MEETING OF ZONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE CDU

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02456965
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: March 8, 2023
• Document Release Date: August 29, 2019
• Case Number: F-2018-01103
• Publication Date: March 23, 1950

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CENTRAL \ICE AGENCY REPORT NO.
INFORMATil
REPORT CD NO.
0�2-10510,./
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COUNTRY
SUBJECT
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE OF
INFO.
Germany fRussian Zone)
Meeting of Zonal Executive
Committee of the CDU .
DATE DISTR,. 23 MAR 50
/A1110, OF PAGES 6
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UNWED DV LAM,. REPRODUCTIOST OP THIS VOW IS PECISSESIED.
ARCE
From a source resent at ths
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
The statements me at th:H;notin b :he various nartielrunts
aJ? reproduced here. :In sore eetni because the trend of the
maarks roints ur the f7ank dependence on cues from the SET)
for the formation of rsrty The rro,c'pedirs also
reveal the extent of inner-arty bckering and distrust and
the utter futility of the. entire East CDU..
Otto Nuschke called the meeting to order and then stated that
the guests of Land representative collad remain present only
if the Land ("elegations would vouch for tbeir reliability and
if each Terson ccralffi nromise not ;T:ive the Western rress any
information about the meetin, than described in detail
the. burial Di' Father hirsch, whom.ae held up as a symbol of the
reople's faith in tho CDU. Nscho sketched the -present
situation and demanded that his s'ty go into the camp of the
"peace-lovers" and that there b, an anid to the rolicy of
wavering. The rence fl-ont a Ii c3,the Soviet Union, whieh
would have lustified doubts about th sincerity of CPU rolly
if the rierty did not subscribe uncoAitionelly to the, LeinziL,
decisions. Nuschke chbractcrzed as ilmortant tiCe demand
the DDR that the Germans fiffhting Nth the French Foreign
Legion, sunposedly about 2500 nuL:4er, esert to the.
"friends of peace" in Vietnam. De declared that the state-
ment given out bv the Policv Committee of the 'DT eid not
mean et ne,41: course of action hut si,ply had been released as
a consequence of the Leirz,ig decisions, nce doubts cxists.,
about the sincerity of thv ;5osie -2 the rarty Fe, stated
that he had spoken out I J)e bloc meotin7 and that
he had told President Plock. thst obliged to draw the
line at nresent Methods:, Ni � that he discussed
economic matters Ouring his The Dulgers told
him that they need Gerr:an 'ao7 a rofes,and enzi/ ors.
Nuschle thsn attacked the fed]. -.7(7,o7Th because it was mak-
ing little effort toTards regainin.:1 f-otional. unity. Develop-
ments in the East must be mot'e clooly observed and Germans;
must learn to think in terms of ootin..ento, It was the goal
of the DDR to do away with. food Yoloning except for meat and
STATE
ARMY
CLASS1FICA
*I NAV! NSRB
Alt
FBI
This document is he.eby reglaled to
CONFIDENTIAL in accordance w:th the
letter of 16 October 1978 from the
Director of central Intell:Dence to the
Archivist of the United States.
Next Review Date: 2008
ALI
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fats after the next harvest. In the DDR this would be accom-
elicited ineerendontly, wherees in the Faahral nentlblic it had
been eossibli only threugh milaionr of marks in loans. He
declared that the USSR wouid make no further demands for old
loconotives as repaeatitn eayments, which was a-other sign
of Soviet cooperation. He discussed the incident in OrantenburE
occasioned by the birthday celebration for Telegate Pechert.
when a groap of workers occupied the ball two hours before
the oeremenies began, he addressed them, asking to know how
they could reconcile absenteelem and waste of gaeoline with
the fulfMment of the economic rla,n. It was the duty of the
CD 'i to find the teals for Its exsteace in the constitution,
whch gueranteed the rights of churches. He would see to it
that thene was no infringement of tnese rights. since the
dissolution of the council of eldela was unconstitutional, he
would nrotest. Tbe western press had published Cardinal .
