader of the SociaUst Reich Party |
jinin window dressing. Has a long, gloomy face, patent
-pionis of an inferiority complex (Robert Kee in Picture Post,
" ^l). and an incurable passion for intrigue.
II. iMJned the Nazi Party in 1929, and in the same year
— .Jully applied for membership of the S.S.— at that time a
H I nil 11 lively small uniformed bodyguard for Hitler. But already
uuald'active characteristics had come to light and — surprisingly \
■ a^Ji ihey made him unacceptable to the S.S. He remained a'
-. .nlii-i of the Nazi Party, however, lecturing at the Institute fori
' -iv Indoctrination and Training, until he was expelled (the date;
'«*ii"tM'tain) for intriguing inside the party. Doris himself describes |
lie ii" years of his life as occupied with farming and writing.
Ufiniuiti Parliamentary Handbook, 1949.)
Hr; expulsion from the Nazi Party was a blessing in disguise
i -. Inm, since it enabled him to get off fairly lightly after 1945.
H after the war he became a leader-writer on a Christian
I 'i tiKuiat paper in Lower Saxony. It was not long, however, before
li. b-jMii intriguing again, this time with the National Bolshevik
<nti» Sirasser in Canada, with neo-Nazis in Bavaria and other
h|-iitvs on the extreme Right. In consequence he was expelled from!
I Ik ('lii'istian Democrat Party, whereupon he joined the German
I i< li l*arty. Doris was elected to the Federal Parliament on a
'Miiii:in Reich (D.R.P.) ticket in 1949, but almost at once was
fj^iu'llal for his intrigues which were designed, among other things.
In hiing Ernst Remer into the D.R.P.
I he Socialist Reich Party is Doris' own creation. In spite of its
nHiiplctely undemocratic structure, however, it will be interesting
III '.re if it, too, will be unable to digest Dr. Doris* peculiar
I I Mil 1 1 lies. An interesting aspect of this gentleman's activities is that
Ik. name is frequently mentioned in connection with charges of
-tt operation between the Socialist Reich Party and the East Zone
riKiiniunistxS. If, as seems quite probable, these charges have a
19
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
ba J in fact, it i. beyond doubt that Do.l. is the n:a„ behind
The parliamentary immunity of Dr n^T' '^''?™'"'' '''
1951. "iimunity of Dr. Doris was lifted in A]
3. Count Wolf von Wesiarp {41).
and later of the SS Lf!^ f, ^ "^ '''*"'^^'" "^ *e Nazi Pal
Of the Nazi ^i^^^^sZ^^^ ^^P-^^
dunng the Second World War A^l .f' , u * ''" ^™ '" ^"^
has described him as the shr^H ^ "' '"''"■^''- R°''^" K
Remer. H^s socLl/v m, I '"' *' '^^^^ht to Doris <
moreintellig „tSj,"*S,'"f r^'^We and considera.
Party, but left it wh:f ^^^^ -"f^ f J- German Rei
fro. th ^J^^-^:s>:^:^- '^ ---
Although unable to rival the Nazi rP^r,rH <=
Westarp can boast a modest Ln^iXfo'fiLrh-'!,^^"
cation questionnaire. ralsitymg his denazi
4. Gerhard Krueger (44),
shirts (Stum^abtei^un^"- 192 /it thTSiTn t ^' "^°^'
, he put his faith in Hitler at th^ ntV b ^ , , ' ^^'""^ "^^^ns thi
the failure of the Mun ch A t„ ^ .'' ' '°^'-^' ^""--^'"^^ ^f"
i^..... from rnTC^a^'^'^tf^^^^^
-.ttobetotheN\z?-h^;K-^^^^^^
im; socrALisT retch party
'«-' «(Mrr in order to enable him to pursue political work.
*'«.ni\ ol {he leaders of the Socialist Reich Party he was banned(
»ll pMli(ii'[»l activity after 1945 and, like them all be has taken|
II'. (h . mC (Ik- l)an,
<ttf Ru'htiT (40),
M.ltilivrly little is known about this man, and for his own part
' M iioi nfipear anxious to fill in the gaps in his record. He is a
• I mm (he former German-speaking Sudeten territory of
' I ■ .ikia. and is by profession a schoolmaster. To his
- Hi. he is known as " Stab-in-the-Back," because in 1949
'v»ti tlisnimsed from the school in which he taught in Lower
' 'IV tni (ehing his pupils that victory had been wrested from
' ■ 'M.iuv iti the Second World War by treachery on the home front.
■ llHtrly after his dismissal he was nominated as a candidate
'!•■ (J<-i[iian Reich Party for the Federal elections, and elected
'' llnim Parliament
Mit hill i.s thought to have been an agent in Henlein's
H'tMi lil'ih column, and now performs the function of liaison
' " between the Socialist Reich Party and Nazi-minded
':iir. ill other countries. He is said to represent the more
' iiiive wing of the Socialist Reich Party (the " Goering "
|.. ni Na/i). In appearance he is an undersized man and sports
Hid. I moustache. He holds the view that President Truman, ^
' tl < 'l;iy, and General Eisenhower should be imprisoned as
■imuiiils (Terence Prittie, The Listener, 28.6.51). Richter once
«l I he Jews and anti-Nazis of skulking at home in the concen-
- -H liimfivs while patriots were defending their fatherland at:
. 1 1. till {Speech in Lower Saxony, 1,12.49). l
SU IMPORTERS OF THE SOCIALIST REICH PARTY
IliL- followers of the new Socialist Reich Party are not
(ilmiu:)! with the dissidents of 1949, who were composed of
u. mi ally dissatisfied elements, or those who did not know to which
\u\tt\' \o belong. The Socialist Reich Party of to-day is composed
*•! ininpielely new elements, especially of young peasants.
(Die Ziet, 17.5.51)
Hrir Remer drew a great deal of his support from former
iHiiii Nile soldiers and their families as well as those who never
I rtru-il to be Nazis.
{The Times Bonn correspondent, 9.7.51)
21
OERMANVS NEW
NAZIS
'/success to refugees nnri , "^ '"'^^ attribute the
[poverty and eSLr'^rTrf j^r"'^^ ^"^^^ ^^P'
Lower Saxony has considerab v' nl T "^ ^ ''"°"^ "i^^
if this were true it wonlHf^^ f '^ ^^^^ '« ^^^^^ of both
finely to ren^ai^wj^^'^j:.!^'*^ Socialist Reich Part;
Nazis, cid soldiers and V ''°"^ Phenomenon. Bui
Germany, and encoura, d hv™"' ^'"'""'^ '^''''^^ '^^^rywitej
for the Socialist Reih'pttv T'"' ''"^^ "^^ ^^« '^''^ ■
i-W- The Catholic Chu2 'it ,?' '''""'"" ^^"^ *^'
of a bulwark, and is nors'tron. Ti "°™f ^ '^'^™^ «°"^'
other hand, the predoSanlv r..^ r°T' ^'^""y- *'«• o
peculiarly r,ch in^neo-KaT^lS^Stiot '^"^ "^ ^^"^^ '^
rematn fairly faithful to the Socialists ' ' '"" ''''• ''''
It is worth recalling that Hitler's 'n Shad
more than a small local --- " N.S.D.A.P. remained
THE SOCIALIST REICH PARTY
I'll liiiiincial influence on the Right wing of the Christian
Nl)i-;iking at a public meeting in Karlsruhe, Dr. Drescher,
to
party in Bavaria while it dircc-e,
y and ecoi
Hiflpr t« J " '"*■' "' ^^^"' When Waltei
oart l:':'^!!'^_„^?™^-«°-t PoHcy for tt peasantry tha
appeal to the urban „n».: ,. ^^^^na while ii
disLrancitf ":r ^7^3^"'^ *^ tf'^"^ ^"^ -°"o™'
was m
Its
rapid expansion which brought Hitler to
party began
Chancellory les^ th^n ;h;e;™ir' HitfeTJ .
tor ten yea,^ before he maden T' ^^^ ^®^" '" Pol
peasant vote. His disdnir f ^'^'^^'ned attempt to get
heart and frou: the bg?Ig1;;;t','r/ ''^''' ''' ™°-
camng for tariffs again'st reigrStSr^^" '"''^
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
Saxony campaign could neve" W hT '''.'''7''"''- ^^' ^oj
ship subscriptions and entxance ts at V ^""^'°' °"* "' '"^'»'
are obscure. Although th7r ^' meetmgs. But the so,
ning to reap suLs anlfp^t^^^^^^^^^^ ^-^ay are b,
-dmenges. the ban4-rd> ^^^^^^
I .rniiive of the Union of Landlords and Real Estate
^uul that his Union would sooner have Remer than
iHM' (the Socialist leader), because the latter had used his
v\.ij'x' war on their (the Union's) interests. (Die Welt,
• Hitler's accession to power in 1933 the industrialists
■l-'il in their political allegiance, some backing the decrepit
Mindenburg, others the Nationalists, only some being
i»»MMl I htlrc. The attraction of the Nazis and the Nationalists was
H» l.nih piirties had private armies at their disposal inspired with
M .u» .il hatred of " Marxists " and trade unions. The industrialists
' when these organisations were bound to them by ties
liiiii ideology. Locally the Nazi Brownshirts of the S.A.
IM Ww Ntahlhelm (a Right-wing Nationalist ex-Servicemen's
•^ ur.Mi) were often used as strike breakers. Until April, 1951,1
' I list Reich Party had a private army closely modelled on
iiid S.A. of beer-cellar days, called the Reichsfront, andj
•nl.l act as an attraction vis-d-vis reactionary industrialists.
I ' i. hsfront has since been banned, but there are grounds fori
!■ !"■ Jiir ll^at it is being kept in being under cover, at any rate in
\\ • I iiiti form.
MiMiHHirs of subventions from industrialists to the Socialist
*. h I'.nty are frequent; conclusive proof is lacking. It is certain,
w \,M, that if they have been made Remer and Doris would not
I any offers of this sort. At the moment they, hke other Right-
.; i-\(]-cmists, are in the pohtical field with the object, among
Wlmu, of attracting financial support from reactionary circles in
KnIih-ss and industry.
THE PROGRAMME OE THE SOCIALIST REICH PARTY
The S.R.P. has produced a printed leaflet Programme for Action
Uif tlw Socialist Reich Party (published by Dr, Doris in Hanover) ;
jhiH II would be absurd to take this document at its face value. Hitler,
iHM, hiid a 25-point programme which now, in view of the history of
\\\w Ihird Reich, makes curious reading. The Programme, however,
U tiucresting for its phraseology, its admissions, and omissions.
1 1 begins by stating that the S.R.P. is a " closing of the ranks ''
23
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
■ ttf^.tdi^epf rr ^™°- ^■--- -'^ -
Miooks as if DXniL I 1' 'r^ '° *^ ^-
i before him as a model for , hi! ^'^' twenty-five
[ /striking resemb]a„rt order "d'?''"T '"^"^^ *-^<
leaves out any reference to'^nL^^™^^^^^^ ^^^ '''^
progra.m.e also avoids the use of the word " , ^"•' ^'^'^' "'''
a great favourite with speakers antwX ofTe^:::!!:
'■ l^" Party demands the bring-
many ' '^"^^^^ ^^'^^^^^ Ger-
^'forV?''*^ ^^'^^^^^ equality
^- We demand Jand and
our people.
the
the extreme
S.R.P, Programme
All Germans must be .„
into a single German Reic
2. The S.R.P. calls for the \
dom and independence of (
many both within and with
space for 3. We
We fight toe corrupt ParTf;^
"lentary system and the flip ^
ofpostsonapartybas'sw^^^^^^
approve of a Enronii
community . P**
(The parallel is 'ciearenou.Ii
one remembers Hitler's vk
a European "community
5. The
of
must H.f ^^ ^' ^^'^^ona
must determme appointni
to political bodie. fh'^ i
comrn^r the
:
'ies, thus oi
noJif.v.i P^Jsgovernmen
political parlies.
invention appears i^l!::: rTafZ^^ '' '''''' ^^^ -^ ^he
f ^fd as Doris' point 13 It t th .^T' '"' ^^^^^^'^ ^^^"^1
freedom of belief and worship ZTI' ''''''''' ^^"^^^"tee
programme call for unity be' we^^^ V '"^ ^ ^^ ^^^ S.]
*e end of the occupation No 'ol '''' ^'^"'^ ^^ ^^^^^y ^
give away German'teSry meT'r'-^' ''''^ ^^^ '^^ ^igh]
ti^^ East Zone Govermn n L?^^ agreements betwe^
con^promise on the S^TlSol^^^^^ Czechoslovaicia, or at
attack hem.) question, would seem to be the objects
The European community, spoken of in
24
point 3, is elaborat
THE SOCIALIST REICH PARTY
ti,|* iihlcpendent of the great Powers, both East and West. Point
. >\mf\ piece of writing, practically incomprehensible, opposing
II) I I hi Irderal and the centralised State, Point 5 gives a glowing
h ».n. ..I ific German State with " party misgovernment " banished.
philosophical, and religious freedom are guaranteed, the
iiticism in speech and publication is laid down, and the
r. to be independent. Point 6 introduces us to "People's
" for use by the Germans. It includes protection of the
il' the German soldier and bars " Marxist concepts of
|iniut 7 the social programme is under way. Here we find
•nrks and a national labour service. The capital levy
ind long deferred) by the Bonn Government, known as
I il- iHjualisation of Burdens," is dismissed in point 7 as " already
- .1 wrong in its basic conception." The capital levy is planned
|irnsate those who suffered from the war by losing limbs,
- < t wumers, property, and homes. (The fate of this plan is
dly of the highest interest to the refugees.) The Socialist Reich
. peasant voters have long been apprehensive about how
1. ol their gains during the recent years they will be called upon
: up to the homeless, the war cripples, and other sufferers.
'i«'i and Doris promise to protect the peasants from equal
' I' ns; and as a sop to the refugees and wounded soldiers, he
•■ t'ies a vague scheme of loans and cheap credits.
Ill point 8 the S.R.P. approaches^ — with great caution— the
loltli-nis of capital and labour. In spite of "People's Socialism,"
Hhiiic property will not, it seems, be disturbed provided its owners
ft.( .-I'liise their duty to use it in the common interest. The Socialist
^.lih Party also steps gingerly on the controversial question of
w..)krj-s co-partnership in industry. In Western Germany the
juhn ijile of equal workers' representation on boards of directors
I- lit nig extended from coal and steel to other industries, but only
IH lh<- face of intense opposition. The S.R.P. says: "The worker
(1(1 1 '.I help bear the burden and help direct the policy of his firm,
ttiit without giving an opportunity for interference by bodies outside
di. lirm" — an obvious intimation to industrialists that they can
■ I « in the S.R.P. to help them squeeze the trade unions out of
. M p.irtnership schemes.
Toint 9 calls for higher pensions. Point 10 is the peasants' clause.
I hi- programme demands, as Hitler once did, a special status for
25
GERMAI^fY'S NEW
NAZIS
progra„,„,e. There ^ ^ few ^'''" '' '^^^ '''' '"'^^^^ i
economy, unmarried ioher er and fi^,''°"* «°^^^^
Hitler's 25th point is draseed in t^^ ", *^"'"^- '" ^^^P^'
Party's 13th and las ^ ''^ ''° '^"'^ ^^ *^ Socialist R
words themselves have for the leader! of the S R P k
from the examples which follow: ' ^^° ^^
ra
How little meaning programmes, statements of policy, and
r the Iead< " "
follow ;
"The S.R.P. is not as ^^ ^^^^ N.S.D.A.P"
(S.R.P. Leaflet issued at Celle, May,
<.p We Welt, 18,t
paid "«Kir;e^o"th\^^^^^^^^^ deader.
