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"Another equally important ques-
tion would be the arrangement and
execution of a thorough democratic
education program for interned Nazis.
There are hundreds of democTratic
teachers and politicians in Bavaria
who would be willing to give lectures
in an internment camp on cultural
problems of our time."
Democracy Explained
Answering charges by the Taegliche
Rundschau, overt Soviet newspaper in
Berlin, against the western controlled
papers, Editor Hugo Scholz of the
British licensed Telegraf found it sur-
prising that press freedom can be
misunderstood.
"As representative of an occupation
force the Taegliche Rundschau should
be particularly careful in chosing its
words, for otherwise one would have
doubts right from the beginning of its
objectiveness," advised Scholz.
"The journalists of the Telegraf are
shocked about the fact that in this
article (of the TaeglicheRundschau) the
independence of the Telegraf is doubt-
ed by putting that word in quotes and
by charging that the paper has receiv-
ed 'orders from special sources to
spread deliberately false and defama-
tory news.'
"The editors of the Taegliche Rund-
schau, and particularly the officer of
the Red Army, know that the Telegraf
is neither liable to censorship nor
would any journalist of the Telegraf
obey an order of British Military
Government to publish this or that
political comment," declared Scholz,
adding the statement that the British
Military Government has made no
attempt at all to influence the editors.
He added further that there were quite
a number of articles which the British
did not like but which they showed
understanding upon being told the
reasons behind them.
The paper expressed the desire that
other Berlin papers find the same un-
derstanding from the occupation force
which has licensed them.
"The Telegraf is neither for an
eastern or western democracy, but for
democracy," concluded Scholz.
Safeguard of Press
Advocated by Paper
Der Mannheimer Morgen deplored
that the new press laws would act
as a restriction of the press if it were
not for protection of the freedom of
the press by the Allies. It said:
"The Occupation Power intends to
give the rights of self-government in
the various spheres of public life
back to the Germans, and to let the
Germans administer their pressthem-
selves. But what may come of it?
If the decision on licenses, paper, and
all the other necessities of printing
plants rests with the parties and
bureaucracy, without a chance of
appealing to a really neutral author-
ity, then we can already order the
tombstone for the free German press.
"It seems to be very dangerous to
entrust a still basically undemocratic
German administration with all press
matters in the present chaotic con-
dition, in which our people and the
fragments of the former 'Reich' find
themselves. It would be like giving
a razor blade to a baby. Is it there-
fore 'unpatriotic' (we'think it is rea-
sonable), to point out to the Allies
that independent newspapers establish
a stronger bulwark against new cata-
strophes than airfields of the Con-
stabulary armed with bombers and
cannons?"
Tone of Party Papers
The Wuerttembergisches Zeit Echo
(Schwaebisch-Hall), is one of many
papers to comment on radio address
by J. W. Naumann, chairman of
Publishers' Association. It commented:
"He raised the question whether
the tone of the party weeklies was
perhaps more elegant than that of the
licensed papers. It is questionable, he
said, whether a future party press
would be fair enough to carry in its
columns insulting attacks on itself, as
the licensed papers do. But in spite
of all attacks, the Augsburg licensee
declared himself ready to support the
difficult labors of the Government and
Parliament."
Work for Internees
OMGUS Headquarters announced
in a cable V-18 389 of 15 May that
it "has no objection to the use of
unsentenced civilian internees on
necessary construction work not on
routine maintenance tasks at US Army
installations, providing the provisions
of USFET Civilian Personnel Circular
No. 12, dated 13 March 1946, relating
to the requisitioning of the services
of civilian personnel is followed."
"This means that an attempt should
first be made to obtain the necessary
labor from (a) Displaced Persons
sources or (b) Local Labor Offices,"
the cable added. "Any use of unsen-
tenced civilian internees must be on
a purely voluntary basis, for pay,
and must not interfere with the pro-
gress of trials before tribunals. Agree-
ment must be obtained from the
Minister of Political Liberation, if he
is in accord with the plan, on pay,
feeding, and other working conditions
and for the security and guarding of
internees who volunteer for such
work."
Press Talk Praised
The Muenchner Mittag (Munich)
was delighted over the first official
government press conference. It com-
mented:
"A two-day debate in the Bavarian
Landtag on food problems and denazi-
fication and the first press conference
of the Land government may be re-
garded as a sign that parliament and
government believe that the prelimi-
nary work of the cabinet is done. For
the first time in four months the
Land government permitted itself to
be subjected to questioning. The im-
pression prevailed up to now that
parliament evades all questions of
major importance and that the
government wants to discuss impor-
tant questions only behind closed
doors."
The paper considered the new po-
licy a good start and also welcomed
the report on denazification before the
Landtag.
The Suedost-Kurier (Bad Reichen-
hall) commented favorably on the
first official government press con-
ference:
WEEKLY INFORMATION BULLETIN
16 JUNE 1947
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