Preyeine'a letter without the atter's knowledge. Nuschke
stated that he would 'lake an effort to net the desires of
the chinch and had rassed the letter to the responsible
authorities for action. The Christens services in Sachsen-
hansen and Frolor, Grliber's statemente were largely to thank
or the final disbanding of the intrnment canes. Feschke
declared that he supported a sincere bide nolicy, although
he admitted that philosophical differences existed between the
earties. The watchword coming from the bloc meeting was
unconditional cooneretion. The CPU had the historical misson
of naeserviag the aeace for the nation and fighting for
aatienal enity.
2. Emin Fa4cher, Halle, reseonded since he stated that he felt
hieself addressed by Truschke"s remen1s. His statements in
PotsdaT had been checled over b-for delivery by the Landes-
verband (party orrenizatien at Lend level), hence he could see
no reason for rereoach on that acor!. Quotations had been
cited out of context. The :latter c the speech had been dis-
cussel in a fourahour bloc session ,r Halle and it was decided
in the end to leave final decision en the matter to the CPU
exeeltive committee of the Land (Leo desvorstand). The attack
which cru Peruty Fuchs -lade against him should not be regarded
as relevant since It did not come from the SED but from an
ex-panty man who hadlincideetallyibLcome involved in a graft
scandal. He stated that be regrettad the misunderstanding
caused by his remarks at Potsdam, bat that no one could claim
that he was hypocritical. FP ciled details of his political
activities, and stated the belicf that the way in which the
SED was now going forward was not the way in which to build
up the National Front. Cooperation can only exist when there
is tolerance. The rolicy of the e:tern CPU was wrong, but
In fighting this policy one should rot go wrong onesclf. His
attitude towards the USSR had altaye been positive, and in
Western Germany he had never failed to surport public
discussion of th's attitude.
3. Rev. Ielmuth Mehnert, Lobau, called for close cooperation
with the SEP in the bloc. History caaaot be turned lack.
Al] mtst be ready for sincere cconett,tion SO that no recrim-
inaticts can be made. All efforts Faust be bent towards
establishing a sincere friendship with the USSR.
4. August Each of weimar spoke for the Thuringian Landeeverband
in stating that the events of the east week could have been
avoided if the rarty leaders on the central committee had
straightened matters out on their ow at an earlier date.
He came out against the policy committee in its present form,
saying that it offered no guarantee for better work in the
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future. The decisions of one veok rpst had not been sati -
factory. A srade should be ealled a srade, and the leaders
must have the courage to clear the atmosphere. Nuschke must
say more than has been the case in the past.
Franz ReczIcel:, rerresentetive of the workers in the Saxony-
Anhalt cru, cnie that the organization of rarty grours within
factories was going forward.
6. Otto Freitag of Dresden objected to Bach's statements and
called for niain speaking. One should naturally have the
courage to learn from this experience and only a fool would
rant to do away with the reforms, but he refused to have a
nart in rolitical deals and asked that Hickmann /'P given the
opportunity to find the right road. Even the sr') thought
that neople rho were nolitical fence-sitters were suitable
material for the National Front. The same rule shou'id apply
to the CPU. Whoever cannot abide by the decisions of the
policy committee should go. The friendly handshake exchanged
between Nuschke and Hickmann at Fr Yirsch's funeral had
been roliticnily symbolical for many. The central committee
must make the party line clear. war and peace are in the
balance. The rolicy of neutrality must be opposed. The
CDU stands on the side of the forces of reece. Freitag
attested to his belief in socialism. He earned that it
must be expected that rerhans other narty leaders would
fall.
Arnold Cohr, chairman of the Berlin Landesvorstand,declared
that he had seen the present developments coming since the
CDU had strayed from its program as laid down in July 1.945.
The crisis Kaiser had created had never been disnelled with
radical enough action. He asked that all local groups study
the theses of the Perlin Landesverbend as well as the declnra-
tion of the 'policy committee. '"either Mcker's article which
apreared in the Thuringian nress should also be given
attention.
Karl Grobbel, chairman of the Brandenburg Landesverband,
spoke of the difficult position of Ms creanization. It
was exceptionally difficult to rake hie membership accept
the Oder-Neisse line, and for this reason he welcomed the
declaration of the policy committee. The explanation for
cooperation between the CSU and the CDJ which Jakob raiser
gave on the radio had been a bi,ra for his organization.