Of author«aria?[eadl4V-°" ' ""'''' '"' ' "'"^^^ '" '^'^ P™=
(Charles Wighton, Z)a«3, £;.;,,,.„, v.j
Uorls declared that the S R P ■,!,=„ ,
being an extremist Party I recofnT^ J th '^^'"l^'j' reproached
the Federal Constitution.'' '''=°Snised the Federal Chancellor a
sentenced to tTm^n^i^^tmnrf,''- '" ^^"«°1^- ^^^^ Baer
the Federal Government A7. ^.h!"*"' on charges of slanderi
;the Governmenfof mari^nette^ ' L""/'""-! ''« ^^'^ '^^^"^A
'collaborators' who Tuld "onf da^be Ifa^ge'd. " "' '"'"'^'^"
(.Allgemeine Wochenzeitung 13 7
he'Ja"ii''";7.ra'iiSnh" Tf? T^'^ ^" ^""^^ ^ ^h
^ . we are r:^^^ ^^^^ l^ZZ^:^ ^H
Worlf^f l^:L^/,:ite''^f,Me^^^^^^^ the Fallen of the P
"To the Dead of La °dsber^' J^h '^ '"A*' ''"'^ '"^^ in^cripti
^ S.R.P. candidate ^^"^.n^JS^^l^-^^^
nil'. ^SOCIALIST REICH PARTY
I In- S.R.I*, during the following night had another
.1 iluu> wilh the simple inscription "To the Landsberg
I ihi iity Survey of German and Austrian Press, 21.6.51)
, ..I
»in , (»i ilic Party's propaganda which hardly appear
rt.nniin\ hut on which the leaders maintain a fairly
HtiiiHlr. arc: opposition to the "traitors" and " colla-
llu- (lUL'stion of remilitarisation, and the German
I liHMKir."'
ifiiiii»rs" and "collaborators," persistently slandered by
I ' tiir : lirsi, the members of the Resistance of July, 1944;
I, ihi' cnii^',rcs who helped the Allies during the war; third,
\sliM. like Dr. Kurt Schumacher, maintained a steadfast
hImii iliKuigh years of concentration-camp imprisonment;
b ihr la'ileral Ministers and Civil Servants in Bonn ; and last,
J Minor rut not included in these categories who works for
iiu * n operation with the Western Powers. It is a comprehen-
' Min o]i poses remilitarisation under the present circumstances. '
'- iHf nt" his theory of independence in the East- West struggle
iiiai [or Germans to take up arms would result in their
lutiip. cannon fodder for the great Powers — specifically the
't States. By this opposition he gains the sympathy and
• f-lv Miiuc of the votes of the many Germans who sincerely
I mII tliought of carrying arms, whether in a national or a
ri-iin army. Some of this pacificism comes from a deep
. iinii that war can solve nothing; more comes from the
IK ill consideration that a third European war involving
■ M.niy might well mean her annihilation; but there is a third
^nMi[i. nicluding many former officers, and it is to these that the
h\* V appeals most. They have no objections to a German army.
I Hi tlu- contrary, it represents their ideal; but the army must come
rinany's terms in Germany's time. To rearm now might mean
M uidi Russia; and whether defeated or victorious the German
rtituv would be a very junior partner of the West. Given neutrality,
i(i ■ people think, Germany can survive, build up an army at
I < .iir in the future, and become once more the "leader" of
* rhc Landsberg " comrades " were war criminals execiited by the U.S.
ill iiM relics. Most were convicted for racial murders. One was Ohlexidorf, respon-
II u>i ithe eX'te.rmination of 80,000 Jews and Poles. Another was Pohl, who
t limed the Warsaw ghetto.
27
i
GERMANVS NEW NAZIS
'>"f "SV*r =^« -« "- w«. s.* ^.
combine abysmal ignorance of T, f ri^t^omUst Germans
pnniciple and the most aky ^'.t tb't-^"'' ^ ^''^"°^ l«'=l
S.R.P. attitude as follows f *'"^'"^- ^^""^^ describei
Russian^l/oufSfen HeL°"?'="i»'^ ^'^i'"^-" be overrun b,
^"STatSi—
And again;
a nebulous demand as it "ounds In > r'"^"" '°^^'"^ '^ "°t ^'
theory that a soldier who obevs „ !h ' '°"' ^^^ " « *e
for the results. Therefofe! although the T "'''' '^ "^P^"^'
instrument through which Hi tWn^ *^G«™an «oIdier was
genocide, only 4ler Ss^LJo STt^'^""""' ™''^^'^' »
orders from Hitler. Hitler di^d for iSl '^''^°"" ^'^« tc
« out for him is innocew """^ = '^^'^^''^ ^^o carrf
be ^nLtV'brnot mtr ^ ^ r^^^ -''^ ^^ -^'^ ^
formation of Hitler's Blc£,,B*'tr'''" '■'- '^^ ">""
brought in under the umbSlof s 1 £' h"' '^^^ "°^ "^
murderous Sicherheitsdienst^nrA, Honour, as have
S.R.P. regard the mass^SS of H h'I' "^"^
for their country. No one, not even leln'^l ^' ^°^*^^^ ^^^
guilty under this interpretat on 1^ 1 , """^ °"^'"P°' «««d
growing to forget the cr^^e a.'d ^ "^^'^^ ^' *^ '^^dency
appeal of this doctrine to old M "^ ?''"■ ^^'^ ^^'^n^e. T
and Dr. Richter can calHo th^^^i^ ""t" ^^ '' ^"'''^'^ *^
denazification." '" '°demmfication as " victims
nil
III'. SOCIALIST REICH PARTY
ttn NMvii>H lluu Ihcy will not co-operate in any German
u tM Wrslcrn defence while convicted war criminals like
Id II I Miiiiiistcin are kept prisoner. That is why General
i\ HliUcniciU that he believed the German soldier — as
I ' till' Na/i leaders— to have been an honourable man
I l<v many Germans (not merely S.R.P, leaders) as a
He liMsfd no war criminals and indemnified no " victims
lii titinn."
nil .S.R.P. AND THE EAST ZONE AUTHORITIES
«»f't-' tnr K-iiiilitarisation and calling for the restoration of the
"III tor's Honour are policies enjoying wide favour beyond
of tlic S.R.P,, and, indeed, beyond the Right wing in
iM)li(ics. But if it could be established that the Socialist
■ i. r.iiv were hand in glove with Grotewohl and UUbricht^
' » MM. I II ( 'ommunist rulers in the Eastern Zone — then the neo-
. wiMilil he rapidly isolated from most other Germans. For
• hip till' Communists, whose West German vote has fallen
• *ilv 'V' a result, and a few strange intriguers on the Right,
itMiflv everyone in the Federal Republic is firmly opposed to
hniliii loLalitarianism of the satellite East Zone Government.
\\w ihI vantages to the East Zone authorities of having a fully
■ i| Na/,i movement operating in the West are obvious. It I
■<[^Vi (he Federal Republic itself, creates suspicion among the
h-rn Powers of Germany's reliability as an ally, and it can be
! IIS II '* proof " to the world that the Western Powers failed,
i ihly intentionally, to eliminate the Nazi menace. For this]
I-. .*.,• the neo-Nazi party must remain ostensibly independent
iii>' I 'astern Communists; but it would be a worthy object of
li rliarity. Does the Socialist Reich Party in fact get subsidies
Mil iIk' East? Here are some views:
Doctor Lehr (Federal Minister of the Interior) said to-day that
llirrc was reason to believe, although the evidence was difficult to
nhiain, that the neo-Nazis had contacts with the Soviet head-
'jiiarters at Karlshorst in the Eastern Sector of Berlin.
(The Times Bonn Correspondent, 28.5.51)
Two days earlier the Daily Telegraph Dusseldorf correspondent
-!icd that the North Rhine Westphalian section of the S.R.P.,
ilier with its section of the Reichsjugend (S.R.P. Youth move-
■iiO, had left the main party on the grounds that Doris and
29
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
make Keseberg unsuked or the S R t v" ^°"" "°' °f I
party must be treated with caution.) '' ''''^'"" '*°"^
'"ine'lhl'amhority'of Ve Bonn Cnv^ "^'^ P^^*^ '^ffl-i-'^ to J
munist claims that thVAdfn "?.r i^"^""""^"* ■ • • ^7 backing d
/ Lommumsts. ^ "vuias airect criticism of Russia ol
an ui,h , ''7'"" "'"" ^'"'"^ Correspondent, 26
German X^.^^ ^-- the neo-Nazis and Moso]
Sefton DeJnter ha. examined the SR p""-" ^™'"""' "'^
published during July igsTwhill ^ '" ^ '^"^^ °f ^ni
r"«e. correspondent ttatRenT .' '"'^''''* ^** *« ^««
Communists, and qlZ R^ern •?''?" °' ^"^^^ -^
fro- the East, theLd ardcrwent on'^^ °' '"'"^ ^^^^'^^
Z^^'S^^J^^trZ^- ]^-t -'' the O
than other organisations used bv fh"'"^'" ^"^"=™ G'^™
emergence must mean a decreased w-.r^' Commform, Ren
Western Power, to accept^'^^^^ryt'^Kl ^n^^.j;"^ "^
Thp A/ i^ciily Express, I 7i
Commun;I^;rgfiio„rl^r^"^' ^-''-"i by a n<
alleged that in NotmbS ' ^7 S' d''"^^"-/''^ ^^'"P*
foreign policy with Oskar r ? discussed the S.R.:
Soviet zone on snSarS ""\^''° '^'^''"°"">' -'^"s
contact with WiUy SbLmTr ^"-"'^ "^^ "-"
Office " at Hanover, and th^t ll Hi.. T"""' ^«'="'^' ^en
t" the .truggie against ren^htaSior""' ''''' '' ^°-P-«
worSVnrrttitr:^^^^^^ r^^-' ' - -•'-«« ^
"Comtnunist Agents' CeLaX" for"! ^ ^°"^'-'"g- ^
, improbable title) ' ^°' ^stance, sounds a hig]
till'. SOClALtSX REICH PARTY
.( < oniiiiuiiist Youth Rally. Remer, the paper said, was \
•I nui-pjint;, hut he was too strongly opposed by other j
'■ -ir, iiu>re convincing is a series of quotations from Remer's
- ii> his followers at a party rally in March, 195L They
M In n f>iniiphlet, " Answer to Remer,'' by a publicist called
I I. wht) is clearly a supporter of the Federal Government.
n It'll seven quotations (without giving the origin) Neun-
I . I . i!u' reader to guess which one of Grotewohl (the East
< luiiist Premier) and which of Remer. It certainly seems
*-fi fuM. Ikit they are in fact all Remer's. Here is one:
VVr will attack and revile any German general who dares to
ti, I ( iLTinans as cannon fodder until the very dogs in the street
-M iu)t take food from his hand.
till .iiiilior of Answer to Reiner thinks statements like this
> 1 1 illusion between Remer and Grotewohl. He clinches his
Ill with this further statement made by Remer on 29th
- U. M)5I :
It is my view that if we are aiming at freedom (for thiSj
ffnmleufel says, read unity of Germany), we can go part of the
^.iv with political opponents.
I lii'^c are the views of democratic observers, both German and
'II Of course, both S.R.P. and the Communists flatly deny
iuii!;c of collusion. That Richter, Doris, and the Communists'
iMHCs votQ together in the Federal Parliament is no proof, for
' i. [larties are fundamentally opposed to the present democratic
-'■I (Communists, it must be said, however, are frequently being j
in ti) prison in Western Germany for breaking up S.R.P. I
tn^ . itngs.)
II ic East Zone authorities have not been squeamish about Nazis i
MI4 ificir own territory. They founded the National Democratic
IShIv with the explicit intention of pulling in the "small" Nazis
-mhI junior army officers. It was, by East Zone standards, a
I. ii'.nnable success. The temptation to fish in similar waters across
iIk zonal frontier would be considerable; and it is interesting thatf
thr I'^ast Zone press ignored the opportunity to play up the S.R.PJ
imins in Lower Saxony — a gift for Communist propaganda, one-^
vviuild have thought.
H should be remembered, too, that when Doris was expelled
liitin the Christian Democrat Party and later from the German
31
^^-'-.^
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
iwkf Onn'i^' ""'^ "^""''^ °" •'°"' °''''^^' °t having intri
ttt , I f f '' ""^^ ^''' ^" Canada, Strasser calls him"
Nauonal Bolshevik" and carries on where his broti er G
,inurdered by Hitler's orders on 30th June, 1934 The Strasspr " i;,
mcuded h^ited co-operation with Communist on Zdoi
of fw or ' ' '°""''' *° °«^^ ^'^^^^^^' " i^ '^^-P-a
Also Doris was a close associate of Dr. Gereke
(of whom nil
i^r'^\^tr^-^' ''''"•''^ ^'°'^ '^' Lower Saxon Land Governmi
The most nteresting piece of evidence, however, is that Re
on several occasions given his solemn word of I
no connection with the East. To tho<:s ^t „„</..'
a man's honour by his record, that
par^culariy if Remer's far-from'-clea; ^. T TLtTSt
annir^fT •/"'* *' ^''' remembered that in May 1945
also goes back to Hitler's facile use of the word
, ,1 The weight of evidence and the
Ir!'.!?'!.'^"'^'^^' ^'t\*« East Zone Communists. The leadc
honour."*
views of expert observers mat!
are
Ithemselves are unprincipled opportunists to whom no source
tance that no one, German or Allied, takes the SRP's at
Commumst protestations seriously; the risk is too .reat TU!
especially true of people outside Germany who have forgotten
never seriously considered) the true menace of Nazism rndw.
The truth about the Socialist Reich Party and the whole m
Nazi movement is that it is not anti-Communist. It del nc
Hm oir^seH^Tr ^' ^'"^ r ^"' '^"^ - °pp-""^^s
win oner itselt to both sides m the cold war beine en„air.
prepared to betray both. If the Russians are preyed to take
nil', SOCIALIST REICH PARTY
(jii* u.HHiiniption that like can handle like, no one in the
frnit niliriiiig the Hitler-Stalin Pact, need be surprised. But
a^Mtk I. tolled ion, combined with the evidence quoted here,
iitlicicnt to dispel any illusions about the innate anti-
• <i of (he neo-Nazis or their value to democracy in its
iiiisl Stalinism.
ORGANISATION OF THE S.R.P.
X
important to deceive Ws op^^S, Th'Mu'jic'ifk^rcJf fl^Tif'a^cSlf" "
that be would
ssic c£
; of membership vary from 20,000 (more likely) to
ihccs are mostly under 40 years of age. There is no
■ rlrction of officers, who are appointed, in the best
n\ from above. The organisation seems confined to
> I lolstcin. Lower Saxony, and parts of North Rhine
^ <Im II maintains liaison with other groups having similar
111 C^cntral and South Germany. Lower Saxony is— at
-H. iti its main centre. This Land was the only one that
iiiv marked support to the explicitly Right-wing extremists
l'>-r> elections.
nl the summer of 1951 the Socialist Reich Party had two
. . mihliiiy bodies, the Reichsfront (comparable to the Nazi S.A.
