?ooks in Review
?ooks in Review Antidote to Nonsense About Germany AatidoU to Nonsense About Germany- 24pt fut demib______ Review by GEORGE ? SHUSTER RE-EDUCATING GERMANY. By Werner Richttr. Translated by Paul...
...By Leonid l.ronov...
...The Captain is a phony, dedicated to living the good life in the grand manner, snd you'd think the book would float along on champagne bubbles, laced with gay adventures snd chsrmingly shady intrigues...
...176 pape...
...Nor is It certain thst the Germans, If left to select the brand they desire, would prefer ours...
...The doctrine known as dialectical materialism, as' currently expounded by Moscow, haa ss much resemble nee to the Ameriesn creed ss s turkey haa to a sunset...
...But In,w sre they to be helped...
...Such splendid picture* are contrasted with horrifying scene* of utter poverty and mi starvation in which individu?li whose social sntecedents sre not correct, or who have in soms wsy fallen out of fsvor with the government, ere shown rutting and dying...
...Translated by Paul Lehmann, ? University ef Chicago Press...
...the thing becomes baffling when the cloud moves steadily away towards a small building on the grounds, turns the corner, and diaappears...
...When her health fails, he hates to see her suffer, leave* her continually to avoid the tight, tritt mesa-time te divert himself with mild flirtations, and lets her dis alone...
...2.00...
...And if that is so, perhsps sfter all the most sensible thing would be to pick one's Germans and help them sslvsge something from the shipwreck...
...Lyons · soothed the ruffled Molnar by explaining that our younger writers are so used to thinking of him sa a great character in literature that it >* natural they should presume him dead...
...Yon cannot educate them te do so willingly...
...I-et us go even fsrther...
...Richter ia no educational quack...
...All too frequently the man or woman seeking consumer credit has to turn to the loan shark or small loan company, both of which charge unconscionable high interest rate...
...Later he discovers that a patient, purportedly a Captain of the Husssrs, had been ordered to take s hot bsth...
...The qaestie* ef whether Germany will wish te go back te ita traditional system of denominational education will arise almost immediately...
...The suggestions may for the sake of convenience be listed under three headings First come recommendations for the reform of the scholastic system...
...It is to be gravely doubted whether serious British educators, like Lindsay or Lord Livingston, would st comfortably on the same educational bench with either Robert Hutrhins or Sidney Hook and quite as dubious whether these two would be able even for fifteen minutes to sgreo on what it is trot America stands for...
...They would ju?t defend themselves against peoples who opposed their triumphant match to the symbolic ocean that laps th* shores of the new world Stat...
...THE New Yorker profile of Leonard Lyons tells the story of the time Lyons introduced Willism Saroyan te Ferenc Molnar...
...Richter advocates the appointment of many women to the elementary schools, after the purge of Nasi teachers has been effected, suggests a "liberal arts" curriculum for the secondary schools, and proposes that the university plan be modified by the introduction of the college into German life...
...Kurilov, the old Bolshevik who is the chief of the Political Bureau of one of the railroads, is Leonov's hero, not his villain...
...In this respect, the wage-earner borrower is diatinguishable from the borrower for commercial purposes who ia sufficiently atrong economically to avoid being seriously imposed upon...
...We may assume that under Hitler this disparity has given way to the conflict between Nazis and their opponents, so that there is a sort of "front" that unifies the anti-Hitlerites...
...Kurilov isn't much of s resder...
...Only if th* Great Power* will let Europe alone and not slake out spheres of influence ran the Continent recover its health or can a new world war he prevented...
...He i* con?tantly reminded by the lender that any defensive move on his part would be attended by disastrous consequences to himself...
...Only through cooperative effort ia it possible to build up the machinery necessary to establish enduring peace...
...He knowe th*»history af German education and in this volume indicates how Hitler Germany can b* re-educated to that the next Germany will be a loyal and efficient member of the laeiety of nations...
...NO, this isn't a story of the terrible Nazi plot for world conquest, even though the refrain from the Horst Weasel's song summarize* Its thems...
...And he knows also that Germany's eo-psrtnsrt in the modern world sre not sngel* who hsve sweetness snd light to spare...
...No one can fore* 500.000.000 of the moat gifted people on earth to serve as docile guinea pig...
...THE central theme of thia book i* the need of cooperation in dealing with problems ef wsr snd peace...
...First, I believe there should be adopted sh soon ss possible internationally approved principles of conduct, such an a hill of human righta and a code of arbitration...
...Only such an office, set up ia order to foster sBaity among nations and th* ahntet which results from amity, can guarantee that grants inaid to schools and scholarship do net become instruments for sharpening to . a fine edge nationalistic passions and emotions Fourth, there ahould be an expres-aien of realistic interest in s Federation of european nations...
...The Germany of yore was a realm of conflicting views of life, all of them exceptionally well-equipped to do educational work...
...Yon may compel Germans to accept United Nations imperialism...
...Bergengren doea not offer the Credit Union as a cure-all for every economic illness afflicting the nation, but as a constructive means of dealing with problems ariaing out of the average man'* temporary financial difficulties...
