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great powers is afraid that the others will
get control of German potentials. To his
question, "Why do the great powers -suspect
each other?" the writer, Licensee Distelbarth
replied:
";The men who have the money and the
power in the capitalist states fear to lose
both if communism conquers the earth. They
instinctively feel their weakness. They see
that there is no longer any question of pure
. . . so-called liberal capitalism. But they
want to hold up the development as long
as possible. Perhaps they think it is still
possible to avert the danger .
"The Soviets who have just passed a
terrible test that previously nobody would
have thought possible . . . firmly believe
that theirs is the future. But they also know
how vulnerable they are and how hostile
the world is towards them. Therefore they
distrust the others."
The writer concluded by asserting his faith
in the future: "In all history mankind stood
under the cruel whip of Scarcity and Dis-
trust. He who can read the signs sees that
a new age is dawning. This will be the
age of Confidence and Plenty. And those
who would stem the tide sign their own
death warrants."
US Fight Against Starvation
An article in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung
(Munich) looked "beyond the walls of one's
own distress" - which the writer admits is
difficult. He pointed out that the role of
United States in the world is not only that
of creditor but also philanthropist. He con-
tinued:
"What the United States has been sending
into the world for some time runs a race
against increasing starvation. Not only in
our papers, but also in the papers of USA
stories on hunger are given a lot of space.
By the war and civil war huge areas were
devastated in China, the dams partly destroy-
ed, and big rivers deviated from their original
course. In the Rumanian Province of Mol-
dau, formerly one of the richest surplus
areas of Europe, uncounted people live on
leaves, roots and snow, bread is baked out
of sawdust and bark. Millions of people are
confronted with death by starvation in the
Ukraine, a country that always lived in ease
and plenty."
Question of German POW's
The announcement of Soviet Foreign Sec-
retary Molotov that 890,535 German POW's
remain in the Soviet Union brought strong
reactions of consternation among the Ger-
man press. Typical of the editorial comment
was that of the Sueddeutsche Zeitung (Mu-
nich) which said:
"The statement of the number of POW's
in Russia as being 890,535 is bound to create
consternation and deep unrest in millions
of German families. This stark figure is by
far the most shocking statistical data of
which post-war Germany has learned. Usu-
ally the number of German POW's in Rus-
sia was estimated at the end of 1946 as
four to four and a half millions . . . Russia
has never issued a denial or declared that
these estimates were too high . . . . The
question arises about the fate of about two
to two and a half million human beings."
No Leader in US Zone
The absence of any outsanding leader from
the US Zone among the new German pol-
itical personalities who "have the caliber
that the people expect of a political party
leader in a democracy," was pointed out in
an editorial in the Schwaebische Landes.
zeitung (Augsburg). Concerning the leading
personalities today, the paper said, "We
name Dr. Adenauer, Jacob Kaiser of the
CDU, Dr. Schumacher of the SPD, Pieck
and Grotewohl of the SED, and Dr. Kuelz
of the Democrats. All these party leaders
are active in the British or the Soviet Zone."
The paper declared that the one con-
sequence of the failure of the men on whom
hopes were founded in the US Zone was that
the political discussions turn within such
narrow limits.
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