' •; ) and the Reichsjugend (modelled on the Hitler Youth),
hnr been banned by the Federal Government under thCi
1 iivv. The former had white shirts, black breeches and bootsi
. ui) liuiction was to " keep order " at meetings, in other words
I ;. hong-arm gang trained in traditions of German beer-hall
1:1. ,tl warfare. The Reichsjugend was to act as a hatching box
♦ I tie Reichsfront It wore grey shirts and black breeches. Both
(MImhus included armbands, insignia, and the party badge.
Ilir party badge is a black eagle on a red background. The
(i V lias brought back the black, red, and white of the Hohen-
Mlliiir; and Hitler to oppose the black, red, and gold of Weimar
mmI Hnnii.
Hie musical tastes of Remer and Doris are characteristic. Their
,,>i». .itaiices at meetings are heralded by bands playing the marches
e//.v Gloria (The Glory of Prussia) and The Badenweiler (a
1 1 which, in the Third Reich, was only played when the Fuhrer
>, lied). The meetings themselves are exact, though as yet
HMulest. copies of Nazi gatherings. An entrance fee is charged (1 or
J it!.iiks=— the price of a cinema seat) and the audience are often
i-i |.i waiting for a long time listening to marches and singing. This
33
.iifi^Li N
de
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
puts them in a suitable mood for the late arrival nf .h ^
who are usually ereeted wifli a.„,t .i. °* *^ ^P«'
observer, as nearTysSicaf ' ' '"''""^'"- '^^^""''^'^ "y
passionate callf fe ot- ^^ '"*°"* '"'°''°"' "
Germany to pTy "Its S^mZ ' . ""*T'°" '° ^^^^^'
by cheer's an^ sLif oT^pW -"hftTf "''^' "^ ^
an hypnotic anthem form h^. '^ ^^''^^Ses d(
reminisLtofprfrarSSmeX" ^'"'" ^"' ^"'''^"'
-ffl^rni^thevt^",; ^°°= ^""^ -^- *«y <io ^'
writing in r/,. iaZlE^Z', P.^ m 5 ^n"'" '"'" '
explosions took place in North r ^ ^'^''^' '*°
Wolfard, editor of the an^N ' « ^"^' ^"' '^'"'^ ^^■
exploded prematurely kiC:?n «"''',i^"^'''''^'''^«- ^he
distressed groups. ^^^' ec<'nomic£
GerLl"?^et^^^^^^^^ ^ ^-[ ^^^^- kind in Wes.
but who have so far Med t!? ' "'"^^ "'^^ ^^^^^^^ roc
strength and popul^'ty ' "' "^'' ^'^ ^^"'^^ ^-^^-P
34
< IIAPTER IV
eel
nil K I EXTREME RIGHT AND
NAI lONALIST GROUPS
mV #>iliiuislivc survey of the kaleidoscopic extreme Right
in t ii'iniaiiy would be out of date before it was completed.
i hi. rx[itM-t has counted 317 separate Right radical and
.Mhoiialist organisations and parties in the Federal
I In- years 1949 and 1950, when the Federal Republic
.' Jiiipc, were years of feverish activity, with foundations,
.HMiil^vniKitions, personal feuds, and jockeying for position.,
«.HiN 1)11 ilie Right are seldom, in the last resort, about policies!
1^ Kt h im- I'xtrcmely adjustable), but almost invariably arise from
. lOMiil feuds of unprincipled men who are seeking to organise
iln-nisclves the body which, they hope, will be the Nationalist
.1 (Ik- txderal Republic.
lb . .iii'U' of this, and because many of the groups are by their
iHtMM i'()hcnieral their actual titles and names are of small
I iinv. The leaders, however, who usually survive when their'
■IIS merge or die, tend to be of more interest; and it may
i ■: useful to know the names of a few of the hardier groups
li. .1 iliry may be recognisable even if, as will often be the case,
n. nriii up in the future with an air of glowing respectability.
M ' I Ik- II is a hst of a few of the more notorious groups and parties,
:fn I with notes about some of the main personalities connected
I hem.
GERMAN SOCIALIST PARTY (d.S.P.)
I ins is a Berlm offshoot of the Socialist Reich Party, which
I , .1 * :iway from it. Its leader is Eberhard Stern, who claims he
, urvcr a Nazi. It seems to be, if anything, even more explicitly
^un tlum the S.R.P. itself. It is interesting that when police raided
\\\v houses of its supporters recently they found not only a few
IM- .iMus and party uniforms but also a quantity of swastika flags,
(iriiKT for his part is still content with a Prussian eagle.
35
/^
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
The Geraian Socialist P^rUr Ko
in the Western Sector of Belr^'''-''''"''^ '™"'' ^°"
recent raid showed evidLSS'l.' ^^^^^^^or police sa
Eastern Sectol ~^^'^''? °LconUct with Communists
GERMAN REICH PARTY (d R P )
Republic. Like the sip t'stren?d,^''""t^^ °^ *^ ^^
of Lower Saxony. It sent five ^?^k ' '° *' reactionary <,
whom. Richteran'd Do" hale Sn"' '°-^°"" " '''^' ' '
Party. Its vote slumped heavily fnM^v'"'' *^
« its thunder has been stolen bvthf^ *'' ^'''- ^^ ^^ '°°I'a
temporary resting place or HedLff, '"'""' ""^'''' ^■^■^- " ^'
after his e.pulsbn J:' Sf^J^cZu^l^'"' ^'''''' "^^
German Reich Party has since in ilV ?'""'" ^^"^^ '
The hope of the German Rdc^ty lie""' 1° '•'^"^"^'^ "^^
votes from the German Party whkhiTh °"'f "^ '""^^"-^^
Bonn Coalition parties if 1^11^. ^ °'°'' ^'^ht wing of
" collaborating "U;he Weste^ATlies V"""'""' ""^^
recently resigned on the grounds fhat '; °'^'"''"'' ''^- ^'
"criminal elements." '' ™^ co-operating «
REFUGEE PARTY (b.H E )*
beiiSTnd i:£:^£ 7H'A:t '''-'t- °^ ^" -'^^
itself clearly as a mrtv nf Ti;. f ^" '^'^^"^ °°« '° idem
day-to-dayLes, Im ^:' ^^ZZT'' '' ^°"""^'^*-
fined to demands for the return „?th a/T^'' P°"*^'^ ^^^
part of Poland. To ^^pTslptn it ''''''''''' •^^"'°"-
Communist and anti-Russi^; TcZATT "' °"'^P°k^°ly
of Communist collaboraZ wLlhas /at""':^ *^ "^^'
on the S.R.P
are nea
^ In Schleswig^Holstein it has
two government posts in
wmg coalition. Kraft, the B.HE leader nTh7''' '^ ^ ^^^
an ex-S.S. officer from the Gert.T ^^Weswig-Holstein,
Lower Saxony, wher^ the pZT T"""''' ^'''' ^^ P^^^"^-
*.... . ! ^^'^"^'' ^"^^^ ^^^^^ the balance
the Ho^ef^i^anf^SS^^^^^^^ En..ccht.ten, (..eaning .broad:
36
^y); League
IHIIUMl; RIGHT AND NATIONALISI GROUPS
liiK ilm-i' (if its 31 newly-elected X^^fffag deputies arel
f i j I'jily niciubcrs. ^
[Mnhiii 1)1" ihe sense of desperation felt by the refugees
= t iifdnii /one. If, as in Schleswig-Holstein, it enters Land
lu III n>M 111 ions, it may find that it loses refugee support
li\ ihr iKiLurc of things, it cannot keep its promises.
H iMtii i(n>pcration might be a better line. The Social
111 I owcr Saxony have formed a coahtion with the
lU ^CONSTRUCTION PARTY (W.A.V.)
' ' I lie leadership of Alfred Loritz^ this party (licensed only
I icun Zone) has made considerable headway in Bavaria.
I.' .su:ils in the 1949 Federal elections. Originally, it was
who wiis tipped as the new Hitler. His electoral appeal was
Mil. I II peasant, the small shopkeeper, and the refugees.
. lUi aiili-Nazi long before Hitler came to power, and resisted
1 1 11 1 1 Reich from its inception. Throughout the war he was
*M4 Ml* inn Irom the Gestapo.
^■iiii ilic war his political activity, which seemed at first
-' Iv Right wing, landed him in gaol. He escaped, was
I inrrd, and eventually found innocent. When he led his party
* ihiiidestag (Federal Parliament) in 1949 he insisted that it
- I I'l'L-Centre party, and it took its seats between the Christian
■■ liil^ and the Centre (Left Catholics). The impression gained
' I (hat Loritz was really a misunderstood Liberal. He is a
■ TiUor, has a by no means unpleasant personality, and is
i . I: of witty and telling speeches.
I>i\\nrds the end of 1949, however, rumours began to circulate
{h.ti I oi'itz was intriguing with Doris and Richter of the Socialist
M-i.h Party for an electoral alliance giving the Reconstruction
;i clear run in its Bavarian stronghold. Doris and Richter
>H... lu-tl themselves to the W.A.V. faction in the Bundestag,,
-Itoitlv after, the other W.A.V. deputies expelled Loritz and his'
« .. '. R.P. allies. The position is now obscure^ as it often is when
iU- . ephemeral parties split. But it seems as if Loritz's oppor-
liniiMii was too much for his W.A.V. followers. From the extreme
in I' III they had, in 1949, been swept over to the Left Centre, and
HM\v (heir leader was asking them to go back again to the extreme
I' I I'll I -this time not as independents but in the company of some
37
/
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
tion. although recent indication:i^tSf h^?"^:,:^^^ ''^
NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY (n D P )
small Na^fc » ^. ^ 1-- -, '^^ "^^^^ Russian-spons<
Muaji jNazis party, which is also called thp Mnp^ /^-
of his own National Democratic PartyTeTetted frot
leadership with cries: "Get out. you old reac onl^^'r' LTb
It IS by no means certain whether it is th^ t ^,,^1,. '/
his opponents who have the right ocSt.h^'"' ^'^''°°
The German courts seem ^mTl>ZClS'^::! ^'^ ""/
muic senousjy than Leuchtgens fsee bplnu/^ tu^ ^ .. m
reported (Die Welt U 1 dQ^ fA . ? '^* ^^^ ^^*^^^ 1
lied L «ri'irLt!.?f. SLtr '•""°'"'
( EUROPBAN SOCUL MOVEMENT (e S B )
IS trying with the help of Oswald Mosley and Per IShW
Swedish Hitlerite and antisemite), to set up a Mnd of t J
fascist international. Priester was forbidden to go to thf ec!
National Europe Congress in Malmo, but hi. good rda L„s w
III ■• IMUIMJ' RKjHT and nationalist GROUPS
\ Uriili Party enabled him to persuade Richter to go
tuHiiHMii Social Movement runs a periodical called Nation
■ • wliiL'li the notorious Right-wing extremist Hans Grimm
Miinr. The paper advocates the movement's policy of
HI itiiiiy " in terms like these:
SV'r li:iVL* no superstitious respect for dogmas, not even those
*lw- m-w ruling democratism. , . .
VVIiiilovor may be the objections levelled against Hitler, until
n itu" (icrinan Reich fought for the integrity of Europe. The
nM I >uim>t tic said of his adversaries.
A I'liropcan alliance is the only salvation ; everything depends,
MI..H-, on the Germans assuming again their old role (our
I. 1 .'1 hcing the most faithful guardians of the West. . . . Those
... uu' still talking of German crimes are suspect of being
iiifus lu salve their own bad consciences.
I .11'
( irimm adds this to the intellectual feast of Nation
(ilh pifscnt situation) is due to Jewish cries for vengeance. Only
tiiin.t)ni) Jews were killed — far less than those who lost their lives
ii» 1 1 11- senseless expulsion of Germans from the East.
I l»r I. Hinder of the E.S.B., Priester, once made the extraordinary
Muti that the East Zone authorities had offered him 600,000
hnnarks (£50,000) to work with the East Zone National
.. Ill tic Party. Priester virtuously refused. {Kolnische Rund-
1!.50.) The story is interesting since it shows the vain
iM, iliiy of many of these men.
GERMAN SOCIAL PARTY (D.S.P.)
a separate party, this group is unlikely to survive. But its
.1 I dUnther Gereke, is almost certain to appear in newspaper
, .11 ., wherever political scandals come to light. In May, 1945,
hp party won only 25,000 votes in Lower Saxony. It was founded
. ( iiTcke after his expulsion from the Christian Democrats in
'- ind his failure, thereafter, to link up with the Refugee Party.
i.nkc had been a Minister in the Lower Saxon cabinet (a
hii'.tian Democrat coalition) and had been sent to East Berlin
.. nrj'otiate a small trade agreement for Lower Saxon exports.
\|i|i;irently the discussion soon turned from Lower Saxony jams
M iIk' possibility of Gereke's interesting his colleagues in East- West
.nil Ileal co-operation with a view to uniting the two halves of
39
\
seeiil:
GERMANY'S NEW NAZtS
This ma; JanteTr • "' ^f '''^^^ ^^'''™«^'- '
disposal for the p'; fdem a "oleT ""'' ^"' " "'"'1-'
destination was a Ctery and rr," ''"'^''^" °' '"2. '
to the money (and "till doe, fl ? ''""'' ^^^^* ^^^d hap
covering „p i\ .^^^ Sefpt^f ^^' ''" "^"'^^ '^^ '
with?hermrn£ StS" c^G^^""^^ ^'■^•^^ '° ^^1
is equivocal-as alwayT-^.u S " """^^ "'^ °^" ^«
"ave found ™..h fav^ in^Ltrl^^olr^^ '"^-' ""
GERMAN BLOC (d B )
a Munich group, founded in 194^ J, TZl""'"' ^'' °"S''-
" achieved 0.6 per cent of t e vot t ?'"'"" '''''
operations as far North as SchieswipH ,? l '' ""'=' ^'"^n^
1938 frontiers (at ^.hich po tt ^mg if "; ' ""'-'°^^^^"^^
'to the Bonn Government as 'i ! -I "°' ^P^cified) and re
announced a purge of "IJn ,^''"°^^''^" -'""«• ^eis.
Bloc-presunibly m:^ ZTrlVZT" '™" "^^ °-
The German Bloc has frequeTuv cl. f h "1 '° "^'^ ^^^'^^^l
authorities, who banned V dZ^ ^"^^ ''"^ *« ^est Ger
the time of the PesS ThlZ^.Tr JnT -'"^-"^^^^"'^
reactionary Schleswig-Holstein Land r "'"' '" *^ '''-
. J^iallyitwasimpossfbletobanthe-Bto"'™"""^ '''''''"
FATHERLAND UNION (v U )
SudSnlandful^difthe^Sn""^^^^^^^ '' "-^^-^' f-m
follows this slogan literallyll b2 1 Ln '""^ Communism.''
