PROBLEMS OF EASTERN EUROPE IN WEST GERMAN POLITICS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00423R000800350004-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 29
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 19, 1999
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: May 1, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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-boa-1--ast 'Of The political interests and ambitions d od tedntoNthe Easte s
gurope are reflected in Western- Germany of today
trends of thought. 'These differences are expressed Jr the progremmee
as in the forms of organisation. And each of
so a etftwo
as well
trends fir~de its adherents in a different c ends is ~ follows:
The briefest desoription of these two trends
- adFOCSting a retmcn
1. The trans of ?1is~itsiorpooiigggt (Only a small fraction of
to the a tstuM quo pT ~e ~ of the return
this camp supports a more drastic proms'
to the status quo pr for to 1914)
2. ~rba trend of 'bunlf.mited* political aims: a roconstruction
at of gurope. As to the means
of Germany's Position in the
towards this end, many various tendencies exist, such as:
(a) the return to the EA.PALLO system gn cysts',
(ti)the reconstruction of the pre-war Central Surope
with Germany ae its chief factor,
the eetebliahment of an economic system concentrating
principles which were
around Germany. based or the years 1934-35.
A b CLAUDIM in the
t
e y
promo
(d) the dislntefration of the Soviet union on the tration~y ~
and ?eo pe
l
.
winoiple, and a politica
Germany into the new national states. (Beside the coun-
tries of Central Europe it the strict sense of the word,
this camp advocate's the necessity of eating the n-
dependent states of Ukraine. By a
countries and liirkestan).
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'1'!s first of these two trends is the result of the conditions
brought about by the war, i.e.,: territorial changes, compulsory
deportations and of the refugee exodus from behind the iron
contain.
The second trend marks the rebirth of traditional tendencies
in Bast-European policy of Germany. prith very few exceptions,
it is, on the whole, devoid of drastic imperialistic tendencies
of the Hitierite type and such like. A-art from the search for
political solutions which would assure a decisive predominance
to Germany, certain attempts may also be observed to work out
a programme introducinga balance of equality between Geraaany and
eastern countries. Here, the only variety which may be described
imperialistic, In the tendency to the restoration of the
APALLO system, i.e. the system of the division of influence
etween Germany and Russia on the territories situated between
these countries,. This tendency, in turn, takes under consideration
two alternative possibilities:
RAPALLO system based on M,._ANY's collaboration with the
SOVIET UWION,
RAPALW system-so modus of cooreration between Germany
ate! the future, democratic Russia in which the fbrrmunlst
regime has been overthrown.
On the grounds of this most sketchy characteriestlon of
t-wo main trends of German interests and ambitions directed to
the last, the following observations can be made :
1. The trend-of "limited" political aims finds its expression
in a preoiseed programme. This in also reflected in well-
deter>ained. organisatior- forme of its pertisesna. Further-
more, this trend has at Its disposal a strong and extensive
apparatus of action, which has already gained certain
political position in 4ieete,rn Germany.
2. The trend of "ur_i imi ted* -po i tical alas has not, as yet,
determined its 1roeremrse. Its adherents are still in the
store of research and discussion. Their direst. potiti.cal
activity 1.0 rather within the limits of mug, e.eting and
inspiring of certain political moves.
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Of these two trends, the drat one has the support of -the
macsee. Several million deportees, erpelleee and refugees, grouped
in *motherland* organisations, are a:,_l behind the programme of
*limited* political aims. which for 'hem is expressed by the
slogan: *we want to go back home*.
At the same time, the-second trend finds its adherents in a
group of e&ite - experts, scientists, and politicians who however
I I- with few exceptions - do not play u prominent political role
at present.
This does not mean however that the importance of the first
trend is bigger. The tendencies of "limited" political aims often
find their outlet in noisy public deronetratione; the camp of
*unlimited* aims works discreetly, bsfhind the official political
scene, affecting not so much the supErficial moods of the public
opinion as the decisive centres of tl-e political machinery of
west Germany.
After these few initial explanations. we shall present a
detailed description of both main trends.
1. Trend of "Limited" Folitioa Aims.
As result of a process of unification, the year 1952 brought
the formation of a general representation of all German deportees,
expellees and refugees from Eastern Europe. This large group
fmmd its political exponent in the political party GBHB - GBSAMT-
D213TSCEZ BLOCK DER }I3IMATV3hTliIB3N8 UND BNTBSCH't'STTBA.
In the post-war years. many other political parties had
courted the votes of this group of population. The Socialist Party
S'PD had comparatively the greatest chances of success; this is
easily understood, taking into account the difficult material,
situation of the deportees, expellees and refugees. The Communists,
although the most radical,-could not hope to gain the sympathies
of this category of people. since deportations or expulsions
were being decided by the Soviet Union or Coimunist rggimee. which
also forced people to escapes.
