Prospects for Germany
HOTTELET, RICHARD C.
Prospects for Germany A Watcher on the Rhine. By Brian Connell. Reviewed by Richard C. Hottelet Veteran foreign correspondent, Morrow. 320 pp. $4.00. Columbia Broadcasting System This di...
...And his emphasis is occasionally so completely misplaced that the reader, like the author, "becomes increasingly confused...
...They have changed since the war, but how much and in what way is very hazardous to specify...
...The author at one point corrects himself with the observation that "the bewildering mutations of the various post-Nazi groups resemble nothing so much as a microscopic film record of life among the amoebae," but he still sees a Strasser, Naumann or Rudel as a potential threat...
...And most students of Germany are quick to point out that a depression would bring on a new situation—and not in Germany alone...
...Looked at historically, it is the task of helping a late-comer among nations achieve the inner peace and the outer accord which it has so tragically lacked...
...And it does so in the old vein...
...Columbia Broadcasting System This di sappointing book paints Germany with a broad brush in flat, standard colors...
...but several minor, yet annoying errors of fact do detract further from the book...
...But the dangers are luridly overdrawn in this book...
...In fact, a reflective critic's flash of insight is needed to sum up what dry and dispassionate histories can only itemize...
...The statement that "the foundations of the democratic way of life in Germany are as strong and no stronger than the acceptable illusion of the fat life it has fostered" is a half-truth...
...The book's greatest fault by far is that, in his preoccupation with the danger of radical swings to right extremism or to collaboration with the Soviet Union, the author hardly mentions the only real and present menace—the forces working for German neutralism...
...And the author, in a different mood later on, lists the institutions—the radio and press, the trade unions, the judiciary and the organs of government —which more effectively support the promise of democracy than does the bulging belly...
...The refugees are held up as perhaps the greatest threat of all, and examples of loose talk about recovering the lost territories are cited as proof...
...But Mr...
...Some good Germans, like Adenauer and Schumacher, have helped democracy take root, but danger abounds...
...As far as the qualm goes, this may be perfectly true...
...They are cruel to each other, arrogant when in the saddle and servile when compelled to submit...
...A howling typo, for which the author cannot be blamed, refers to "Dr...
...Much could be related, even by the casual observer, to illuminate the road along which Germany has come in the past twelve years...
...The Ruhr will follow its profits eastward, the author says, "without a qualm...
...At one point, the author describes the truly shocking experience of a homosexual ball in Berlin...
...Levy's Arbeitsjront...
...In several respects, he does so competently and with an understanding which combines long experience and sound reportorial ability...
...Wild generalizations are a bit too frequent...
...Connell's book touches many of the crucial aspects of the German scene, but he tends to skip over them so quickly that he is hardly ever more than two-dimensional...
...The materialism which characterizes German society is as much a source of concern to the Germans themselves as to foreigners, as innumerable public references and private discussions show...
...This book makes its bow to the convention which demands chapters on The Ruhr, The Nazis, The Militarists and so on...
...Now there is no disputing tastes...
...But Mr...
...The disproportion between the space devoted to them and the five lines describing the June 17 uprising is disappointing...
...Connell is an intelligent man with wide knowledge of Germany...
...The author has the right to regard the German people, their history and their state in any light he chooses...
...Politically, with Germany the decisive factor in the European balance of power, the German problem is a challenge to the West to keep this makeweight on our side...
...The chapters on conditions in the Soviet Zone are the best in the book, although they, too, reveal insufficient political depth...
...In human terms, it is a challenge to enlist Germany in building a new Europe which will not waste its energy on obsolete inner conflict but will break down the barriers of national interest and prejudice that stand in the way of large-scale economic and political planning...
...Connell does not devote a line to define the entirely different terms of trade and profit that events have imposed on Europe since the early Thirties...
...His comment: "Such experiences are a constant reminder of the basic instability of the German character...
...But the truly remarkable fact that there has been so little such talk, and that the overwhelming sentiment of refugee organizations favors peaceful and equitable adjustment, based on understanding rather than on force, is kissed off in a brief paragraph...
...At least a dozen times, the author feels compelled to declare that in the event of serious economic disturbance the militarists, nationalists, industrialists and refugees, in any combination, could turn Germany eastward or upside down...
...But, on balance, he falls far short of an analysis which would put the German problem in focus, even in his own terms, and help the reader to a better understanding...
...Perhaps his next book will be more incisive...
...The Nazi, neo-Nazi and pseudo-Nazi groups that have come and gone in the past twelve years are all listed with great seriousness, but unfortunately in such a way as to create the impression that they are all somehow still in business...
...The history of East Germany as a struggle between various Soviet satraps like Semyonov, Tulpanov and Pushkin can hardly be taken seriously...
...What is the German problem of our day...
...The burden of the book is that the Germans are an awkward people, with no taste in clothes or food...
Vol. 40 • April 1957 • No. 14