Communists and Socialists A d^n i ''"■ *'"''^ ^»«'"-^t b,
Feitenhansl all political a t vkvtor fi ''"°" '"''""^ ^A,
ban in a bare/concealed ty' He "d'H "'r'"* '^ '^ ''^^^'"^
'^e .ost serious claimants J tht^ o^ "t S tf ^ S
c.disi„u:4^;i^i-----p^«^^^^
I IXSKl:Mli RIGHT AND NATIONALIST GROUPS
ill Miinicli by August Hausleiter. An heil to the "indepen-
! . (ippourcd frequently in the earliest post-1945 elections.
iM'iulciUs" coveted the votes of the young who were
ill /is or whom Nazism had made indifferent to all the
\ democratic politics.) Hausleiter approaches remilitari-
II ■ way indistinguishable from Remer's. Here is a typical
.utJ II! "I 111'' :
^- iml wish to be taken for an antisemite, but in my opinion
I 1-isenhower is nothing but a front for Frankfurter,
itui Morgenthau- Since in 1945 he (Eisenhower) handed
... o\ thousands of German soldiers as prisoners to the
M.. (here is no guarantee that in the future he will not
M iilicc tens of thousands of Germans to the Russians, this
. .Ill noil fodder.
(Neue Zeitung, 15.3.51)
f.liRMAN ACTION (" DEUTSCHE AKTION ")
jMitv. .'.ceking support largely from refugees, German Action j
I IV I he eccentric Catholic reactionary, Prince Hubertus zu
Motrin, its policy is that all refugees must return to their own
wilhin a Germany unified in her "historical" frontiers.
ir.trtii was responsible for the " reoccupation " of Heligoland
nl.niis in the winter of 1950-51. Loewenstein, like many
u't I'ar to the Left of him, now thinks of the Sudetenland as
. ural" German territory, and a refugees* frontier would
Iv include the results of Hitler's aggression against Czecho-
,1 i.i 111 1938.
t I MiWV. OF GERMANY'S REVIVAL (" BUND FUR DEUTSCHLANDS
ERNEUERUNG ")
t Miiiulcd in July, 1950, to propagate the ideas of the "National
ft«|i,hi'\'ik " Otto Strasser, who is Chairman in absentia. Its head-
.jnni(i'(\ lire at Stuttgart.
THE BROTHERHOOD (" BRTJDERSCHAFT ")
i hir of the most sinister manifestations of German Nationalism,
(hi.iiiwly little is known about the Brotherhood. It is a Semi-
te u.i 'aiciety of the high-ranking military Nazis. The Social-
tt H Mitic Neue Vorwdrts (8.12.50), called the Brotherhood " the
* .il Staff of the new nationalist movement." It split last year
iHiii II " democratic " wing (led by Beck-Broichsitter), which accepts
41
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
Bonn. One leader oTthe^ ."r^"'™ ^"'^ ^^^ ""^ to3
Nationalist. General Gudelnm,"'?' "'"« " "'^ "oto
He has already stated M,;.'/ '"''^'"^ '^"'^ "P'^"-
Je West in his booVrSif JS/? i?S h ^r^^^"^''° J
They are: complete eaualitv 'nTf ^j"'* '^""^ '^^e thJ
restoration of Zr pre^ U Lf S" ™4
remarkable for the aggressiven^ f i f^ °^ '' P^^^^^P^ <4
to cornb,^, with iniurfd"™:/^ ^'^ ^'^^^^ -'^-'^ he „a„l
ex.ejsf ;t;trn rrs/sr ^^^^^^ *- "^^ <
a pnvate society, more difficulf 1 i^ '*"' ='"^S°ry, ant,
i-fertoregardiLabo^d ;S„ V^^^^^^^^^^ '' ^
N Germany rather than as a comt „ 7 ""^ "* "''"ona
h frequent reaction to "ts e rlv Infr"^ of windbags-which
he Guderian is consid r J^ 'e^^SlT- " '"*°"*^ ^^
page 44). and when the Riehlir; ^ . ™°°^ ex-soldiers
carved up the territo y bS 'n £"P:, '^^^^ f^^^^" down
Staff "on military lines^wiirrSli'::::;*; "^^'^ ^^ ^ "G-
FIRST LECroNC'ERSTE LEGION")
objett^rb^'^T'Socr?,,^-" ^" ^^^° -'^ *« ostensi,
It included several kadC do L- ^'P-S^°"P- appealing to yog
Press Chief. It has skce been ? '/"^ ''"' *«" '^^'"g Fed]
because of its " miSm ■ anT""'' '^ *^ ^''"^''^" Democrj
Legion was reporte?'! CL'S'T' ff^-' ^he F
co-operating with former mfref o Muf N^'r."'"'-'^^ '4
starting a camp. °* *^ ^^zi Labour Service]
THE STEEL HELMET ("STAHtHELM")
weiirs fs^S'j t^retjn-r^"'^"'^ -^--^-
One of the founders k an old ^. m '? '"""'"^ '^^'>' ^" 1^'
Joachim Gottsleben. who has safd-^T"'"^''"^'^^ '"''"^ H*
^ the only hope for rearming G fmany "" oT^ ^''' -'^ ^
the Red Army " (&V«^.. Jz^T'iy 3 5u"'l°T'''' '^" "^
would seem to be a view oppose^^^^.f L^, ^ tS^e .
I
MlllC.R EXTREME RIGHT AND NATIONALIST GROUPS
I'll I I hikI amen tally the two concepts seek the same objective
Ml hi II nationalist military revival. The difference is that the
'ji|hm1s to those who regard it as good tactics for the moment
liriiiral between East and West, while the Stahlhelm believes,
■'•i;il of the ex -generals, that now is the time to wring the
'M rnncessions out of the Western Allies.
niciiis of the pre-1933 Stahlhelm co-operated with the S.A.
- ;i( Hitler's seizure of power. It was eventually merged with
iim;i; corps of Germany (" freikorps deutschland ")
hMimled by Karl Neumann in Hamburg on semi-military lines ^
\\ \s\v\'v\M the employment of " July 20 Traitors " as officers in a
Ill^-iHMii armed force, this is a new group. It quite openly calls
[(♦♦I tin- i-c-establishment of the Nazi vState, The Free Corps claims
'ItlMH' Mian 1,000 members.
WOLFGANG HEDLER
riiis man, a banking oihcial by profession, was elected to the
it""J,-Mag in 1949 as a member of the German Party for Schleswig-
M I I ill. In 1950 he made his notorious speech (the climax in a
- ' in which he said that the only thing wTong with Hitler's
: M policy was that the Jews were gassed. This earned him a
'iling from Socialist deputies, a not too precipitate expulsion from|
»Ih (icrman Party, the raising of his Parliamentary immunity, and
iiial in which he was acquitted (for lack of evidence). Since then
III-- Niatements have been substantiated in court, together with others
I.I tillering the Bonn Government, and Hedler has received a prison
' tilence of nine months. It has come to light that he, too, has
tii-ilicd his denazification questionnaire.
Ilcdler's activities and outspoken antisemitism did not prevent
(Ik- (ierman Reich Party from retaining him as a member for a year,
I Ik' reason for his eventual expulsion seems to be that the German
Mrich Party, alarmed at the possibiHties that it may be banned}
iiiuler a new Federal law, has been taking steps to make itself
more "respectable." The expulsion of Hedler would certainly be
ii move in that direction.
This morose, unattractive figure will doubtless play an important
43
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
part in the Nationalist revival Th^ c • r ^
a likely home for him eS; I., f '^'^^'^ ^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^
as greatly inferior to^ims^f '''''' '" ^'^^^^ ^^^
LEAGUE OF GERMAN SOLDIERS
to reminisce over a slas, of hi f °"*'" ^"'^ ^^ch
helped comrades^j'S^ ^o^S Zt. T '"'''''
it would be flyingt £ See of ^ " '^'^•'^" "''^^""'■^ -'^i
development as „ "u ' Sd fn^rn'"'" ''"'' ""' '° ^^^^^^ ''
chaotic state of eJs liceir? -,"''''? "'^' particularly i
Germany were taken ™cS™t'^" -habilitation in W,'
grouX'^'S'nXLr/r^'^ ^^ --''^ '^ ^'-
long as they keep outofZ^ "f' '" ^*™^" '^'^^'^crac
and welfare acfwties And it r ^"^ ?"^"*' "^^""^^'^^^ «° ^
exist for disquiet-^ not alarm '"""'' °" ''^'^ ^^°^« *^' ^'
grou%U''tlfLttdir,l^"^°^''^^^' -^--'-ns
welfare work ThZZttX°l °" '"'" "'^^^''^ "^^"'^'^^^ ^
in Bonn, led by ex-Admir ^ '''' "^'^S"'^' ^"^ headquar
Society, operal^m sXin'^Se^'G ^ '"''''''' ^™-
ex-General Krakau The Bonn I Germany, and led
W tbe two bodies in tbe early y Js SL^" l^e^-^teS
complete not on/rS bZeTa:,^"' *'^ ^" ^' "^^ -"
and speeches havi„rqui?e definit r"'", ""' "'^° ^^=°'"^i
assumed a special i^prt^itfhetr/"'""'""' "^1
among member^States of th. xt . . . °^ ^"""^'^^^ discussiJ
roia
.^rttCH hStMI'Ml', RIGHT AND NATIONALIST GROUPS
i i'.H|>(\".siiig Ihc views of the raw material from which
i .. nniiM units and formations might be formed for the
H tii\
.^1 nl iIk-:,c reunions was that of the former Grossdeiitsch-
»uiir<t Division in Kassel. Its old commander, ex-Geneml
I. II is true, issued orders that Ernst Remer— who had
hI hf; liallalion commanders^should not be allowed to
\ *.\v til' ihe undesirable political implication. On the other
iMiruMi'l was received with stormy applause, when he told
UM-. without a blush, that there could be no defence
Mun I H' I ween Germany and the North Atlantic Treaty
Miini (Jerman ex-generals serving sentences for war crimes
. M-lriised and until the process of denazification had been
1 I vv;is in June, 1951. Next month former members of the
., iK'vils" Parachutist Brigades met in Brunswick under
..I I Ramcke, In his speech Ramcke demanded that the
, ' of the German soldier should be cleared, and it was|
\ i!i;ii within the meaning of the term "German soldier
i.MliKk'd former members of the S.S. and S.D. and the
it|n. (/(' Figaro, 21.8.51)— all condemned as organisations',
.hy Ml j'onocide, mass torture, and other crimes against humanity
I hi- Nncrcmberg Tribunal. Later, veterans of the Armoured
,.s nl Africa met at Iserlohn, in the Ruhr. Former cavalry-
H Iku'c formed their own "Yellow Circle." Plans were
,1 M iMititumced for rallies of Gebirgsjaeger (Mountain Troops), the
< Miultvr Legion" of German airmen who fought for Franco in
, ,Mi mid were responsible for the bombing of Guernica, and even
ill." \Vaj]en S.S, organisation, condemned at Nuremberg for the
,.,. (.In- of some ten million non-combatant men, women, and
h.l.lu-n, including six million Jews,
I ill- importance of the new political entity on the German scene
i!i.- uppearance of the so-cahed ''Front Line Generation," with
II '.hriil demand for the "vindication of the German soldier's
JHHinur" (an echo of Remer's S.R.P. programme ?)-^should not be
iitt.lrrcstimated. Certainly the politicians at Bonn do not. To his
,,K'. the Federal Chancellor, Dr. Adenauer, has not been above
,,Ming tribute to this strange concept of "honour," while his
M)nister of the Interior, Dr. Lehr, has proclaimed his intention of
irviving German World War II medals— all of which, of course.
45
i
u
m
tJBRMANys NEW NAZIS
are stamped with the swastika s^ ,
Dr. Schumacher, doubtirw fh '"""'^ **" ami-militarii
that he has nothing agaStTwf '"" *° '"" '^"^'""^s- ^^^ '^
tions. Those in Wesfem F T"°" ^^ ^^-^oldiers' organ.
West German democil S^' ^'°/"'''^ *^ development
only hope that Dr. sSLX wS^'n?"' ^f .^"'"y- »
for regretting this remark. ^ °""^' '" *^ fu'W
|Join?d£fd?a'S'foSk"Thrf "' ^-Servicemen's organisation
ithe provisional Presil'cy ^ ^tSL^e °"'"^" ^"''^'"^ " ""^
> "meDirectorofMihtarvT-J ■ I ^^"^''^^ Friessner. o»
the possible colo„ of L new "' '" "' l^'"r""<cht. In considen.
, to to state that severL of ,"s co2on 'Tr. '" *' ^"^"^- '' '^ "7
rf.«/.cW.„rf Division and ic Afrfca r ''^^Tf-^'^^Wy the Grao
. tions had, at their own ral i^s f^ 1? ^°'^' ^''^ C°""-^des' Assocu
^ /o President Heuss, ffirS tvrT°l''''-^'^"^^^"'=^^^»
Republic. ^ '"^'^'y to the German Fedea
o^i"r,;st^s^al~svLf^"^^ -' *^ --
alarming. Friessner's aUitede Ih '-'''"' "'' ''"''' ^^'^^
Plot" of July 20. 19^ L^f' "^"^i ''^"'"'^ '« *e "Genera
c^eciding factor in detelS ^tl" d^^:?' bT'^'^ ^^ *
ex-ofBcer has cast off the Na/fn !i 7 . '"''"''' ^ Germ,
Bonn politicians as ev d nfe lat If '."w' ''''^"'^"''^ ''"'''^'i
National Socialism in Gerln tt If 5,^' '/"'^^^""
I He described the plot as "an Zzl , ' ^""^ unequivoc
Commander behind the back o 2 F° ""-^'f *^ '"P^«
according to Friessner (h. i , ^™°'- What is mo
'BolsheviL" whT the orll ? "'' ""^ "'^^'^Ay ^ ^^^^ -g^
inevitable r;ply to die ntofn '"'''^°" "^ ^"'^"^ was '
tme that theL^Tont^c^nt s"ha™S"a°c ?™^-" ''
/adverse criticism among ex .012? T. ''^'"'^™ ^^ount .
■•eplacing Friessner. At the t me o T '""■' '^"'^ ''^=" ''^^'^ '
concrete action has been t kl" It s dTffi' u ^""' '^^'^^^^r- »
extent the continued presence "f Fri ssnS^i! fTl '° "^^
League ,s due to the fact that hW.nu I n '^^^^^rship of th
amongitsmembersorwh tie heha?;i<l! '"'"^'^ ' ^™^^^1 o"!
a fear that his successor n:S be a ^e X"f "' '"^"^^ 4
same views and therefore a more rl.T '"'^"'^ent exponent of thi/
the name of Guderian is sretl^^JS^r ^" *'^ --^tion
46
OTHER EXTREME RIGHT ANO NATIONALIST GROUPS
I hr League's appeal, for its part, proudly asserted the loyalty
.-V M)ldier-s "to our nation and our State, independent of all
interests, governments, and occupying Powers." The care
\hich any commitment of loyalty specifically to the Federal
if 'lie on the lines of the earlier Grossdeiitschland Division
In (inn was avoided, is both striking and depressing. Moreover,
'urji the League distinguishes between "political" and
-iiiary" membership of the S.S. the fact that it has decided to''
I 'I S.S, men as members is disturbing, since anyone familiar
■ ihc way the S.S. was run realises that only in rare cases is it
ii'lc to distinguish, in terms of personnel, between its political
lutlice functions, on the one hand, and its military functions on
-ilier. Consequently there is a considerable danger that this
i.m will be used as the thin end of the wedge in attempts
■liitewash the whole criminal organisation.
