Good News
November 1957
Vol. VI, Number 11

                     We Saw the NEW GERMANY!
 
This past summer three of our graduate students saw Germany firsthand.  They paid for their entire trip in order to acquire this necessary experience.  They viewed the Dachau crematorium and blood ditch -- but let them tell you what they witnessed in this article!
 
                      by Robert C. Boraker

 
 
   WE LEFT Germany two months ago.  Instead of rubble, starvation, and poverty, we saw a new and MODERN nation surpassing ALL other European countries in shipping, industry and commerce.

   Germany makes MORE STEEL than Britain and builds TWICE as many houses as France.  Germany's currency is stable.  Prices are steady and production is INCREASING.

   Yes, a country whose cities were practically OBLITERATED, is again back on its feet.  Once more Germany holds the BALANCE OF POWER in Europe!

   The question is, WHAT WILL GERMANY DO WITH THAT POWER?

   We found the answer this past summer!
 
An Eyewitness Report
 
   Three of us who graduated this last June from Ambassador College -- Bernell Michel, Kemmer Pfund and I -- spent two months in Germany TRAVELING OVER TWO THOUSAND MILES.  We saw Germany's major cities, the Ruhr and Saar industrial areas, and nationalistic Bavaria.  Since we studied German in Ambassador College, we were able to converse with the people in their native tongue.

   "America is TOO BIG for Germany," said the German-speaking sailor on our ship, looking at New York's skyscrapers as the ship pulled away from the dock.  A simple statement, but the tone of his voice implied that America is "too big" for Germany NOW, but hidden thought and motive of the German people as a whole.

   In order to COMPETE with America, Germany is rapidly rebuilding.  There is no doubting that fact.  We saw new roads, apartment buildings, and department stores -- FANTASTICALLY MODERN and comparable to any found in the U.S.  We saw them in the SMALL TOWNS as well as the large cities.  Such a building program cannot be found in any other European nation!

   At the rate she is building, Germany will fast become the most MODERN nation on earth.  We had to observe the streets with keen eyes in order to see bombed-wrecked buildings and craters where a building once stood.

   And yet --

   Germany is NOT SATISFIED with her position as a world power!
 
The Same Germany?
 
   We enjoyed our trip through Germany because the people were generally friendly and hospitable, rarely hostile.  Germany APPEARS to be a PEACEFUL NATION.  But, wasn't Germany also a "peaceful nation" before World War II?

   A well-known photographer and lecturer said recently, "When I returned to Germany after 35 years, I was surprised to find Germany the SAME as it was then.  The atmosphere, and PEOPLE remain the SAME!"

   DID YOU GRASP THE MEANING OF THAT?  The German people have NOT CHANGED!  They have not been democratized or denazified.  They remain the same GREEDY and PROUD people they were fifteen and thirty-five years ago!

   And what is the German's attitude toward Americans?  Because of our wealth, they are ENVIOUS and JEALOUS.  Even though they are better off than they were during the war, they still want MORE.  THEY WANT MORE THAN AMERICANS.  GERMANY IS STRIVING TO BECOME GREATER THAN AMERICA!
 
A Competitive Spirit
 
   The Germans of today do not appear much different from Americans.  Their customs, though still typically German, are becoming Americanized.  The Germans, however, have one human characteristic -- a fault in all people, but especially in the Germans -- which is -- THE GERMANS ABHOR DEFEAT!

   Whether individually or nationally, Germans admitted to us that they cannot suffer to lose.  We noticed this especially in playing sports.  Being a small nation, Germany feels INFERIOR. The people, individually,  confessed that they feel inferior.  To arise above this inferiority, the concept of the MASTER RACE is developed.

   Germany was defeated in the last war -- a terrific blow to her NATIONAL PRIDE.  Germany is turning this defeat and TOTAL RUIN into victory by REBUILDING her power until she is again ON TOP! The German looks at the wealthy United States and, with ENVY and JEALOUSY, puts forth every effort to create a modern and GREATER Germany with unrivaled luxuries and prosperity.

   In essence, Germany is COMPETING with the U.S.!  It is a COMMERCIAL COMPETITION destined to result in America's "Waterloo."
 
One Man Wields Power
 
   As a sovereign power, the NATION of Germany is taking a greater part in international affairs.  With a stable currency, a producing industry, and an outwardly democratic form of government, Germany again has  economic and political POWER to wield.  As usual, this power is wielded by ONE man -- Konrad Adenauer.

   The Germans look on Mr. Adenauer as THE man who brought them prosperity.  Fearing that a change in political leaders would alter this, the Germans re-elected him and the Christian Democratic party in the September elections for another five-year term.  Many Germans expressed to us the fear that their LEADER would not live through his term.  Without him, where will Germany turn?

   "Adenauer," says Charles Thayer (author of the book THE UNQUIET GERMANS), "has been the most popular political figure in Germany, partly, no doubt, because he fulfills the TRADITIONAL GERMAN DREAM of a strong man with a will of his own.  Though he is generally depicted as a FASCIST BEAST and worse by the Communist press, his devotion to the CAUSE OF EUROPE has made him a favorite among Western statesmen" (p. 125, italics ours).

   Chancellor Adenauer is a devout Catholic.  That is why he said in 1949, "I want to see a UNITED EUROPE." Since Mr. Adenauer is quite old, it is unlikely that he will see the fruition of his dreams.  However, he certainly is a stepping stone in the path leading toward a UNITED, GERMAN-DOMINATED EUROPE!
 