He asked that nrogressives be g[ven more prominence and
mentioned in this connection the name of Landrat Gerlich
of Ost-Priegnitz. Grobbel stated that he was exerting an
effort to make his organization Progressive and he would
like everyone to be aware of that fact. Much trouble was
caused by PIAS proraganda which called for reorle to refuse
to do what the SEP wanted. There is the need for much
enlightenment to prevent friends of the rarty from becoming
tools of foreign interests.
Schmidt, Tend secretary from weimar, called for plain talk.
The blame for rhat had hantened should be placed on the CDU
rather than the SED since the CDU narty lino had failed to
influence every rnrty member. Ever since Erfurt, a ger has
existed between the spokesmen of the tarty and the rank and
file. The shakeup necessary to the rarty will require
reorientation affecting the loivest ranks of the rarty. The
infection in the party must be scotched. All members must
be brought around to the viewpoint rPrresented by the
Leipzig decisions.
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10. Linister Steidhe repreached the party for net having analysed
the Teiozig de:isions rroperly. The daily press must be used
more and more for enlightement. It hapnened too often that
the economy ra� beirnyed as, for example, by the responsible
parties on the 'aland of Mems. He asked for better rersonnel
FO that the -arty's nronram can he carried out. It had been
nnparent that some aarty speakers had not al,'nys been sure
of themselves. The nreas had recently nublished four adver-
tisements froA 'estern firms. Party discipline nust become
more strict, and the wrong tone should be avoided in committee
discussions, as, for examnle, in debating the workers pro-
tective acts. Party leaders must find the courage to command.
Steidle extrersed astonishment that Grobbel had 'brought up
the Oder-Nisse line again. Such people should have asked
for the floor in Leinzig. (Shorts: It wasn't permitted!)
Adenatler's attitude was to be condemned. A definitive stand
must be taken for Soviet-German friendship. It was too bad
that the T7eue r/it had missed the ornortunity to give immedi-
ate answer to an article in the Telegraf which had branded
Stalin a war ciiminal. Ste'die claimed that he had continual
difficulties a minister because the Democratic "'omen's Union
asserted that CDU women did rot cconerate. The world is
verging on rap, and therefore the struggle for reace must.
be all the more vigorous.
11. Georg Dertinger stated that the exchange of views had cleared
the atmosnhera, but more attention must be given to a clarifi-
cation of the -arty's decisions and to the case cf Hickmann,
Schwob, "'itto and others. To get and keep the right sort of
rconle in the party was the problem of the future. RainhaFis
on the elections was misguided. Although the rest is increas-
ing its war uroraganda, the party had failed to sift out its
leaders until it was too late. Side-stepping of the issues
could no lonjer be excused. The responsibility for inner-
rarty corrurion lies with Jakob "Kaiser, who particularly in
the recent nnst haF succeeded in causing confusion among the
rank and file. !Tuschke remains too reserved in his anproach.
Since the rroner stens were not taken in time, the pressure
of the mob had recently been necessary to bring action. The
Hickmann incident had certainly not been engineered with any
ulterior motives but had been dramatized because of the world
situation. The Soviet Control Commission could not be blamed
for not trusting the cm. It is the task of the earty, now
at the last moment, to step in and act in a Christian
remocratic way. The Christian west had two million unemployed,
pornogranhic literature ;and a foreign legion. All must admit
that the East German "savages" are better Christians. The
will of the working class exerted pressure in the case of
Hickmnnn. A weeding out of the nembershin of the Landes-
verbande.should bring a much more vigorous stand on Issues.
12. Fried of Berlin called for a clearer statement of nolicY.
There should be no real surnrise at the current predicament
of the rarty since the rarty's stand against Adenauer and
Kaiser had uo to this time not been clear enough. Since
1919 Adenauer's policy had been senaratism. Kaiser's nolicy
of last-ditch defense could only have dangerous consequences.
13. walther Rticker of Erfurt called attention to the fact that
the Thuringian Landesverband could not agree to any attempts
to justify Hickmann's choice of nersonnel. Thuringia refused
to accent his actions as veil as his nolitical orinions. The
SFD had a -erfect right to intervene. Dertinger tiaintnins
that Hickmann might be retained; this was vrong. He may
esteem him personally, tut ha must figh him politicnlly.
Freitag and Jentach were involved in intrigues which would
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.?et the rarty into similer difficulties in another four
reeks. -hat Freitag had said today could not be taken
seriously.