The political leaders who arose among this group, name to the
conclusion that a creation of their own. separate political re.
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Presentation would be the most roner,? solution. They thought that
each a repreoerution would most effet tt-j-ely 'promote the interests
Of the group. Simultaneously. it oou& d take advarkage of the
political interplay between other po: itical parties.
Thee* caloulfltionns }trcved to be ; nstified. The GBHE participated
in- the local elections, argil dm intr tie last two years won arou.nd
16-18% of votes in various coretituercies. Ir this way, in several
instances it gained a very important position, balancing the
forces Of two political parties whiel are now the strongest in West
Germany, i.e. Christian Democrats of Chancellor ADEiAUER, and
the Socialiat8 which are in sharp oprosition arainst his cabinet.
Waldemar KRAFT. deputy to the BONN wrliament and leader of the
GBH6, uses this possibility of acting - as a balancing force in a most
adroit manner. His tactical allianceE. whether with Ohrlstiar,
Democrats or with the Socialists, are always concluded after the
respective other party agrees to eupt art the camp of 0l lmitedt
political- calms. During the period of negotiations to obtain the
ratification of re-militarisation agz eemente between the Allies
and West Germany, KRAFT switched thcs votes of the GBHE to the
et2pport of AD1NAUFR. - Nothing has offs cially been published as to
whee ther. and how far, had ADENAUER gt aran .eed the support for
IRAPTS party. But it is quite cee.r tair that wi thcu t such guarantee
the GBHE would not have appeared in the group of adhersnte of
the reamilitar. isation reermente.
Apart from this political r. epreee: ntation. embodied in the GBHE.
the camp of *limited* political aims possesses a large machinery
of propaganda. Here we find, first of all, more than ten weekly
newepapera. of which the moot important are :
DIE STIMMS (Hamburg)
> D SCHLE31SE (Reckltngbauser?)
SC'SLI 3ISC'HE RUfII)SCHAt7 (Stuttgart)
SUDfi'2EiMl'1iSCHE ZEITUNG (Bayreuth)
0S'1`_WE3T-IiURILR (Frankfurt/M, I_;geturg, Hamburg)
-DI. BL UCKS (Munchen)
auDrami 1m (Detmo?.ri )
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Apart from these regularl,, published weeklies, the camp of
*limited* political aims has at its disposal some 40 periodicals,
scattered all over Western Germany. adost of them have a specified
geographical charaoter, and are interested in different regions
from which the* readers derive-their origin (e.g. BALTISCHB RUl D-
BCHAU, SCHLE3 ISCHTS S.[OrATSBLATT. OPPSLNSR NACBEICHTEN a.e.o. )
The programme of a return to pre-1939 status quo often gives
birth to revisionist tendencies. they are particularly strong with
to the present Polish-Gerae-n frontier. Nearly all the
deportees are unanimous in their demands for the restoration of the
frontier of before 1939. The revisionism of the deportees from the
Sudeten is much lase marked. most of them Semand a possibility to
return, but without a modification of the frontier. Similarly,
no revisionist tendencies are apparent in the attitude of the 'zoup
transferred from T9ansilvania or Banat, Fr
The revisionist tendencies obtain the support of right-wing
nationalist political groups. For example, the FDP party - placed
at the utmost right of the coalition backing ADENAUER @ s cabinet -
has emphasised many times its solidarity with the revisionist
trends. (Here. a discussion may be quoted as example. which-
de-veloped in Western Germany at the beginning of 1982 over the so-
oalled documentary film "KRRUZWBG DEL FREIHEIT* - Crossroads of
Freedom. This film treated as German not only the territories
situated between the ODRA-MA line and the 1938 Polish-German
frontier, but even those Polish territories - an POZNAN county
&vA Palish Pomerran1a - which found themselves within the frontiers
of independent Poland after 1918. In this nation-wide disoueeion,
the FDP party deo7 erred its full support for the claims expressed
by the film.)
It should be added that in the conglomeration of deportees,
expellees and political refugees from the east. the neo-Hitlerite
groups which - though within modest limits only - still are
active in Western Germany, have found but an insignificant number
of supporters. The l-?ck of popularity of neo-Hitlerism is attributed
to the fact that it was the Hitlerism who had initiated mass
transfers of the population (e.g. in BANAT and `DhANStLVANIA), and
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'afterwards - owing to Gerwiy's defeat - bad become the cause of
compulsory deportations.
