GERMANY: A Question of Sincerity

It was all very polite. “Highly esteemed President,” wrote East German Boss Wilhelm Pieck last week to spry old Theodor Heuss of West Germany, “I approach you at a time of great import … I propose … a meeting to discuss how the road can be smoothed for the convening of all-German consultations to bring about the peaceful reunification of Germany . . .”

Far from smoothing the road, of course, Moscow’s orders to Stooge Pieck were to roll huge stones in the way, unless the West accepted the East’s unacceptable terms. President Heuss replied, not quite so gently, “The sincerity of your proposal is questionable.” That Heuss could answer so quickly and firmly was a sign that West Germans had come to see the Red proposal for what it is: a bogus offer of unity, subject to Russian conditions, and designed solely to disrupt West German rearmament. West Germans, most of whom really do want a unified Germany, were looking to Paris instead. There the U.S., Britain and France, supported by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer, asked for a U.N. commission to determine whether free elections are possible in East Germany.