...Above sji, it is svident thnt not all of the United Nations will mean the nme thing by "democracy...
...3.00...
...Probably the most sstlsfsctory wsy of handling consumer credit is through the organlxationa known as Credit Unions...
...3.00...
...If anyone were to ask my advice (and I hasten to add that it ia exceedingly improbable that anyone will) I ahould insist thst the sooner our governments can work through private agencies the better...
...All of these points are set against the background of a really aearcbing analysis of German intellectual history...
...Of course he is slwsys s bit of s Germsn civil servsnt, that most inflexible and thorough of mortal...
...L. B. Fiecher, New York...
...At the end of such a program on* must place an endorsement on such educational reforma in Germany as those which Richter advocates...
...In the first place, there ia the somewhat theoretical problem of cultural pluralism, which Professor Richter himself raises...
...NO less a person than Abraham Flexner writea the blurb for Werner Richter* Re Educating Germany...
...Kurilov's job is that of spying into the social sntecedents of the worker*, so thst when snything goi* wrong, he will be sble to point to some hard-working technician who has the supreme misfortunte to be unable to trace his pedigree to a worker or a farm laborer...
...MARGARETS...
...The lender can and does retaliate by garnieheeing wages (which often results in lo«* of jola), by seizing property, by injuring reputation and peace of mind through repeated dunning visits, letters, and telephone calls, not only to the borrower but to his friends, relatives, and employer, and by iimumerable other methods...
...Nevertheless, interesting and very valuable though the book is, I doubt whether it solves the very real puzzle* which the impending collapse of Germany will bring to light...
...I gather that there is need for consultation with Germans who hsve lived through the whole brutal business without losing their sanity...
...The helplessness of the borrower *rlres from the extreme dispsrity in the relative economic poaitions of lenders and borrowers of «mall sums, and the practical inability of the borrowers to protect themselves after the contracts have been signed...
...sad thst sny sort ef governmental solution will have te be a compromise...
...He likes to visit ths slums, and laonov seems to derive satisfaction from describing how the great mane large ear with its chauffeur imprest** the denigent of poor street*, while Kurilov, with the maetive aimplicity of hit character, takt* * toy to torn* poof* child...
...Such measures would restore s modicum of decency to international life, and make it evident that democracy is not the same thing as power politics...
...Translated by Norbert Cuter,„on...
...507 i«iyc...
...The author is the Msnsging Director of the Credit Union National Association, in which capacity he ha* helped to bring over 8,000 credit union* into existence...
...1 when he first arrivet to take up reti-iteet, he sees a great cloud of ttesm stating out of the snow, which is extra- . •Minsry enough In its own right...
...only through cooperative effort can we establish conditions st home making for jobs, aecurity, prosperity...
...HI* individual life seems to him unimportant against this vatt kaleidoscope of victory, and he sometime* even withes that he might perform one latt service for the tuper-ttate by dying In front of a firing squad in s purge...
...Second, I think that -the traditional carriers ef poiHical asm sodai decency fat Germany must be strengthened as speedily as poswbis, Such carriers ars the free trade unions sad the churches...
...In the production of such intangibles, the Credit Unions rank among the country's important economic groupings...
...Iroapectively, our men of action...
...At any rste, his plot turns on the persecution of Gleb, sn able technician, by such a blackmailer, and the consequent deterioration of Gleb's strong, self-reliant character, to the point where bs plots against Kurilov at the only escape from the dangers menacing himself...
...By Ferenc Molnar...
...The second presupposes a World Court, to which disputes will be referred for judgment...
...He is usually ignorant of the rights accorded him by law after he ha* become indebted...
...Tomorrow — The World...
...Kurilov hi portrayed as s bluff, kindly fellow who hst devoted himself to the Revolution with much the seme singleness of purpoac thst our pioneering forebears devoted to the development of America He Is shown, too, wtih msny of the limitations with which we endow...
...Therefore ths following program is recommended for consideration...
...Of greater importance than the interest savings that members of Credit Unions enjoy from their participation ia such organizations is the senae of responsibility snd the ineulcstion of self-reliance for economic improvement they get from them...
...Refusing to be meek about it, the Captsin steppe...
...The book it written in clear, conciae language, ami give* a comprehensive history of the development of the Credit Union movement and its organizational and functional structure...
...He say* pertinent things about tb* German intellectual tradition, and he has some interesting suggestion...
...If I didn't know that Leonov is a highly admired Soviet wtiter, 1 would conclude from hit long, badly-organized but vital and interesting novel that it was intended aa a terrible indictment of a system which force* every man to live in terror of the informer...
...To all thia one must sdd the very vital fact that Germany i* to be occupied by three armies, snd thst salesmanship for three possibly quite divers* solutions of Germsn cultural problem* will be very active...
...But the Captain is un Introvert beneath it all, and aware of his weaknesses...
...Kurilov beguiles his loneliness by dreaming of the futur* gloritt of th* Soviet Stete, and it ft in thett long, confuted and grandios* narrations that we learn of th* great and aver greater war convulsions which ar* to bring about the final world-arid* victory of the Soviet...