The Change in Outward Behavior
 
   The country's remarkable recovery has brought a change in German behavior.  Nazism, and all it stood for, fades into the past as new foreign ideas are accepted.  We found Western and American influence permeating industry, public relations and even music -- jazz and "rock 'n' roll" being a craze among German youth.

   But, is there also a CHANGE in the German attitude toward MILITARY SERVICE?

   The new German army is supposedly being molded on a democratic pattern without the pitfalls leading toward "prussianism." Already, however, it is being discovered that American recruiting methods just don't work with German soldiers.

   Just as the democratic school system in postwar Germany came to naught, just as decartilization failed and the dismantling program backfired, so will the German army return with its goose-stepping drills and chauvinistic methods.

   Although there is some change in German outward behavior, their CHARACTER remains distressingly THE SAME!

   The question, then, is -- Can this new army be trusted?  "ONLY TIME WILL PROVIDE THE ANSWER," says the September READER'S DIGEST (p. 68).  But by THAT time, IT WILL BE TOO LATE!
 
The German Youth
 
   Since it is the younger generation who will become tomorrow's nation, we sought to learn what they think about the future!  We were constantly among German youth while traveling in Germany. We spent about two months in Germany, and almost every night in the German Youth Hostels.  Here we talked with many young Germans.

   One German lad asked us if we knew the names of our American WAR PLANES.  We could only name a few.  He, however, not only knew the names of the German airplanes used in World War II, but ALSO the American planes as well!  We asked him why this was important to know.  HE COULDN'T ANSWER!

   The German teen-agers, nevertheless, behave and act much like those in America, Britain and France.  The German youth is in a craze over American "rock 'n' roll" as well as jazz and bebop. They are beginning to wear blue jeans instead of the traditional "lederhosen."  Coca-Cola is becoming their favorite drink and American movies their entertainment.  At the same time, CRIME and juvenile delinquency are on the INCREASE.  They blame the Americans, of course.

   All these are signs of frustration.  The young German is UNEASY and UNSURE about his country's future.  He has little faith in its outcome.  MAKING MONEY is his main goal and he stares at American wealth with JEALOUS ENVY.

   Although the future looks dim, many German youth still cling to the dream of a UNIFIED EUROPE.  Their only worry, now that Hitler is gone, is -- who will now be Europe's Fuehrer?  One in four youngsters, according to the opinion polls, is opposed to the present democratic system and one in three believes in a DICTATORSHIP. More than half of them believe that National Socialism was a good idea but badly executed" writes Thayer in UNQUIET GERMANS, p. 69.

   After seeing the behavior of German youth and reading such statistics, is it any wonder that Germany will not REMAIN democratic!
 
The Nazis Return to Power
 
   While in the Ruhr area, we visited the parents of one of our London church members.  We talked to them in their one-room apartment where they were forced to live because nothing better could be obtained.

   This couple told us about living conditions in Germany.  "THE NAZIS ARE BACK IN POWER," the man said to us.  "Without having been a Nazi, a man is unable to obtain a good job."  Because the man had lived in Holland before the war and had worked in England, he was unable to obtain a good job.  Consequently, he was barely able to make ends meet.

   Because of high taxation, many other Germans are finding it difficult to earn a living.  Although one coal miner was earning two dollars an hour, most of it was paid in taxes.  Numerous Germans are NOT SATISFIED with such a standard of living.  They want higher wages with fewer working hours and lower taxes as well.  The German working people are now beginning to make these demands.
 
What Next?
 
   With all the advancement and progress made as a new nation, Germany is still UNSTABLE.  Many observers believe conditions will REVERT to the PAST in the face of a serious ECONOMIC DEPRESSION.  All is well as long as two forces -- Konrad Adenauer and a booming economy -- exist.  But Mr. Adenauer is an old man and there are signs of the boom coming to an end, at least in the automotive industry.

   As long as prosperity exists, the German way of life will not change.  As history clearly shows, however, a fall in the economy always means an alteration in the political course of the nation! Not only will Germany be affected, but the REST OF EUROPE as well.  What will happen to Germany, will equally apply to all of Europe.

   An economic problem in Germany -- the economic heart of Europe -- will affect all of Europe and force a  UNIFICATION to prevent collapse.  The DANGER TO AMERICA will then become most ACUTE. From time to time Germans are already asking themselves why they must stagnate in their small and meaningless geographical area.

   The Bible prophesies that this united European power will ATTACK and DESTROY America and Britain!  You have read of these prophecies in the pages of The PLAIN TRUTH.  And what will be this nation's FATE?
 
We Visited Dachau for the Answer!
 
   We visited the Dachau concentration camp used in the last war. It was shocking!

   The prison barracks now house refugees from the east.  The CREMATORIUM is now a memorial.  We saw the BLOOD DITCH, into which blood of victims of the firing squads flowed, and the graves of ashes -- one grave containing the cremated ashes of 20,000!

   The buildings at Dachau have been reconditioned and the cremating ovens remain open for an to see -- as if they were waiting to be STOKED AGAIN with NEW BODIES!

   Will the ovens of Dachau be USED AGAIN this time to cremate the bodies of helpless CAPTIVES?  Scripture answers "YES!"

   Only GOD can protect you!