I I would almost seem as if the sober forebodings expressed in
!''iti hy one of the most moderate and politically mature statesmen
til Western Germany, Karl Arnold, Christian Democrat Premier
I (he Rhineland, are coming true, Tt was Dr. Arnold who then,
iswer to a speech by Manteuffel at a Free Democratic Party
iiig at Dusseldorf, publicly proclaimed his fear that Germany's
^ -.oldiers, once organised, v/ould represent a mailed pressure
ghuip which could threaten the infant German democracy. Eighteen
iiiniiths later the Bonn correspondent of the Observer reported
llm! the League is regarded by many German democrats as " being
I danger of becoming a tool for the political ambitions of a limited
iiitiiber of professional oflficers."
47
.im.m
CHAPTER V
TROJAN HORSES
THERE are, then, in the Federal German Republic, a larg.
iiTJmber of nationalist groups, varying in size and in the exteni
to which they demand the restoration of the Third Reich, ll
would be foolish to expect otherwise. Given freedom to conduct
political activity, a high cost of Uving, considerable unemploymenl
and, above all, the nostalgia of prosperous peasants for tlir
favouritism with which they v;ere treated in the Third Reich,
remnants of Nazism were bound to appear and express themselvei,
But equally, democratic parties and a loyal democratic civil service
and police force should be able to respond successfully to this Nazi
\challenge. With the experience of Weimar to draw on, the democrat
bf Western Germany should feel confident of their ability to beat thl
hew Nazism. But it is precisely confidence that tliey lack.
A good part of the reason is— and here lies the need for extreme
vigilance— that the democratic apparatus in Germany has been
undermined by nationalists. It is by no means certain that, in f
struggle against Right-wing extremism, either all the ostensiblj
democratic parties or all the police and civil .service could be reliej
on. The Weimar Republic was handed to Hitler bound and gagged
by a conspiracy of men who had sworn loyalty to the State they
destroyed. Statesmen who w^ere apparently democratic combined
with disloyal civil servants and law^ officers to destroy Germaft
democracy in 1932 and 1933. The same danger exists to-day, and
jfit is the most serious aspect of the present situation. Some demo-
cratic parties have been heavily infiltrated by nationalists. Others
have switched to more nationalist propaganda because the electorate
is tending that way. Old Nazis are reappearing in the civil service /
land police forces. They are doing so with the knowledge and, in
some cases, the support of Federal Ministers.
48
mOJAN HORSES
What confidence, for instance, can be placed in the ability of /
llir Federal Minister of the Interior, Dr,. Lehr, to deal with the
rt'surgent Nazis when it is discovered that he staffs the new Federal
|ii)lice force with ex-S.S. officers, and refuses to dismiss them?
W'l that is the case. Democrats and anti-Nazis are discouraged and
i lit- lined to withdraw from the political arena. This growing convic-
iKni among many of their opponents that the State neither can nor
will fight for democracy when challenged does in fact represent the
I lojan Horse of the new Nazis.
The Federal Chancellor, Dr. Adenauer, is open to serious
iiticism on this score. He refused to dismiss a senior Bonn civil
^•rvant, Dr. Globke, who wrote the official Nazi legal commentary
Mil Hitler's Nuremberg Racial Laws. The Chancellor was at first
i i|iially stubborn about Dr. Ehrich, another civil servant who was
inrmerly an S.S. officer and had been the Nazi Party's chief repre-
^ Illative in Italy during the war. Eventually this man had to leave {
Hiiim, but the Christian Democrats at once found him a new job|
I ..'c below.] The Chancellor, possibly to avoid further public debates
.il>out the merits of his appointments, took over the portfoHo of the
lu'vv Foreign Ministry and refused to reveal his appointments to the
ikw posts created. Nevertheless they could not remain a secret
iiiLlefinitely, and as the names emerge the impression grows daily
more disturbing. The Chancellor's behaviour as the leader of a
'!i:mocratic State is — ^at least in this respect — extraordinary. His
.ippointments are more so.
From the old German Foreign Office (declared a criminal
oiganisation at Nuremberg) come: William Melchers (Appoint-
(ocnts Branch), one of whose war-time assignments was to organise
the activities of the Grand Mufti's fanatical supporters in the Middle
I ■;ist ; Dr. Kurt Heinberg (Economics and y\ppointraents Branch)
ilirected the East European Division of the Nazi Foreign Office,
which collaborated with Himmler's R.S.H.A. in the massacre of
lialkan Jews ; Werner von Bargen, w^ho, as the representative of the
1 Jerman Foreign Office in occupied Belgium, was responsible for
lacilitating the execution of Hitler's repressive measures in that
country, and in particular the deportations of Jews and patriots to
[he Nazi death camps. These are only a few of the ex-Foreign Office
officials whom Dr. Adenauer finds suitable to mould Germany's
relations with the outside world. A random selection from those
who were not in the old Foreign Office and so cannot claim v^^hat
49
1 A^LlllI
GERMANY'S NEW NAZfS
I
diplomatic experience includes the followin<T
passes for
ex-Nazis :
I . xP^' ^°^^' ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ deportation of Jews from Amsterdm
to Mauthausen,
Dr von Rinteien, who ordered the extermination of k:
deported trom Rumania,
i Dr. von Grundherr, also an active " exterminator."
I Dr. Becker, ex-Gestapo official
These cases and others similar to them can be multiplied i
length,* Comment is superfluous— indeed, inadequate.
Dr, Ehrich, whom pressure of opinion forced to leave his postii
Bonn, went to Lower Saxony. There he worked as campaif
organiser for the Christian Democrat-German Party electoral bio.
m the May elections. His recent history in Bonn was thought to b(
an electoral asset, and he was described on his own party postcn
as special Nazi representative in Italy during the war, and his rani
(Obersturnbannflihrer S.S.) was added as a further attraction
Observers assure us that all parties in the May elections, includinr
the Socialists, fought on highly nado nalistic pl atforms (e.g., Th
Economist, 12.5,51), ~ "™" ' ' — ^
This might sound surprising in the case of the Social Democrats,
but whoever thinks of Dr. Schumacher, their leader, as an anti
nationalist is making a profound mistake. He has persistently, lo
instance, outbid Dr, Adenauer in intransigence on the question ui
the Saar. A speech made by Dr. Schumacher in Berlin in the summci
of 1951 made the point that although Germany belonged to the Wc-
her remilitarisation would be on her own terms. It was the SocialiM
deputy. Professor Nolting, who introduced a motion into th?
Bundestag in 1950 (it was passed unanimously) calling for the end
of all reparations from Germany— measures which Noltins called
" economic lunacy." He said no word about Germany's oblTgatiom
to repair the damage done by her aggression, nor that the level ol
reparations had been agreed upon in the Petersburg Agreement,
signed both by Chancellor Adenauer and the Allied High Commis-
sioners. Although no action was taken the SociaHst^ motion, in
effect, called for a unilateral denunciation of Germany's obligation*
to right the wrongs she committed.
If the Socialist escutcheon is marred by blots, that of the Fry
Democrats (F.D.P.) is practically obscured. The early promise ol
^r '."TJiese details are talen. from an investigation made by the staff of thr
World Jewish Congress m Germany. They were released in New York on 29.7.51
50
TROJAN HORSES
I,,:, |,;ti-ty — as a liberal, n on -sectarian party of free enterprise — has
«ir disappeared. Men like Professor Heuss, the Federal President.
- ■ l:een left far behind by the nationalist tide which has seized f
-II party. Typical now are tHe " tanlfums of Vice-Chancellor
!u. her, who resigned from his post on the Ruhr Authority because
ii.' other members insisted that Germany must maintain her coal
^|UM-ts and help share the burden of Europe's fuel crisis. Bliicher
' ilk'; firandly about European Union and Germany's part in it. But,
' practice, any suggestion that Germany should contribute coal,
Mhrc than draw lightheartedly on the credits of the European
'ivmcnts Union, is for him a ground for resignation. We saw how
•ii'- neo-Nazi European Social Movement interprets the "European
immunity " ; there is a marked resemblance to this interpretation
•i> HKicher's attitude and in that of the party he leads.
Recent Free Democrat activities include a press attack on the
>. u ish trade unionist Rosenberg as an *' ex -emigre " with " Eastern
V .liilic principles " {Frankfurter Rundschau, 10.8.51), and an attack
'", one of the party's Federal Deputies on the U.S. occupation
■'iihnrities for " interference " and treating the law with " supreme
I Kempt."
" In Hesse," according to Terence Prittie, speaking on the
s^.C.'s Third Programme in June, " the ex-Nazis identified them-
l\cs with the Free Democrats." In Lower Saxony, by keeping I
iloof from the Christian Democrats and the German Party, the Free
1 '.-inocrats were able to wage a sufficiently nationalistic campaign
' hold their ground where the other two Bonn parties lost heavily
iM I he Right.
Though conservative and free enterprise in its economic views,!
I 111- extreme nationalism of the German Party (D.P.) is notoriousj
M harboured the antisemitic Hedler until the scandal became tool
■ u'at. Dr. Globke (see page 49) was first taken on as a Federal
f ivil Servant in one of the two ministries held by German Party
nirmbers.
It remains, however, the distinction of the Christian Democrats
I Adenauer's own party) to have in its ranks the first ex-Nazi to
i i-rome Prime Minister of a Land, He is Herr Bartram, for a
Misic Prime Minister of Schleswig-Holstein. He headed a cabinet
■i which more than half the members were formerly in the Nazi
r.uty. Its first act was to put an end to denazification in the Land
I h^rr Bartram, who was a prosperous business man in the Third
51
1 '
i i
t
'
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
Reich, has not changed his views to any great extent since the d«
of Nazism. Here is the report of an interview he gave in 1951 :
During the war membership of the (Nazi) Party was a mi
I of patriotism. People abroad must try to understand this,
present government of Schleswig-Holstein is composed of men
never left the pohtical arena during the last 20 years, which
advantage in government.
(Frankfurter Allgeme'me Zeitimg, 26,4j
This view of Bartram's is not just an exaggeration peculiar
Schleswig-Holstein (admittedly a reactionary area). Drew Middletan
(The Struggle for Germany) has written as follows about von Knocr
ringen, the Bavarian Socialist leader, who worked in exile for iln
Allies during the war:
He is continually assailed by the Bavarian Party and the Righl
wmg of the C.D.U.-C.S.U.* as a " traitor to Germany '\ . . " In my
speeches '' (he says) " there is always someone who will break lit
and shout 'The British hanged Amery, we should hang you/ "
Even the Communist Party adds its contribution of nationalism
to this brew. Admittedly it is hard for Communists to take a firm
line on the Eastern Territories now signed away to Poland by the
East Zone Government, But they are up with the other political
leaders when it comes to noisy intransigence on the Saar, attacking;
the " exploitation " of Germany through reparations and the Ruhi
Authority and, most of all, urging the need for a united Germany,
Flaws in the democratic parties are paralleled by flaws in the
administration in Bonn. Some of them— particularly in the new
Foreign Office— have already been noted. The Manchester Guardian
^ jBonn correspondent (7.7.51) has pointed out that in the first six
months of 1951 23 ex-Nazis joined one ministry (Economics) alone.
This the correspondent did not find particularly surprising, since the
head of the Appointments Board of the Chancellory was himself
a Nazi--in fact. Dr. Globke, the author of the legal commentary on
the Nueremberg Laws.
I The case of the Ministry of the Interior, under Dr. Lehr, has
already been mentioned. Over half of the men selected for the first
training courses for officers in the new Federal Police Forces
consisted of ex-Nazis. Out of 80 trainees, 22 had been S.S. officers,
and five had even been members of the Freikorps (the private
armies of 1918-1923 fighting in Poland and the Baltic States, out
*C.S.U. Is the Bavarian version of the Christian Democrat C.D.U.
TROJAN HORSES
! which the Nazi Storm detachments developed). Although attention
.uis drawn to thi-s at the beginning of 1951, nothing was done.
HiHher the policy continues. The Socialist deputy, Manzel, stated
ill July, 1951, that of the 40 men who had just undergone training
H'( M'iiior police officers in the Federal Frontier Guard at Hanover,
\ \ luid been Nazis before Hitler came to power. MenzeTs statement
not challenged by the authorities.
What confidence can be placed in such men, or in the ministers
ill) are responsible for their appointment ? At first the defence was
'i! ''trained" police oflicers had been forced to join the partyl
"iJcr Hitler. That does not account for the pre- 1933 vintages, which
' so popular, nor does it square with earlier experience where local
. opposed to Federal) police forces, formed under Allied super-
I inn, were very suitably stafl'ed with oflicers who had no Nazi
u- kg round.
Of course, these F'ederal Police Force trainees have been
ilcnazified," which means, as far as their views and their attitude
i 'Wards democracy go, precisely nothing. Certain Nazi party ranks
ikI certain activities were declared punishable by the Allied authori-
• u--, in 1945 ; subsequently the law was made more lenient. Slowly
■ Mid not completely'^') sentences have been passed and served.
Jremely few who were punished regarded themselves as guilty ;
Hul they are usually considered to be martyrs. Thus a " denazified "
|H-liceman is one who was a Nazi and has either been exonerated or
iniiished. To suggest that he is in any way reformed is quite
unwarranted. He may now think that Hitler was misguided ; but
ill that make him any more effective against men who were Nazis
hen he was, and who may well have been friends and colleagues of
I lis ? He will be more likely to think of his enemies as those German
iiiii-Nazis who sat on his denazification tribunal. § The same applies
(■• the ex-Nazis who continue to flow into ministries and Govern-
MiL'Ht departments.
The Socialist paper, Neue Vorwcirts (8.12.50), analysed the Nazi
iiid nationalist menace as two -fold. There is first the direct approach
* E.g,, Dr. Schacht was exonerated by his final iribuiial.
§ The Kolnische Rundschau (a loyal supporter of Adenauer) r-eported on
; 4.51 that former members of the Dlisseldorf Denazification Board have
ii!caled to their Parlianrtentary deputies for protection from the discrimination
I'l iciiscd against them by reinstated Nazis.
Das Freie Wort (20.4.51) reported that the President of the Munich Ehjnazifi-
II Jon Board, Fritz Wetzel, is now a cashier in the Bavarian State Theatre, all
■ her employment having been refused him. Ca&es of this sort are now beieg
■ iK^rted with greater frequency.
53
r
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
T
/of setting up explicitly extremist parties to collect as many votes B
'possible. And, secondly, there is the tactic of infiltrating tl).
r bourgeois " parties, which, says Neue VorwdrL<;, has worked ver'.
well in the case of the Free Democrats, and can be further developjil
if the Right-wing vote slumps, or the extremist parties #
^suppressed. So far there has been no opportunity to gauge the m
support for nationalism throughout the Federal Republic. H^
present situation was embryonic at the time of the 1949 electio|
Yet it is necessary to give some rough idea of the m.easure of man-
support behind the nationahst trends inside the ostensible
democratic parties.