The activities of the group of *limited* politioal aims enjoy
a more or less official support of the DOWN Government. The
Ministry for the Questions od Deportees headed by LUKASCHt 'C,
and in particular the Miristry for A110erman Questions under
RAISER, are giving to this group much practical, and often also
financial, assistance. 'Must e.g. amongst the official publicati-
ons sponsored by KAISha's Ministry, a work entitled 'JJ*8 ITS
VON ODER UND f12ISSi* appeared t., print. Thies work advocates
revisionist ideas, and its author 3ilesius Alt is one of their
leading propagators.
On the grounds of this more detailed information about the
trend of *limited* political aims, the following asaw,tione
may be drawn :
1. This tread is not a political ooneeption; It is rather a
progreame of activities. According to the intentions of
its rexreeentatives and to the possibilities o"fered lay
the current political situation, it in revealled either
in revisionist claims, in emotional threats of a revenge,
or in demands for restoration of property or oompennation
foy material losses, or even in the longing to go back
home" without any requests of political nature. It is
a iogremme brought about by,oiroumetanoes, born from
territorial and constitutional ohanges after the last
ear .
E;.+i th the passage of time, the importance of this trend
- diminishes. The number of its pertis"s, though alwsjs
considerable, gradually grows smaller. Some of them beoome
assimilated in new conditions. This applies in particular
to the younger generations, and also to those of deportees
and expelieee who have managed to create new conditions of
existence in a new place. It is not beyond the point to
add here that according to the official statietion of the
eaten German Government, the unemployment on the territo-
ries under its control vaoillatea between 1.1 and 1,3
Million for quite a time already. Taking Into account that
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the number of employable people in the mass of deportees,
expellees and refugees from the east amounts to some 4-5
millionq (which rather overestimates the position), these
statistics demonstrate that a very considerable part of
this large- group has already been able to settle down.
As example, we may quote then centres y o stfolk1?re
industry on the BODSA Lake, in which the old, traditional
centres of this industry from SUDETi or Lower SII,ESIA
have besn rspWoduoed.
These observations allow the oonalusion that the oarren
interests and ambitions directed to Bast 8uropean affairs, insofar
as they are reflected in the trend of *limited* political aims,
do not exert a decisive influence on the shaping of the new
German political doctrine with respect to the East. ?
In this sphere, the leading role In played by the second
trend, described in our introduotion is the trend of *unlimited*
political aims.
11. end .21 "Q311m1ted" P01 tidal Aimsr.
As already stated in the initial remarks, this trend has rot
yet worked out a new German political doctrine with regard to the
East.
The primary reason for it are presumably the encumbrances
of traditional German concepts of Eastern Europe. Another serious
reason is undoubtedly the fact that the results of the war had
1poaed the greatest sacrifices on the Prussian group which had
formulated theme concepts and enforced them on the German polioy.
Apart from great losses in human lives, this group has been
deprived of its material basis to a much greater extent than
other German proupe, which in Western Germany are quickly restoring
their former standard of property.
The *traditional encumbrances* may be listed as follows;
1. M i.dea of RAPALLO which re?ere to ancient Merman-Russian
alliarcee of the beginning of 19th century in ablished
works dealing with the possibility of a new German-Russian
collaboration. the agreement of 'rAUROGI is often mentioned
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aa a symbol of such collaboration. The circles of German
"neutralists' consider it possibic to establish such relations
even with the Soviet Russia. The )ending members of this group
are: Dr. Joseph VIRTU - former Cr anceMor of the Reich from
the time of signing the RA.PALLO tz saty; Helene WESSEL - former
president of the ZBTF2RU i Party in the MN X Parliament; Gustav
INX Al - former minister of internal affairs in ADENAUUR"e
first cabinet, who also was the president of the Chief Synod of
the B`vazigelical Church; Rev. c arts n NTIL408L president of
the Evangelical Church in ff SSEN province; ~tav G5RUL former
minister in the fovertiment of bower Saxony, who bowerer in the
second half of 1952 seeKed the Oasylum* in gastern Germany.
This group has a certain influence in Western Germany;
it strives, in the first place, to the "unification of Germany*,
in accordance with the formula sponsored by the Soviet Union.
It is interest into to note that this section of the .RAPALLO
group has acquired a certain euvport in the protestant circles.
This is the more characteristic tbat Eastern Germany - with the
exception of Silesia - had always been the domain of the Evan-
gelical Church, while Western and ;iouthern Germany had been
under Catholic influence.
A more moderate protestant group stands in between the
trend towards an agreement with "any" Russia and the camp
backing the agreement with Rueuia "of the future". In March and
April 1953. an interesting discussion was enacted in the columns
of the official publication of the Nvan,gelical Church 'R301MTAGS-
BLATT (Ranburg). between the renre rentatives of the Evangelical
Church and of the Orthodox Church. This discussion, without
in the least referring to any curr