314 politics THEGERMANEXPERIE EDITOR'SNOTE:Thethreedocumentsprintedbelow havecometohandfrompeoplewhamIbelievetobereliable butwhosenamescannotbemadeknownforvariousreasons. Thefirsttwoare,astheirformindicates,personalletters;the authorsareGermansofa"left"politicalorientation.The thirddocumentwaspassedontomebyanAmericanwhohas recentlybeeninGermany.Theauthor,"hewrites,"isaGer- mangirlof25,solidlyanti-Nazi.Sherefusedtojointhe BundDeutscherMaedelbecauseshedidn'tlikebeingregi- mented,andlatersheworkedinanundergroundmovement andnarowlyescapedtheGestapo." Thedocumentsareprintedherefortheirownintrinsicinterest,andalsobecausetheyaddsomethingtothemesalready treatedinPOLITICS.Thefirstletterisinterestinginrelation tomyown"TheResponsibilityofPeoples"(POLITICS,March 1945),whichinfactindirectlystimulateditswriting.The othertwoofferfurtherconfirmationofthefactsrelatedin thedocumentsprintedinourJanuary,1946,issueunderthe heading"TheLastDaysofBerlin."Itmaybeobjectedthat toprintsuchaccountsofalong-pasthorrorismerelytoadd tothealreadyuncomfortablyhotflamesofAmerican-Russian antagonism.Butthereareseveralreasonswhyitseemstome thesetwonarativesshouldbepublished.Somescepticismwas expresedbyreadersthattheRedArmycouldhavebehavedso atrociouslyaswasdescribedin"TheLastDaysofBerlin"; thepresentaccountsshouldestablishthefactsonceforall. Thereisnobeterindicationoftheinhuman,perhaps"sub- human"wouldbe-moreaccurate,characterofthepresentRussianformofsociety—unles itbethecurrent"purge"ofarts andlettersthanthebehavioroftherankandfileoftheRed ArmyinBerlin(andbynomeansonlyinBerlin).These,then, werethekindofpeoplethe"Russianexperiment"hadproduced!(Likewise,thelessbrutalbutequalycorruptandin- sensitivebehaviorofourown"boys"inEuropewas,orshould havebeen,somethingofaneye-openertothosewhofoolishly talkof"Americandemocracy.")Andfinaly,thestoriesare goodinthemselves,especialytheletteraddressedto"DearP.", thefirsthalfofwhichconveysmorepowerfullythananythingelseIknowthekindofintolerablesituations,something realybeyondhumanity,whichsomanyEuropeanshavesomehowtolerated,inthesenseofsurviving. DEARIdGisc: overedwhenreadingyourletterthatevenyou aresharingtheilusionsstillcherishedbytheemigratedleftist intelectualsfromGermany.Iamafraidnoneofyouisaware ofwhat 15 yearsofefficientpsychologicaltreatmentbyDr. GoebbesldidtotheGerman"nationalcharacter"(alreadydisintegratingafterhalfacenturyofintenseindustrialization andall itimplies).TheGermanemigreesstillwanttobelieve thatthe"dehumanization"wasaspecialtyofasmalminor- ityorofchosentroops;theystillbelievethatitwasonlythe SSortheGestapowhokiledtheJewsintheconcentration campsinPoland,whereasIknowpositively—Ihadthisinformationthoroughlycheckedthatonlyinthebeginningwas themassexecutionsofJewsreservedtotheSS. Alreadyin 1942thenormalWehrmachtunitscouldbesufficiently "trusted"toparticipateinthekiling. Iknowofsomeofficers andnon-commissionedoficerswhodidnotliketogivethe BitimtéliecmatGifebalf_31ffet5comradetoactforthem.But CE-THREEDOCUMENTS onthewholetheaverage young Wehrmachtsoldierwasquite asweladaptedtothisjobaswastheSS-man.Someofthem vomitedalittlewhenitstarted,buttheysoongotusedtoit. Irememberayoungandhandsomesoldierwho,wantingto givemeaproofofhishumankindness,toldmewithquite alotofmoralpridethathenevershottheJewsbelowthe waistinordertoprolongtheirsufferings,asdidsomeofhis comrades. Iobservedthesamereactions--orbeterlackofreactions onthepartofthe mass oftheGermansduringthewinter 1944-1945,whenMr.Worns,thenazispecialistforJewish questionssince1933intheMinistryoftheInterior,had startednewmeasuresagainsthalf-Jews:Half-Jewswereto beemployedexclusivelyforhardwork(inmines,inquarries,asroadmenders,etc.)orforunhealthyanddangerous workinfactorieswheretheyweretotaketheplaceofthe RussianandPolishprisonersrequiredforbuildingtrenches behindtheWesternfront. I talkedtoalotofpeopleabout thesemeasures,particularlyaboutacaseIknewpersonaly:a half-Jewishgirljustoutofhospitalafteraseriousoperation andstillveryfeeble,whohadtoworkduringthecoldest weeksofJanuarytenhoursperday,withoutproperclothing, intheopenairintheruinsofastreet.Shehadgonetoseethe officialy-appointeddoctor,whohadpromisedhereasierwork andwhokepthispromise:insteadofhavingtoworkonthe stones,shewaspermitedtoworkonlyonthewoodendoors andthewindowframesamongthedebris,gettingthenails out.Wel,thedog-loving,flower-loving,music-loving,peacefulpetits-bourgeois(whorepresentthebulkoftheGerman population)towhomI toldthisstorythoughtthemeasures were"certainlynecessary"anda"perfectlyjustifiedself-pro- tectionagainstthesedangerousvermin."Somepeoplewere evendisagreeablysurprisedtohearthathalf-Jewswerestill aliveinGermanyandhadevenbeenalowedtoworkasengineerswithZeissandotherwarproductionplantsbeforeMr. Wornshadinterfered.Theonlypeoplewhoexpressedtheirindignationwerefactoryworkers,intelectuals,andChristian- mindedmembersofthearistocracy. IknowwhatIamtalkingabout,for IhavelivedinGer- manyfromWinter1941toSpring1945.YouwouldunderstandwhatImeanandthatsomethingterriblehashappened tothe"Germansoul"ifyoucouldonlyhaveseenthefaces ofthousandsofyoungsoldiersasIhaveseentheminthe garisontownofPotsdamwhereIlived:thesefreshcleanterrifyingemptydepersonalizednumbedfaces.Thiswasnotthe expressiontheGermansoldiershadin1916and1917,althoughtheytoohadbeenpatientanddisciplined,but I re- memberwel theexpressionofsuferingandwearinessand suppressedangermostofthemhad.Iamafraidthiswasthe birthofanewandterribleraceIhavebeenwitnessing. (Ofcourse,myobservationsmightbetrueonlyforthe personsIspoketo:BerlinersandGermansfromtheeastern partsofthecountry.Itseemsthatthingsarealotbeterin WesternandSouthernGermanyandintheformerlysocialist partsofSilesia.Inthesepartstheoppositionwasgetting strongereveryyear.) NowIoughttoexplainhowIcamebacktoGermany.You certainlyknowthatinMay,1940,whentheGermanhadinvadedNorthernFrance,theFrenchconfinedallwomenof GermanorAustrianoriginatCampdeGurs(BassesPyrénées).WesharedthisinternmentcampwiththeSpanish anti-FrancofighterswhofledtoFranceafterthevictoryof
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