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West German?
(Continued from page 4)
ments to be translated into two
more official tongues.
American journalist William
Pfaff vividly explained the German
frustration with the European
Community: "To create Europe
was an appropriate task for Ger–
mans. But that opportunity has
now been taken away from Germa–
ny.... Now that the Community
has ceased to be core Etuope, the
serious political potential of 'Eu–
rope' has been lost, and Germany
has thereby been deprived of the
possibility of transcending its
nationalism and its history by
becoming a part of a whole."
Thus, West Germany is a·p–
proaching a crossroads. "Ame"rica
is no longer the answer," adds Mr.
Pfatf. "At the same time, the Euro–
pean Community steadily dimin–
ishes in moral importance for the
Germans- a mere mercantile ar–
rangement."
Mr. Reagan's Appeal
Another fundamental reason for
the decline in the attractiveness of
the European Community is that it
has so far left unresolved the age–
old German Question-how the
Germans are to be reunited as one
folk- an issue that older Germans
have generally left to the distant
future, but that younger Germans
today are increasingly interested in
seeing settled in their lifetime.
In light of the above, one of
President Reagan's least drama–
tized stops on bis state visit to West
Germany may prove one day to be
the most significant.
He delivered an inspirational
speech to severa) thousand young
Germans who had gathered to hear
him on the grounds of the historie
Schloss Hambach, the cradle of
German democracy in the 1830s.
The President declared that the
"new Europe" was not yet com–
plete because it was "divided by
concrete walls, by electrified
barbed wire and by mined
fields ... killing fields."
To loud applause of the stu–
dents-he was interrupted 40
times!-he continued: "Nothing
could make our hearts more glad
than to see the day when there will
40
be no more walls, no more guns to
keep Joved ones apart."
Calling for the unification of
Germany within the framework of
a united Europe, the President
declared that "democracy will only
be complete, Europe will only be
united when
al/
Germans and all
Europeans are finally fre.e."
Two days later, speaking to the
European Parliament assembled in
Strasbourg, the President returned
to the theme of a united Europe:
"It
is my hope, our hope, that in
the 21st century-which is only 15
years away- all Europeans, from
Moscow to Lisbon, will be able to
travel without a passport and the free
ftow of people and ideas will include
the other half of Europe. It is my
fervent wish that in the next century
there will be one, free Europe."
Earlier that same day, European
Parliament President Pierre Pflim–
Jin eloquently spoke of the dream
of a united Europe- one incorpo–
rating the great cities of Dresden
(in East Germany), Warsaw,
Prague and Budapest.
Dreaming of such a union may
seem now to be a "vain hope," said
Mr. Pflimlin, "but no one can stop
us of dreaming of a complete
Europe united in peace."
The Heart of Europe
Partly because of its geographic
location, equally so because of the
dynamic nature of its people, Ger–
many, divided or united, remains at
the heart of Europe. And Europe's
future will once again, as so often
in the past, be decided by Germa–
ny's decisions.
In the year 962, Otto the Great
revived the Roman Empire in the
West, which became the Holy
Roman Empire of the German
Nation.
William 1, who became German
emperor in 1871, spearheaded a
"Second Reich." He had wanted to
be crowned with what he called the
true crown-the Holy Roman
crown dating back to Otto's time–
reposing in Vienna. Being Protes–
tant, he was denied this request.
That newly united Germany did
not claim the Holy Roman succes–
sion. And Hitler's Third Reich was
essentially a summoning up of Teu–
tonic warrior gods, a time of what
author George Bailey caJis "Ger-
many's strongest and most harmful
illusion."
But, Mr. Bailey emphasizes in
bis book,
Germans,
"the dream of
the Holy Roman Empire has
remained. It has bemused every
generation of Germans since Char–
lemagne."
Moreover, the Empire was
always bound with the fortunes of
the Church in Europe- Emperor
and Pope, secular and religious
authority intertwined.
And as author Bailey asks, in a
most intriguing manner: "Can we
be sure that history has written.fin–
is
to what was perhaps the grandest
design ever conceived by roan: the
Holy Roman Empire?"
Exactly
how
the union of Europe
will come about, is not yet clear.
Many events must yet transpire. A
new leadership in the Soviet Union
as well as declining economic for–
tunes of the entire East bloc are
factors to consider. A split between
Western Europe and the United
States, leading to a withdrawal of
American forces, must certainly
also occur along the way.
The Bible clearly reveals there
will be a 10-nation end-time reviva)
of the Roman system in Europe. lt
would seem at this moment that the
vital ingredients essential to give
life to a largely apathetic Western
Europe are still frozen inside East–
ern Europe.
With regard to religion, the
flames of religious zeal still burn
bright in Poland, whereas the lights
are dim in the secularized Western
societies. Pope John Paul II's rude
reception in the Netherlands ear–
lier this year made this point abun–
dantly clear.
In the secular field, German
patriotism will not be revitalized
until the Federal Republic can be
linked with what sorne call the fos–
silized German state in the East.
Thus, in a roundabout manner,
German disillusionment with its
American "big brother," plus its
inability to recover a sense of pure–
ly national pride and patriotism,
could rebound into a greater Ger–
man zeal for a Europe united polit–
ically and religiously. This in turn
could lead to the biggest dream of
all: a reunited German nation in the
heart of Europe, one Germans
would feel proud of again. o
The PLAIN TRUTH