14. Peinhold Lobedanz likewise called for a clearly defined
menbership�rolicy and expressed the opinion that Titte
could not be retained much longer.
15. DerUnger asked for the floor and called for a clarifi-
cation of Rtcker's remarks. He wished to know if they
should be construed as a statement of lack of confidence
in zonn1 leadership.
16. Flicker deolared that the remarks were not meant this way.
17. Frei; SchMfee of Berlin called for a well-defined stand on
mass organizations and the Democratic 'omen's Union,
18. wilbelm Pacher, welcomed Fascher'a statements and exnressed
the hore that he would take the same stand in rublic. He
demanded that the etecltive comelittees of the Lander purge
themselves at their eext elections. The decision must be
made to change the cs.aracter of the nartv's membership
even if it meant that -any would drop out in the future.
The outside influence on party affairs was juatified.
The cru should see the point of what ha a herpened. Those
who don't belong in the party should get out. Tt,oever
doesn't nay his dues rest be regarded as nolitically
unrellat:le. Those wile fail to !lay (Ines must be expelled.
It would be better to have 221CT0 than 220,000 members if
those who remain are udited by common coeviction. The gar
between leaderehir and members must be closed. Rohner had
been a d'sappointment end the SIT was not to blame if it
showed itself mistrustful. He demanded that every office-
holder in the rarty be submitted to scrutiny. The func-
tionaries who do not meet requirements should be expelled
from the narty. There are Plenty of progressives in the
cnu, but they must have more to say for themselves.
19. Freitag of Saxony objected to Rtcker's remarks in which he
ras charged with political intrigue. FreiLag stated that,
like Hickmann, he must raise the question of whether he had
the Party's confidence.
20. Rtcker exrressed the opinion that Freitag and Jentsch should
be given the same treatment as Yickmann.
21. Nuschke stated that Freitag's case wn- a matter for clarifi-
cation by the nolicy committee. "ith regard to Rohner, he
said that the man was one cf the founders of the cru. He
rrgrrtted Rohner's decision to leave the party. He then
read a letter from Rohner in which the latter stated that
he could not be expected to stay in the Party since they
spat at his wife in Orenionberg, struck down his daughter,
and excluded his son from the state examinations. Nuschke
expreeeed the hope that the differences arising from the
Hickmann case could be ironed out. Fickmann could not have
remained in the rarty since Fleck had said that it was a
Political necessity for him to disnrpear from the political
scene. Nuschke insisted that the board of examination for
Hickmann's case, was necessary since It is impossible to
pass judgment simply on the basis of a remark. Lecently
a high functionary of the Thuringian Landesverbnnd had
exceeded his leave by eight days and the Landesverband had
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asked l'7uschke t:) expel him. Cn this occasion Nuschke had
also said .that a check, must first be made and consequently
did not put through the order for expulsion. The man in
question 'as i:t1cker. (roars of laughter.)
22. Rilcker declaeed that he would not recognize the policy
committee until Ste!die aed Genter-Gilmans were elected
to it.
230 Frau Schgfer of Berlin complained that her Tetion on"mass
6rgan1zations had not come .up for consideration.
2A. Nuschke maintain rei that this motion had not been submitted
in wrfting, but:hat the policy committee wuld nevertheless
concern Itself wIth the matter.
5.Tehnert ob:iected that an artificial crisis had been created
In tre CDU as a result of the various Tandesverbgnde exrress-
ing ach of confidence in each other.
26. A public�statent was then read and appro'red, and the case
of Freitag waF turned over to the Policy conmittee for
decision.
Comme:It: As a re3ult of tleis meeting, members of
the cru cere:ral committee have been left with a very poor
imnresslon f their nary leaders on Land level. It was
apparent thAt the Land chairmen who attended the meeting
indulge in the same form of se-if-criticiim an self
debasement ,,ssociated with the SED and Communst parties.
This all-zone Meeting, Particularly the last PaTt of it,
had the flavor of a srnall-time Communist gatheT'ing at which
the partici-I-ants ez1lify each other with personal insults.
rvents in te.- zone at present haepennv so quickly
that there were ILITteirants. present, sueb as Re lard of
Leipzig, vto, 'w1t/1.01:c tneir xnowleageljtaci 000fl exOtA.ed
from the rarty on t'ne previous Orly,
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