Here is a quotation from a United States Government repon
made shortly after the 1949 Federal Elections. It must not b*
forgotten that nationahst trends have continued to grow since then
: Four million votes (out of 23 million, i,e„ more than one-sixth;
IS considered to be a liberal estimate of Nationalist strength a-,
shown in the election. The figure represents the total vote of thi
German Right Party (which is now the German Reich Party) tin
bulk of the German Party, half of the Free Democrat vole \in
half the invalid vote, which, because of its abnormal size, can b
attributed to obstructionism in areas where extreme nationalisU
conducted campaigns against the Basic Law and advocated recouru
to the invalid ballot. >
CHAPTER VI
ANTISEMITISM
Broadcasting in America, the U.S. High Commissioner for G^
many said in the summer of 1951 :
There are in the German population still remnants of a totali-
tarian ideology, a certain aggressive nationalism, and in a number
of circles a feeling of superiority over other peoples. Some Ger
mans are reluctant to realise the full importance of the terribl
crimes of the Hitler years.
The same idea was expressed more vigorously by the leadii
German writer, Rudolf Pechel, who is well known for his unremj
ting struggle against totafitarianism of the Left and the Right
Our people is still suffering from a spiritual and moral disease
This IS shown not merely by the number of Nazis and their fellow-
travellers who have appeared in official positions, governmeni
offices and the press, but by the fact that they are now in a position
to carry out the restoration of Nazi ideas as they wish.
(Deutsche Rundschau, July, 195
54
C
Those who suffered most under the Nazis scarcely dare raise
nrirh''''- ''P'T^^^ "^ l^^y ^^^^^ ^ith an almost otaf ack of
comprehension and sympathy. The case of the Jewish victims calls
^tt.^I ^T'' i ^^'^^'^y in the past. But that should never-
nlnrl f "^^'^^^'^^t'^ ^^^^^^ then, for the people have a tendency
to fo get, as they have already forgotten the anti-Jewish persecu^
ors, the extermination of the Jews in the gas chambers . .^. of all
fa'e. ' '^^'''^^' ^^' ^'^' '''^^'^^ ^^^ ^o^t teSble
That is why we have a moral responsibihty, especially towards
he Jews^ ... It is our inevitable duty to do whatever we caTfor
hose whom the Nazi criminals chose as their principal vSims
(Professor Carlo Schmid in a speech to the Bundestag, April, 1951 j
^ ARLO SCHMID is the deputy leader of the Socialist Party—
a man of culture and humane instincts leading a party which
has, apart from occasional lapses, a sound democratic record.
V conference of German doctors not long ago expressed its horror
( the crimes committed against Jews in the name of " science."
!crr Lueth, a high official in Hamburg, has been conducting a
.- .nnpaign against the showing of films by Veit Harlan— producer of
iIk' Nazi film " Jew Stiss "^and for this, as well as on account of
Ins courageous call for peace between Germany and Israel, has
incurred the odium of the Right-wing nationahsts. Professor Heuss,
ilic Federal President, spoke in 1949 of the need for the German
[i<M)ple to feel a "collective shame" for the crimes of the Third
'i'l-ich. In 1951, on the occasion of the Jewish New Year, he made
■Ml important statement.
Professor Heuss called for a new start in GermanJewish rela-
lions. Though the past should not be forgotten, " it should not," he
■■aid, " be allowed to overshadow a new beginning. With good will,
diis new beginning should prove a further stage in the painful
|)focess of conciliation." Dr. Adenauer, the Federal Chancellor, in
Ills own message, stated squarely: '* We have to repair the wrongs
ilone to the Jews and fight with the utmost energy those forces which
55
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
have not yet realised that intolerance and arrogance are the grave
diggers of liberty." A similar tone was set in the message of ih
Socialist leader, Dr. Kurt Schumacher, who described the core of hl>
party's policy in tWs matter to be moral and material restitution.
These individual messages were preceded on September 27,
I95I3 by an even more important and significant official declaration
of policy from tlie Federal Government itself. This document sta^
unequivocally that " unspeakable crimes were perpetrated in H
name of the German people, which impose upon them the obligation
to make moral and material amends." It pledged the Federal G^
man Government " to see to it that restitution legislation is jus*
implemented," and offered to discuss with Jewish representati«
and the Israeli Government ways and means of bringing about *%
solution of the material restoration problem in order to facilitatr
the way to a spiritual purging of unheard-of suffering."
Though the first official Israeli reaction was inevitably cautioi|
there are good grounds for hoping that these pronouncements wjl
eventually lead to fruitful results. Certainly, all concerned on tlie
German side are to be congratulated on their far-sightedness and
moral courage in putting their fingers squarely on the heart of the
problem: the open admission of responsibility on their part, ai
the leaders of the new democratic Germany, to do what they can $6
make amends for the indescribable horrors inflicted on European
Jewry by their fellow- coi.'ntrymen. Nor would it be right to pass on
without noting the fact that when the Federal Government's declara-
tion was read out in the Bonn Parliament by Dr. Adenauer, thf
listening deputies rose to their feet, all of them— with the exception
of the extreme Right— applauding the document. So far, so good.
'^ Yet it is not easy to forget the nation-wide campaign to reprieve
notorious slaughterers of Jews like Ohlendorf, Pohl, and Schmidt
After a drive, the degree of whose cynicism can only be compared
to its extent, the attempt failed, and these and other butchers mB(
then: just fate at Landsberg in the summer of 1951, In the preceding
months there was a tremendous agitation for the reprieve of these
men on " humanitarian " grounds, conducted by representatives of
all parties, including even, in some cases. Social Democrats,
Execution of their sentences had been delayed for over 1|
months through persistent and skilful use by their lawyers of the
right of appeal in U.S. courts. This suspense, said the agitated Ger
mans, was inhumane ; a reprieve was morally essential. It seenM
56
ANTISEMiTISM
improbable that hypocrisy, although possibly unconscious, has ever
tMie farther. These appeals to ethics and humanity in relation to
-ni-n like the exterminator of the Warsaw Ghetto, the leader of the
' ^termination units in the Ukraine or the Adjutant of Buchenwald,
■\rro surel)' a misuse of language for which it is hard to find a
l^rallel. Considering the sufferings these mass murderers inflicted,
-I rath by hanging was a merciful punishment. Yet they were given a
i.iir trial, humane treatment, and the right of appeal.
That the " Brotherhood " and Remer's supporters called their
■ \ caution murder is a measure of these people's outlook. In the case
««l' the neo-Nazis the agitation is perhaps logical enough, since for
them an order from Hitler, whatever its nature, had to be obeyed
■Hid the perpetrator of the such appalling crimes were, in their eyes,
ilierefore, right. It is easy to see why these extremists, with their
'Iccp Nazi convictions, should stage demonstrations at the graveside
nl' the " fallen heroes " of Landsberg. The complete lack of taste of
iich demonstrations" "was" aIso~lo be expected. What is incompre-
licnsible is that supporters of the democratic parties should have, in
nine cases, lent their support to the campaign.
There has been little opportunity for antisemitism in Germany
nice the war. Hitler reduced a thriving Jewish community of over
1 1:1 If a milHon to a pitiful remnant of 25,000, many of whom, aged,
■ick and maimed, are living on public relief. The Streichers of the
Inderal Republic, more cautious now than formerly, consequently
Icive had little on which to exercise their talents, except the occa-
■innal misdeeds of individual D.P.s. More serious than this, but
ilifficult to pin down, was the whispering campaign against the
rinigre Jews who came back with the U.S. Army and took up posts
m the government of occupation. At one time the man most
\iciously attacked in Germany was the emigre German Jewish
I'lofessor, Robert Kempner, a member of the American prosecution
I 'Tim at the Nueremberg trials.
The usual line of verbal propaganda was (and still is) that world
Icwry is wreaking its vengeance on helpless Germany through these
men in the U.S. occupation forces. Bitter denunciations of
^^ American " occupation policy often have in the minds of speakers
;ii"id listeners an antisemitic meaning. Remer is extremely anti-
American."
It was not until the agitation_about the men of Landsberg that it
1 JL'came clear how strongly antisemitism had persisted. The stream
57
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
Which many foreign observers believed had almost dried up in
n I95?iTd%5l'' i" fact, continued to flow strongly undergrou,
in 1950 and 1951, along with the other manifestations of Nazism
Remer s Socialist Reich Party was naturally well ahead In a B B
talk on the party, Terence Prittie (Manchester Guardian Bo'
correspondent) described how Hans Festge, a former Hauptstu
fuhrer of Nazi days^ stated on oath that ^ there had only been on«
concentration camp gas chamber in Germany. That was at Dacha,,
and it had done a proper job cremating prisoners w^ho had died oi
t.'^^^:: : *« ^'' ^''^^'^ '^^''^'^ ^^'^^^^^ supporter of Remer'.
saymg that the Americans had appointed tribunals compos
exdusively of Jews to sentence Germans to death " (The Listem
It is additionally macabre to think of this creature on oatL
miking nonsense about installing a gas chamber for those alreadj
The Sunday Times (26.5.51) had another interesting item : '
antisemitism sweeping (Germany as Hid In fm "'"^ ^'"' "'
This particular form of blackmail has a familiar ring to those
who^have experienced or studied the persecution of the Jews under
Before the Landsberg executions the Bavarian Party and the i
Christian Democrats called a "mercy" demonstration outside the '
jail. A counter^demonstration of Jewish Displaced Persons wm
roughly broken up by the police, while the original demonstrators '
, chanted. Out with the Jews, Out with the Jews." This again
Illustrates the effect of the Landsberg affair in releasing hithert!
suppressed antisemitic feeling. While this demonstration was
reported throughout the German daily press, only the American-run
Neue Zeitung reported the antisemitic slogans i
An old source of pleasure to th^ more retiring antisemites, thj
desecration by night of Jewish cemeteries, has gone on steadily in'
Germany. Sometimes it appears to be on the decrease, only to break '
out agam. It was this level of hooliganism (not, of course; confined
to Germany) which produced in the Muenster area on April 20
58
ANTISEMITISM
(Hitler's birthday) a clandestine leaflet, decorated with a swastika,
r;iUing on the Germans to rise from their " defeat at the hands of
/\iiasuerus."* This same Ahasuerus figured in a text-book of
icligious stories issued in 1950 for the use of Catholic schools in
North Rhine- Westphalia. The authorities who had sanctioned the
hook said that this raw piece of antisemitism had been slipped in
;ilter they had approved the proofs. Orders were given for the book
u^ be withdrawn, but the Diisseldorf correspondent of the Frank-
it srier Rundschau found he could still buy it in any quantity he
wished, weeks after the ban had been issued.
It would, of course, be wrong to exaggerate the significance of
every small incident which has, or could have, an antisemitic slant.
Sometimes these things have their origins in sheer stupidity and
tactlessness. Yet this very fact is symptomatic of an attitude of mind
which is still widespread.
In the light of the various declarations made in September, 1951,
it is worth glancing at the progress made so far in compensating
those who were persecuted and lost their property under the Nazis.
The subject of the legislation and its administration is extremely
complicated, and it will suffice to say here that there are three main
categories :
(i) The restitution of identifiable property seized or forcibly sold
by order of the Nazis {e.g,, houses, shops, etc.).
(ii) compensation for suffering under the Nazis {e.g„ imprison-
ment» loss of health, torture, etc.).
(iii) restitution of financial claims {e,g„ where businesses were
lost, and special " loans " or " taxes " exacted).
A German expert assesses that to fulfil all their obligations under
these three heads the Germans of the Federal Republic will have to
find betvv^een 5 and 5 J milliard Deutschemarks (very approximately
£400,000,000)^though the figure is a rough estimate. It is a large
sum, but when German financial experts were first called upon to
work out a financial scheme of restitution and compensation they
made no demur and seemed anxious to be generous. It was only
later when it emerged that this would be an immediate charge on
the German budget that resistance and obstrucfion began to grow.
The financial experts had expected that these obligations would be
* In the stream of rubbishy antisemitic literature which has for many years
circulated in Gertnany. the name Ahasuerus has frequently been given to the
mythical " Wandering Jew,"
59
E*
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
»,.(
classed with Germany's multitudinous foreign debts which hav|
rarely been paid off in the past and which few Germans seriouslf
anticipate paying off in the future.
Generally speaking, the Social Democrats, many of whom wer|
themselves persecuted by the Nazis, have worked hard for adequati
compensation and restitution. Up till the Bonn Declaration of Sepi
tember, 1951, the same could not be said of all the Federal and
Lander Governments. (Berlin has been a bright and honourabli
exception.) More typical of a widespread feeling among Germans fl
Federal Minister Hellwege's attitude when he demanded that the
restitution law be changed, because it was causing hardship to thoso
who acquired Jewish properties through forcible sales. (Hellwege il
the leader of the German Party.)
This speech must have given inspiration to the " League of Loyal
Restituters " set up in 1950-51 with headquarters in Frankfurt-am-
Main. These gentlemen are calling for compensation for those who
have " suffered " under the restitution laws— in other words, thosfl
who have had to disgorge Jewish property sold at nominal prices t^
friends and members of the Nazi party.
In the American Zone the situation is better than in the Bri^i
Zone. In the former, insistence by the occupation authorities M
meant that there are now adequate compensation laws in the various
American Zone Lander. But confusion still exists about restitution
of losses other than of identifiable property. The situation in the
French Zone is that less generous laws than exist in the American
Zone are, on the other hand, generally better administered.
The obstructionists have been able to take advantage of the
Auerbach affair in Bavaria. Auerbach, the Restitution Commis-
sioner of Bavaria (a German Jew who was himself a victim of
persecution) was charged with having accepted restitution claims
which he knew to be false, and himself to have misappropriated the
funds at his disposal. He has been relieved of his post, and a com-
mission of inquiry was still examining the case at the time of writing.
Nevertheless, restitution was for a time halted ; and the German
papers were using the " incident " as propaganda against restitution
and, in the less scrupulous papers, against Jews. Perhaps here again
it is easy to be too sensitive. But the periodicals which used to
publish slimily-phrased articles implying (without saying so directly)
that the black market was a " Jewish conspiracy," are again active
on the Auerbach case. Moreover, to those accustomed to British
60
ANTISEMITISM
lUmdards of justice it is particularly repulsive to see a man who,
although remanded in custody, has not been found guilty of any
« rime, spoken of by newspapers and legal officials of the State as
iI he were a convicted criminal.
On restitution in the British Zone it is worth while quoting an
.irticle which appeared in the Allgemeine (a German Jewish weekly)
on 1st June, 1951:
There are still no restitution* laws in the British Zone outside
Hamburg. Schleswig-Holstein says it cannot pay and Lower
Saxony maintains silence. If we understand the Lower Saxon
Government correctly they are saying that the Nazis were respon-
sible for the confiscation and exactions, and, therefore, the
claimants must wait until they (the Nazis) are in power again
before claiming.
If that seems unduly bitter, remember that the author describes
w state of affairs six years after the war ended. War criminals who
used Jewish slave labour in their factories are free and have their
property restored, ex-Nazis are civil servants and Cabinet Ministers,
I) Lit Jews who suffered and survived only by miracles are living on
pubhc relief in workhouses and hospitals, waiting until someone
passes a law under which they may submit a claim for compensation.
Generally there has been no sign of vigorous action by the
t icrman authorities. On the contrary, it was necessary in 1951 (Neue
/citung 13.6,51) for the U.S. High Commissioner, Mr. -McCloy, to
■late in sharp terms that whatever various people and organisations
in Germany might say about it, the U.S. authorities were going to
.^■c that their original restitution poHcy is carried out, as it stands
Hid in full. Similar vigour had up till mid- 1951 been lacking in the
Kritish Zone. At the end of July of that year, however, the British
I ligh Commissioner wrote to the Lander Prime Ministers expressing
!iis dissatisfaction with the slowness of restitution and his deterraina-
iiun to have it completed.
