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healthy re-exami nation of history.
Whatever the case may be, such in–
terest makes " us aware of how dose
we may be to repeating the mistakes
of lhe 1920's," said the
Times.
"The inlens ifying interest in dic–
tatorship thus appears to be linked
to the fact that not since the 1930's
has the political leadership in the
West seemed so incapable of meet–
ing lhe social and economic chal–
lenges at hand," the articl e said.
And it concluded that it "now seems
poss ible that any d emocracy in
Western Europe could quickly be–
come a dictatorship."
Germans Express Fears
Warnings of this kind, consid–
ering the present economic situ–
ation, are ca use for concern enough.
But when Germany's own leaders
express a deep fea r fo r Europe's fu–
ture, it's time we rouse ourselves
from complacency.
Willy Brandt, recent chancellor of
Wes t Germany, some months ago
openly expressed his fears tha t de–
mocracy is failing in Europe, a nd
could have on ly 30 years of life left.
Ludwig Erhard , also a former
chancellor of West Germany, spoke
out in a series of articles which ap–
peared in a mass-ci rculation Ger–
man Sunday newspaper.
Erhard warned of a dangerous
lurch toward dictatorship wh ich
cou ld occur in West Germany. He
sa id that Germany is headed for
economic troubles and he now felt il
was his duty to warn of where such
trends could lead. Drawing startling
parallels between 1924 and 1974,
Erhard showed how it was economic
troubles that prepared the soil for
Adolph Hitler. He warned that di–
saster may lie ahead unless Ger–
many is wi llin g to take drasti c
actions lO averl a full-blown eco–
nomic crisis.
A Jittery Public
The public sees a worsening situ–
ation a ll around. Prices are climb–
ing, and so is un emp loyment.
Money is harder to come by, and
everyone is hav ing to strive harder
4
a nd harder to make ends meet. At
th e same time they see government
impotence, a nd political and eco–
nomic stalemate among the leaders
a nd so-called experts. The problems
have simply become too great for
single governmen ts to solve. They
are supranationa l, needing inter–
na tiona l coope ration and sacrifice to
bring about solutions. Unfortu–
nately, there is no sign that this is
being achieved. Na tional govern–
ment legislation is no t enough to
provide solutions and restore public
confidence.
The London
Times
stated: "There
should be no ftinching from the ex–
treme gravi ty of the inftationary di–
saster now threatening the country.
lt
is immeasurably the most serious
problem facing governmen t and
people since 1945. This is a time at
which one should and would expect
the major political leaders to state
and campaign for their remedies for
the disaster threatening th e country.
Ye t there is a mysterious silence."
In Germany before the war, Hit–
ler carne forward to provide the an–
swers, to g ive so luti ons. The
German people felt downtrodden
and humbled after the first World
War. They had just experienced the
pain and sulfering and insecurity of
hyperinftation when hard-earned
savings were obl ileraled overnight.
They were ready lo listen to a man
who promised economic stabi li ty
and prosperity, and who promised
to return Germany to its " rightful
place" among lhe nations. They
were not interes ted in delving into
the details of how he proposed to
achieve such popular aims.
Are the nations so dilferenl
today? Former Chancellor Erhard is
concerned. Will y Br a ndt ha s
sounded a warning. Could it happen
in Germany again? Could a dictator
arise in Europe? A disillusioned,
frustrated and insecure people will
be ready to listen to a demagogue
who oversimplifies the problems,
presents them in emotional terms,
and promises quick, painless solu–
tions.
People today a re looking for an-
swers. They wan t to hear of hope
and optimism and of a way ou t of
the mess the world finds itself in.
T here is now a leadership vacuum
in Europe, a nd in the world. And
nature abho rs a vacuum. People are
looking for a new messiah. Has the
world ever rea lly learned that a
human messiah is never the answer?
As
Newsweek
magazine put it in
an article on the Jeadership short–
age: "The danger in such periods is
that people may start looking for a
man on a white horse who offers
simple answers to complex ques–
tions. A few observers have detected
enough
sign~
... to predict that the
democracies are now increasingly
susceptible
tó
a demagogue ready to
lead them back down the road to
sorne form of Fascism."
The
Plain Truth
magazine has for
over a quarter century been warning
its readers of a coming ten-nation
union in Europe that will no t prove
friendly to the United States and
British peoples. This has not yet
happened, but it consistently draws
closer. Escalating economic troubles
leading to trade war could rapidly
bring abou t the fall of democracy
in
seve ra! European nations and give
rise to a powerful military-oriented
union. The recent o il crisis proves
how quickly the world scene can
change.
Deluding ourselves that there is
no threat will no t make the danger
go away. The O ld Testament
prophet Jeremiah wrote of a time in
wh ich there would be unwillingness
to admit reality in the face of di–
saster: "They have hea led also th e
hurt of th e daughter of my people
sligh tly," it was predicted, "saying,
Peace, peace; when there is no
peace" (Jeremiah 6: 14). Are we not
a lready in such an era?
After the Munich Conference in
1938, Nev ill e Chamberlain de–
clared, " Peace in our time." Chur–
chill sounded th e warning, yet the
world was taken by surprise when
World War
JI
burs t upon al! civ–
ilization.
Will we be taken by surprise
aga in?
O
PLAIN TRUTH December \974