...Second, steps mast be taken te prevent the formation of another "academic proletariat" of in-tsVsctusls—the existence of which did stach to psve the wsy for Hitler—and te endow the profesaoriste with greater courage and devotion to freedom...
...He knows what the school can a.nd cannot do...
...167 page...
...The typical consumer-borrower is pathetically incapable of securing a fair bargain at the outset...
...Saroyan wa* astonished to And the man alive, and said as much...
...It is the whole Communist dresm of world conquest...
...Other differences will be revived seriatim, snd we may certainly include among them a a cleavage between advocates ef and reaiatera te ' Richter'* plaa for the reorganization of the formal German curriculum...
...Kurilov gives no indication of realizing that searching out of political scapegoats opens the door wide to that most terrible curse of despotic governments, the informer, nor that the informer mHy, and frequently does, vary his activities by becoming a blackmailer...
...But this is not the author'* deduction from hi* story...
...It take* patience to read this nightmarish book, but it gives an Interesting slant on the mlndt of the Russians under the Soviets...
...But unless all aigns fail, the old pluralism will reappear a* soon aa the preeaure ia removed...
...Credit — The Last Frontier «•vlew by IRVING f. ALlhiAH 1 SPEAK FOR JOE DO A EES...
...But on the whole this book is an antidote to nonsense and a sign of the turvival of reason...
...Review by ALICE BEAl rARSONS ROAD TO THE OCEAN...
...The credit union as s cooperstive enterprise is offered those who need Ahsncisl sid in meeting urgent medicsl, household and other expenses for which no savinga have been accumulated, it it true that today the high earnings of the average worker make it possible for him to meet such expenditure* out of current income, but in normal times the limitation* upon the worker's esrning power create the necessity for borrowing...
...2.50...
...Richter her also learned a food deal about the American educational system, and has sensed the relationship between that and what is called democracy...
...I like the quiet courage with which he disposed, aaee and for ell, of the quite ridiculous educational proposal* of Lord Vansittart whose nostalgia for the daya that might have been is fully a* great aa hia enthusiasm for the daya that can saver possibly dawn...
...in the hot wster and tat calmly, holding his sword up, but getting his fine military clothes rather damp...
...Ha seem* never to have derived any profound satisfaction from his devotee revolutionary wife...
...By Roy F. Bergetryren...
...However, Molnar'» touch has much ef its old magic, and the story of the extraordinary Captain do*s make good reading...
...Harper and Brothers, New York...
...Richter, who handled himself very well as Carl Becker's associate in the pre-Nszi, Prussian Ministry of Education, is a very able man...
...I say these things knowing full, well that for a decade to come Centrai Europe is going to be only a little less like hell than it is now—and that on the roads through that hell futile advocates of this and that are sure to honkf their horns throughout the day and night...
...I quote: "There are few others who can speak from such a wealth of knowledge and experience aa Professor Richter...
...The narrator of the *tory is a young, uamoneyed journalist who moves for the winter to s hydropathic ssteblish-nwnt on a tiny island in the Danube, set Use s slightly dusty gem in the glittering dmdeia of, prs-WoTld-Wsr-I Budspest...
...When he went from his bath, he headed directly outdoors, and as he plowed throng) the deep anow he rettembled nothing more than a peripatetic geyaer...
...But leonov seems to know this...
...Third, every effort must be made to acquaint Germsn youth, and the German public generally, with the true story of recent event...
...Adventures in Budapest leview by ROBERT PARK MILLS THU CAPTAIN OF ST...
...The result it a cross between light entertainment and a rather tragic character ttudy, neither of which is developed quite as thorougly ai I should like...
...Perhaps the most apparent dispute was that between the religions, but there were others...
...If German labor could get impressive snppoi t from Americsn tabor, and if the Christian Church, both Cathotie and Protestant, will find a challenge to Ha heat energies hs the Germsn situation, than possibly ws may build up media for the dissemination of deasa» . eratie doctrine that can he depended "*ThiraVI hold that an International OaVe of Kducatien ia imperatively . needed...
...to offer about what to do when Hitler has been propelled into the nether regions of Valhalla...
...That wetdd be expecting too much...
...Since pioneer days, Credit Unions hsve followed the principle of self-help to cut the cost of consumer credit below commercial rste* The Credit Union look* to the wage earner* te furnish their own credit from their own capital...
...That it notable praise, and the reader might believe that at last thi answer to a hotly debated question may have been found...
...He doesn't have much notion how to snjoy leisure...
...Margarete gives evidence that the master is still alive and writing with tome of the same old flavor, though It doea fall a little short of hi* earlier standards...
...Duell, Sloan and Harce, New York...
...To achieve It, the Communists, of course, wouldn't become aggressor...
...Who can solve them ? Certainly not I. But one can at least look at them in order to see that infinitely much will depend, in terms of culture, upon the relative maturity of such thinking as the victorious powera may aee fit to devote to the matter...
...I think we may aay, therefore, that within a few years, all aorta of educational philosophic* will he ?«Minx for lifo in Germeny...
...The Captain of St...
Vol. 28 • April 1945 • No. 15