Jews who have elected to live as German chlzens in Germany
J nee 1945, or those who, for reasons of age and sickness, could not
I rave, have few reasons to be happy there. Norbert WoUheim, for a
(line leader of the British Zone Jewish community, frequently found
I I necessary to make sharp criticisms of the attitude of the German
■mlhorities. He further recorded that:
The Jews in Germany to-day live in complete isolation. There
is no contact or liaison between them and the Federal Government.
{Allgemeine, 13.7.51)
* Olhur tbun of idcnlifia'ble property— a relatively small part of the total losses.
61
'^h
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
I The Allgemeine, week in and week out, gives instances of anH
feemitic behaviour. Some of theui may be unimportant in themse!
'but taken as a total thev dve \h& imnre^Qinn that ^^u.^^u
ANTISEMITISM
le of National Socialism and German aggression are derived
n this single, insane obsession. The case is arguable, but German
«m^n. .1. n ^ur^ P^^.,!^^ impression that antisemiii-, ;, Ushers, flooding the book market with the memoirs of German
mper (20 7 STaid-^"" '' formidable. An editorial in t^ |r"erals and a best-seller by Ernst von Salamon (a Freikorps officer
* 1 'iii(i a self-confessed accomplice of political murders in the 1920's,
'h as that of the Weimar Foreign Minister, Walter Rathenau) will
I take a chance with von Bliicher's book. The prospects of sale
■ too slim for this urbane, closely reasoned attack on the Nazis
There is still not enough evidence of a change of heart In
(jrermany \n the sense of a complete rejection of all forms of and
Semitic propaganda. We draw attention in this connection li.
renazification, failure to purge Nazi elements from public lilf
glorification of men who have committed crimes against humanily
msufTicient protection of Jewish cemeteries . . . inadequate restidi
tion, and an increasing tendency to delay and avoid the payment of
compensation to the victims of Nazi persecution.
It is not only Jews in Germany who feel strongly on thcw
matters. A German, Ernst John, says he is appalled to find that llir
word " Jew " is once more being used as a term of abuse in G
many : He goes on :
/
^^Hh
This IS symptomatic of the views of certain circles in Germany,
to whom the expulsion and torture of several million Jews meatm '
nothing more now than the death of a netfulof fish drawn from (
the sea, whose agonising death they could observe without the
nicker of an eyelid.
{Neue Zeitung, 25.8.51)
The case is reliatly reported of a German Jew who went to livr
in a small Lower Saxon town where there was no Jewish congrega-
tion. A friend, replying to his inquiry, said: "You'll get on all
right here if you keep quiet about being a Jew."
Sterling work has been done to bring the Christian and Jewish i
communities together in Germany. Its considerable value has been
mentioned earlier. The Evangelical Church is doing excellently in
this field. But its patient work can be undone in a moment by an
incident like the following : An Evangelical clergyman in Marburg,
during a sermon, called the life and death of the murderer Ohlendorf
an "Easter Revelation" {Hannoversche Fresse, 16.6.51). The
implied parallel between Ohlendorf and the founder of Christianity
must be the extreme limit of blasphemy which a Christian minister
could reach.
Is it, under the circumstances, surprising to discover that Count
Kurt von Bliicher's book, "K.iow Your Germans," could find no <
publisher in Germany ? This book develops the thesis that Hitler*s
sole motivating idea was the destruction of the Jews, and that the
62
II i antisemitisrn, with its concomitant plea for tolerance and
niocracy. Likewise, the German edition of the deeply moving
Diary of Anne Frank," sold under a thousand copies.
One or two of the Nazi leaders tried at Nuremberg appear
■iuiinely to have repented the part they played in Hitler's Reich.
.ildur von Schirach, the Nazi Youth Leader, said at the trial:
It is my guiltj and I must bear it before God and the German
nation, that I educated German youth for a man whom I thought
irreproachable, but who was a murderer millions of times over.
li one of the highest Nazi leaders could admit the wholesale
iiiurder of innocent people, why cannot men who mostly claim to
li;ive opposed Hitler admit it, too ? If they cannot, then their claim
ii> our respect is less than that of one of Hitler's closest associates.
63
lUlLi.,
CHAPTER VII
DEMOCRATIC COUNTER-ACTION
N estimating the chances of Western Gerraany's survival as ft
democratic country, it is important to know what action the |
democratic elements have taken to combat the neo-Nazi
menace.
I
was
Speaking on August 22nd, 1951, the Federal Chancellor said it
... a shocking thing that, in addition to the Remer raovemeni
an organisation calling itself the Free Korps of Germanihld also
set Itself the task of reviving National Socialism. . . . The Fede
Government is firmly resolved not to tolerate such endeavours
.?Ll^'^ purpose we need the co-operation of all reallv democratk
forces
In May he had said
{The Times, 23.8.51)
n.Jl^''^^ ^^ plainly said that the most serious task of the Federal
Kepublic IS to have done with the leavings of the Third Reich. '
(The Times, 9,5.51)
What happened in the three months after the Chancellor had
stated the " most serious task '' ? Little enough for a British news- *
paper to comment : " Sharp action is required, and it would help if
he said how he intended to do it " (The Star, 23.8.51). The comment
IS perhaps somewhat harsher than the facts merit.
The Federal Government has actually introduced a law to
restrain, with fines and imprisonment, treason and action likely to i
endanger the Republic. Dr. Lehr (Minister of the Interior) has
announced that he has prepared a case for banning the S.R.P.
under the Basic Law, to be presented to the Constitutional Court!
This has now been set up. It remains to be seen, therefore, how
soon, and how vigorously. Dr. Lehr^s words will be translated into
acdon. Though, under another section of the Basic Law, the Federal T
Government has prohibited the para-military organisations of the
Socialist Reich Party, at the time of going to press, the S,R.P. still
64
DEMOCRATIC COXJNTER-ACTION
continues to exist and spread its evil propaganda. The most effective
action against the S.R.P. has been taken by the Lander Government
and the local authorities. With their much smaller powers they have
prohibited public meetings of the party, the public appearance of
many of its speakers, and have forbidden its leaders to go to certain
areas where violence has resulted from past visits.
Action has been taken by mayors and town councils in various
parts of Germany. The North Rhine- Westphahan Government
(Christian Democrat-Centre coalition) has given wide powers to its
police force to prohibit meetings and speakers of the Socialist Reich
Party. Similar action has been taken by the governments of Bavaria
and Wurttemberg-Baden.
The advantages of banning a party like the S.R.P, may well be
disputed. It may thrive underground ; its worst elements may
infiltrate other parties ; or the ban may degenerate into an undigni-
fied pursuit of a series of " new " parties, all concealing the identity
of the old. On the other hand, the reactions of the S.R.P, leaders
to talk of banning show^ that they did not expect it to do them
any good. Nevertheless, only harm can come from repeated threats
which are not in fact carried out. Ever since the question of banning
was first raised before the Lower Saxony elections, the Federal
Government's failure to act has been a source of ridicule and harm
to democracy.
" WAITING FOR THE EARL OF CHATHAM "*
Dr. Lehr said in May, 1951, echoing Dr. Adenauer:
. . . the Federal Government will not repeat the mistake of the
Weimar Republic and extend the same tolerance to the S.R.P. as
was enjoyed by the Hitler movement
This was after the elecUon. Before the election Lehr had taken part
in an unedifying farce. Having said in Bonn that the article of thel
Basic Law under which the Reichsfront and Reichsjugend had!
already been banned could be applied to the S.R.P. itself, he thenl
went on to say that action must wait until the Constitutional Court
*" Lord Cha'tham with his sword undrawn,
Is waiting for Sir Richard Strachan;
Sir Richard, longing to be at 'em.
Is waiting for the Earl of Chatham."
(Anonymous rhyme referring to the failure of the expedition against
Walcheren in 1809.)
65
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
was set up. In the meantime he urged the Lower Saxony authorities
to take action {Frankfurter Rundschau, 27.4.51). They replied
through Dr. Danehl (an official of the Lower Saxony Ministry of
the Interior) that only the Federal Government was in a position to
ban the S.R.P. (This was true ; but it was possible for the Lanii
Government to have taken other action.)
As soon as the Federal Government had taken action. Dr.
Danehl said, the Land Government would follow suit {Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitimg. 28.4.51). Dr. Lehr, apparently stung by this
was quoted by Die Welt as saying : " If Lower Saxony is not going
to do anything, then I shall take action." He set out by car from
Bonn to Celle (a Lower Saxony town, which is a centre of S.R.P.
activity). His impression of the subversive nature of the S.R.P. wa.s
confirmed by the visit, he told the TagespiegeL Such was the terror
practised by the party, he went on, that at first he had found it
impossible to get a garage for his car! (This in a small overcrowded
town full of correspondents and agents on the eve of an important
election.)
The visit concluded with a long talk between Dr. Lehr and the
Lower Saxony Premier and his Minister of the Interior. The result ?
" Dr. Lehr is believed to have said that Bonn proposes to wait for
a decision by the Lower Saxony Government" {Die Welt, 30.4.51).
At the time of going to press the S.R.P. is still a legal party.
Is it surprising that democrats in this area were depressed and
even nervous ? Such behaviour is bound to bring democracy into
contempt. The probable reason for this farce is that both the Bonn
Coalition and the Social Democrats, who are dominant in Lower
Saxony, were hoping for tactical advantages by not taking action
against the S.R.P. Herr Kopf (the Socialist Premier) was said by
some observers to want to keep the S.R.P. in being until after the
election, so that it would (as, indeed, it did) draw off votes from his
Right-wing opponents. On the other hand, the leader of the Free
Democrats in Bonn, Herr Schaeffer, had said on April 25th, 1951,
that the S.R.P. should not be banned until after the election. What-
ever his real reasons were, this meant that at least one partner in
the Bonn Coalition was sufficiently opposed to strong action to say
so publicly in disregard of the policy stated by Dr, Lehr.
Intrigues and unprincipled electoral juggling of this sort are
reminiscent of the Weimar Republic and are a measure of the
immaturity of the whole fabric of German democracy. If they go on
€6
DEMOCRATIC COUNTER-ACTION
(here will be similar results. The " co-operation of all really demo-
cratic forces " that Dr. Adenauer calls for will not be achieved
unless there is less talk and more action. If a ban is decided to be
I I he best method against the S.R.P. it must come now, although it is
;d ready extremely late and the party has had plenty of time to
prepare.
WHAT MUST DEMOCRATIC GERMANS DO ?
When German democrats discuss among themselves the best way
of combating the neo-Nazi menace, a large part of the argument is
frequently taken up with attempts to answer the question : What has
* brought about the rise of the neo-Nazis ? It would, of course, be
useful, but it is certainly not possible to give a satisfactory answer
within the scope of this little book. Moreover, the answer or answers
would be very controversial, raising questions of responsibility of
die Allies, the German parties, the present economic policy of the
Federal Government, and so on. To ask first for an agreement on
J the root causes of neo-Nazism is to split any German democratic
f front before it is formed, and to divide its supporters abroad. The
democratic elements agree that the neo-Nazi threat is there. Public
opinion in Britain and other V/estern countries would feel more
confidence in the stability of the Germian Federal Republic if there
were signs that those elements are prepared to combat the threat on
the simple, fundamental issues of liberty and respect for human
individuality.
^ A word of caution is necessary. Certain interested groups in
1 Germany are not above exploiting the neo-Nazi threat in order to
gain concessions, loans, and favours from abroad. One observer has
quoted an industrialist as saying : " Leave us our steel and our coal
— then we shall see to the rest and nothing will happen." Western
Germany has been treated with great financial generosity by Britain
i and the United States, and, within their capaciues, by other Western
powers. The result is that in spite of unemployment and the housing
shortage, the general economic outlook is far from gloomy. The
argument must not be permitted that Germans have some sort of
a " right ".to go Nazi, if they are unemployed or living in camps.
As was pointed out earlier, neither the unemployed nor the
refugees have given their main support to the S.R.P. ; its best
supporters are reladvely well-to-do peasants. Other countries have
endured economic hardships without going fascist. Germans must
67
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
I
learn to do the same, and not believe that they are entitled to ruih
to the nearest dangerous pohtical adventurer every time they feci
an economic pinch. Hitler throve when the West was makiiiM
economic and political concessions to his predecessors by cancelliiw '
Versailles reparation payments. This mistake must not be repeated'
however loudly certain Germans insist. Aid to Germany, such as the
Marshall Plan and the European Payments Union credits, mu»l
depend strictly on her economic needs as a member of the Western
European community of nations and not on political claims thai
without aid, the country will give itself up to Herr Remer and his
friends.
^ German democrats must realise that Western opinion would be *
impressed only if they were to regain their courage and themselvM
take the initiative against the neo-Nazis. Rudolf Pechel has written ;
DretelS^nnf l^'hlPT"""^"* ^' ^"V^' '""^ ^""'''^'- government,
pretend not to hear the warnings of that section of tlie press which
murnVfTheK"' '"''' '' ''""'''' '=°-^S^-'° ^'-°^-'^ 'h.
(Deutsche Rundschau, July, '5J ) |
TO-DAY IT REQUIRES COURAGE !
Dr. Barou, of the European Executive of the World Jewish
Congress, has described how his genuinely democratic German
friends had been as good as shut out of public life {Allgemeine,
20.7.51). Mrs. Eva G. Reichmann, in an account of a journey she
made in Germany in 1951 circulated by the Wiener Library, reports
that the men who prosecuted Hedler for his brutal slanders against ^
them were actually on the defensive in court, trying anxiously to
prove that resistance to Hitler was not treason. She also reports
democrats asking " What are the Alhes going to do about it ? "—an
attitude implying the worst sort of defeatism.
German democrats must also realise that there is no time to I
lose. If men of the calibre and distinction of the Federal President
Heuss were to take the lead in creating a nation-wide movement
embracing all democratic parties and organisations aimed at defend-
ing democracy against the growth of the new Nazis, an important
step would be taken.
At the lowest levels the trade unions, churches, and other *
interested bodies could surely call together committees based on a
simple programme of measures to strengthen democracy. Their
68
DEMOCRATIC COUNTER-ACTION
activities could be envisaged as two-fold: first, to institute inside
the professions (especially teaching, journalism, and the Civil Ser-
vice) an active policy against neo-Nazi propaganda and to prevent
unregenerate Nazis holding key positions ; and second, to secure in
localities anti-Nazi coalitions on matters of local importance. It is
liere, at the level of the ordinary individual, that the danger is
greatest ; but it is also where hard, enthusiastic work can bring
about the best results.
On a higher political level the issue of whether there is to be
an effective response to the Nazi challenge could be given first
priority in the affairs of the Federal Republic, while the development
of a politically vocal ex-soldiers' movement with nationalist leanings
should be faced with courage and determination. Rank-and-file
members of the democratic parties could thus be persuaded of the
need for anti-Nazi unity, thereby forcing the chief democratic leaders
in Bonn to forget their personal din:erences and to combine on this
vital issue. If the Federal Government were to show its determina-
tion to combat Nazism not only by words but by deeds, the mass
of ordinary Germans would be spurred to a firmer faith in the
dem.ocratic way of life, while those abroad who now must watch
the German political scene with growing anxiety would in this
manner have cause to hope that the German people have turned
their faces away from the road which led to Auschwitz.
Meanwhile it is not enough for us abroad to cheer from the
side-lines. Without appearing to interfere or to be grinding national
axes, all aid possible must be given to the so far inert democratic
forces in Germany. Co-operation from trade unions, religious
organisations, and youth movements on an international level can
be of tremendous help. Visits by men of standing in various fields
to Germany and return visits by Germ^ans would assist in giving
heart to German democrats. The sponsored visits organised by the
Foreign Office, the Central Office of Information, and the British
Council could well be developed on a larger scale. Educational
institutions, which have had a particular interest in Germany's
reconstruction, should make special efforts at this stage when the
work they did just after the war is so gravely threatened.
What the German democrats need, whether they are workers or
professional men. Conservatives, Liberals, or Socialists, are contacts
with people in Western Europe w^hich will give them advice, and,
above all, moral support. We in Britain, especially, must understand
69
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
that it is easy to lose courage in Germany. Democracy has collapsed
there before. And now the German democrat has foreign troops
at his elbow, neo-Nazis under his feet, refugees round his door,
and the Iron Curtain perhaps not more than an hour or two along
the road. He needs all the courage that we and anyone else can give
him. There is still time ; and the anti-Nazi forces, if they are rallied
now, can defeat the enemies of democracy. But the Nazi menace in
Germany, against the background of a worsening world situation
is a problem of the most extreme urgency.
I
70
CONCLUSION
THE picture of the Federal Republic which thus emerges from
this study is of a fundamentally healthy political, economic
and social structure which, nevertheless, is far from being
completely stable. It is certainly an encouraging sign that Germany^s
infant democracy has withstood so well the initial strains to which it
was subjected — the threat of Communism, backed by the military
might of the Soviet Union, the Four-Power discord in the period of
military government, and the tremendous problem of physical post-
war reconstruction. These strains are still present, but the Federal
Government has given every sign that it is perfectly capable of over-
coming them. From this emerges a certain danger: namely, that
Bonn, no less than pubhc opinion in the West, may have a tendency
to grow complacent with regard to an equally grave threat to the
Republic's well-being.
There is no doubt that Nazi beliefs and habits of mind have
survived the collapse of Hitler's Third Reich. Equally, the
unprejudiced observer cannot but be struck by the extent to which
Right-wing extremism has developed once again into a serious
political force. There is considerable evidence that Nazism and
extreme nationalism have even survived in quarters which are
ostensibly democratic. Parties, various kinds of groupings and
associations, and even departments of the Federal Government itself,
to which the Western Allies look as protagonists of the demociatic
way of Hfe, prove to be tainted with the creeds of the Third Reich.
These unobtrusive trends are the more dangerous for being less
obvious than the neo-Nazi groups.
Opposed to these dangerous factions and currents is the main
stream of West Germ^an democratic life. Backed by the considerable
force of the rejuvenated German trades union movement, there are
elements which recognise both the evil and insanity of the Nazi
record and are constantly on guard against any signs of an attempt
to re-create a Fourth Reich. Many of the staunchest democrats in
Germany to-day have suffered side by side with European Jewry in
concentration camps, and certainly have no illusions about the sump
of horror which National Soci^ism created. This is a factor to be
71
,1,: ,lilIl;IilL.iL.
m
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
kept in mind by those in the West who sometimes tend to lump
Germans together as unregenerate and hopelessly infected with the
seeds of Nazism, The more these German democrats feel a lack oi
sympathy in the West towards their efforts, the more must the task
of consolidating the Federal Republic appear to them an uphill
one, and the more will the weaker among them be discouraged in
the face of difficulties. In a crisis the absence of sympathy of this
kind might even cause the weakest elements to give up the struggle
altogether.
But sympathy is not enough. The struggle for democracy, lik*
that for peace, is indivisible, and public opinion in the West musi
give active support and encouragement to the anti-Nazi forces in
Germany. The West is committed to accepting the Federal Republic
as potentially a full partner in its body politic. It expects Germans
to make the defence of Western democracy their business. It is thu.s
only logical that democrats in the West, whatever their country,
should likewise accept the responsibiUty for defending democracy
in Germany.
Western public opinion need not fear that its sympathetic interest
and even criticism of, German internal affairs will be badly
received. Those to whom we must look for the task of strengthening
democratic ways in Germany would, on the contrary, appreciate our
concern in their struggle.
If the anti-Nazi effort inside Germany and outside could be
co-ordinated more, there is hope that the unsteady course towards
democratic consohdation will be continued. But that hope should
not be exaggerated. The neo-Nazi disease has gone far and, in
recent months, alarmingly fast.
Mr. Herbert Morrison, at that time Foreign Secretary, stated in
May. 1951, that he considered the Federal Government capable of
deaUng with any internal threat to the constitutional order, and
that he felt confident that Bonn would take appropriate action. In
the light of what has happened since Mr. Morrison's remarks were
made, public opinion in the West is entitled to be less confident in
the ability and willingness of the Federal Government to take
appropriate action. It would be foolish, of course, at this stage to
recommend direct intervention by the Western Powers, particularly
in view of the Washington Declaration. Yet, there is certainly room
for pressure and exhortation through the medium of the Western
High Commissioners. In the past Dr. Adenauer has shown himself
72
I
I
CONCLUSION
amenable to this form of approach, and there is no reason to
suppose that he would not show himself equally so now.
The main object of such an approach might reasonably be
t'xpected to be that the Federal Government should initiate a cam-
fiaign against the extreme Right with the same vigour as it has
;il ready done against the Communists, and that it should unequivo-
cally state that it neither welcomes nor encourages the incursion
of organised ex-Servicemen into political or quasi-political fields.
In Germany as elsewhere the political pendulum has swung far
since 1945. The increasing sharpening of the cold war has, among
other things, resulted in a certain tendency among parties, not always
entirely disinterested, to label those who draw attention to the neo-
Mazi revival as Communists and fellow-travellers. The facts revealed
;ibout new Nazi groups in this booklet, and the strong suspicion held
in many German quarters that some of their leaders, at any rate, are
not above coming to a working arrangement with the totalitarians
of the Eastern Zone, should help to expose such views. Too
frequently they are expressed by people whose professed dislike of
Stalinist dictatorship is merely a cloak for their own totalitarian
aims.
It should be clearly realised that the neo-Nazis are in no sense
allies against Communism. Even before the leading neo-Nazi group
—the Socialist Reich Party— was founded, Drew Middleton, senior
correspondent of The New York Times in Germany, wrote :
" It is high time that the United States, Britain and France
awoke to the danger, the very real danger, that the rise of the
right-wing in Germany represents the best chance of a Soviet-
German rapprochement . . . anti-Communism is not enough."
(The Struggle for Germany, Allan Wingate, 1949)
The new Nazis draw their inspiration direct from Hitler's Ger-
many, and those who learn from the lessons of history will keep
firmly before them the memory of the Hitler-Stalin Pact of 1939.
They will remember that it was this pact which signalled the
unleashing of the German armies against Poland and later against
the West. Similarly, it should not be forgotten that the history of the
ill-fated Weimar Republic is dotted with examples of co-operadon
between the Nazis and Communists against the democratic parties.
WTiat happened before can well happen again.
The inclination to disregard these lessons of history is usually
based on the quite false assumption that Nazism is founded on a
73
Hi
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
co-ordinated set of ideas. The appeasers of Nazism believe that Ihcy
know what these ideas are and imagine, therefore, that they an
forecast and even guide Nazi actions. The truth remains what ll
always was— that Hitlerism does not embody any coherent poIicicN |
Its principles, amorphous and hard to comprehend, are surely
limited to unbounded megalomania, unbounded hate, and h
sacrilegious self -worship. Within the framework of such an ideology
there is room for infinite opportunist twists and turns. That is why
the calculations of all appeasers, including those of the Kremlin,
have always ended in disaster.
The present-day disciples of Adolf Hitler, as this booklet shows,
follow their master faithfully also in their lack of any systematic |
policy. Nearly every statement of policy made, for instance, by
leaders of the Sociahst Reich Party can be balanced by another
contradicting it. Those who wish to emulate the appeasers of the
'30s will thus find themselves engulfed in a morass in the same
way as were Chamberlain and Daladier, on one side, and Stalin
on the other.
The case for action against the neo-Nazi groups is undoubtedly i
overwhelming. The only problem which can justifiably be considered
is whether or not it is politically wise to ban them. But even here
the problem has, in a sense, already been solved, for the Federal
Government has itself threatened to ban the S.R.P. If it is to main-
tain its authority it cannot avoid making good that threat. If Bonn
fails to carry out its threat no amount of sophistry, however carefully
thought out and expressed, will prevent many well meaning Germans
from drawing the lesson that German democracy is weak in the f
face of a totalitarian threat from the Right.
Moreover, the argument that banning a political party will
merely drive it underground applies less to Germany than to most
European countries. Germans voting for the neo-Nazi groups, as
public opinion polls frequently reveal, seem to have very little idea .
of the policies or even the leaders of the parties for which they vota '
To ban a party for which he has voted may well, in that case, make
a German examine it more closely to see why the Government
decided to make it illegal. Most Germans to-day, as in the past,
remain almost painstakingly law-abiding and do not court illegality
eagerly for its own ijake. There is, therefore, a good tactical case, |
as well as one of principle, for oudawing at least the leading neo-
Nazi group— the Socialist Reich Party. It is true that some of its
74
CONCLUSION
\'otes might then go to other Right-wing parties. In a tactical sense,
lidwever, this might be quite useful, since it would add to the
I onfusion and jealousies which already bedevil the extreme Right,
Mid thus make fluid once again a situation which in the course of
1^)51 had seemed to be hardening.
Similarly, consideration should be taken of the fact that Remer
.md Doris are, above all, in the market for powerful financial
backers. Unless they can recruit, keep the cadres of a private army
;ind propagandise on a large scale, they are not a worthy object of
linancial charity. All these activities would be impossible if a ban
were put into effect. For Germans have little tradition of illegal
polidcal struggle, and what they have is largely Communist. No
underground developed in spite of Goebbels' exhortation in 1945.
Nor is there any evidence of any widespread anti-Communist
resistance in the Eastern Zone. Banning of political groups was a
weapon which, when used by the Weimar Republic, was frequently
effective.
Over and above the organised neo-Nazis two other main dangers )
threaten the future of the Federal Republic. The first of these is
;mti-Semidsm. It has been shown that the denials of anti-Semitic
feelings sometimes expressed by the S.R.P. leaders need not be
considered with any seriousness, since they have frequently forgotten
[liose denials in other public pronouncements. But anti-Semitism is,
in any case, not limited by any means to direct adherents of the j
neo-Nazis. The evidence available leads one to the reluctant con- !
elusion that though a great deal of excellent work is being done by
the leaders of democratic parties, the Churches, and other organisa-
tions, the disease implanted in the German people under Hitler's
tutelage has gone far and deep.
Public declarations, such as those of President Heuss, Chan-
cellor Adenauer, and Dr. Schumacher, are to be welcomed and
encouraged in every way, and likewise the efforts of Herr Lueth
and those who support him. It is, however, patent that public state-
ments of themselves are insufficient. The German authorities^ and
specially those concerned with the education and upbringing of the
young, will have to devote very much more attention than they
have done so far to the problem of eradicating this poisonous fungus
in the psychology of their people. They can rest assured that to some
degree the potential stability of the new German democracy will be
judged according to their success in this field.
75
GERMANY'S NEW NAZIS
I
The second main problem to be faced is that of the politiCll
activity which has recently been shown at an increasing tempo hy
the League of German Soldiers. This organisation has now a nation
wide network, with 229 district associations, and some 1,300 •
Ortsgmppen, or local cells, which enable it to penetrate even tn
remote hamlets in the countryside in order to muster support, i|
embodies a number of organisations appeahng specifically to former
members of various formations of the Wehrmacht. The rallies held
m 1951 by some of these old comrades' associations have laid baw
the unpalatable fact that too frequently their membership is in th,'
control of politically ambitious ex-officers, some of whom in.
unrepentant ex-Nazis, and many of whom can be classed as thcii
collaborators.
These are the elements upon which the North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation must rely if it is to obtain German troops for the
European Army. The danger that these elements will assume q
guise not radically different from that of Nazi sympathisers k
perhaps more clearly appreciated inside West Germany than out-
side. Here, surely, is fruitful ground for collaboration between Ger- ^
man Democrats and those whose task it is to organise the defence
of Western democracy. The Democratic parties of the Federal
Republic will fail to render the League of German Soldiers
pohtically harmless only at their own peril ; and the governments
of the North Atlantic Treaty Powers must face the fact that if sudh
collaboration were to go by default, they might well find themselves
m^ the intolerable position of relying on a corps of totalitarian-
minded janissaries to defend the democratic ways and institutions
of the West,
The time for action is clearly now, while discussions about the
future German military contribution to NA.T.O, are under way.
Public opinion in the Western countries has the right to demand
from its leaders that this question be given the highest priority. It i| f
surely not unreasonable to demand that when the time comes to
select the leaders of any new German army the political record and
affihations of any German ex-officers should be as closely scrutinised
as their military records. The plea that such a scmtiny presents
very considerable difficulties must be expected-^and dismissed. We
owe it to the memory of the ten milHon non-combatant victims of
Hitlerite blood lust to make the effort.
76
t
mmmmmmmmmm
AHVH9n IVDIHdOSOlIHcT
OO'Sl
00"?
Si'£
wti
OO'Ol
Si>
00*01
OO'OI
009
OT'S
5i>
OO'f
M*C
00'9
SlilV SHI dO SISVB IVDllVMlHXVn 3H1
GUHSKaOHOS aiON-HV
VSai GHV S7AXS
A3i*nHs '1 Hdasor
SNiomo auoM do AUVMOiiDia
SAMOd HaJMOO NHOr
SIV13ffV^
OSSVOId OTflVd
(^»w r) d^iisda
IVdUD aiOH I N3M
(f/a?5T^) S3AV37 Miiininv
SEomma aiAva
IdaVHdlV 3H1
MOllVZniAlD bl^31S3Ai NO IDVdMl M3^Q3H 3H1
Hiia^i >inHiav HIS
NOTXmOA3 dO XnOSHl AidN V
S'ZyK 3H1 dO AnVMOIlDia
HX^VS THV^
dmiino MI sDiimooa
WT3HJ snniouaA
MOtOndU dO ViaddOlDAOMd
aiiHOTiivd: xxvHd ATiNaH
ADOIOIDOS dO A^VKOIlDia
MVKI-aHVH 1 d
AOOlOHDASd dO AUVNOUDIQ M3M 3H1
aunrvs Tnvd->ivaf
l3^niV}i3in SI IVHM
avanauHM hxtsom oa^Jiv
AHdOSOllHd QMr 3DN31DS Af/ S'^^S'^:?
VNVAVXNVS aOUOHO
XHoaoHx do snoiv
NiviniVK sanoovf
d^aiVM dO AHdOSOllHd
saMHH 'a xHaaoova
AHdOSOllHd dO AUVMOIXOia
AEMacr NHOf
Ndfll dO SP\l3ia0^d
NiaxsNia xnaaiv
S}IV3A N3IV1 A^ dO IflO
HfiivA oNUsvi JO s:aooa
J
J
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11