Page 2526 - 1970S

tariff law. ln the decades which fol–
low, her industry develops phenom–
enally. Germany passes France and
Engla nd as producer of pig iron and
is second only to the United States
when World War I erupts. In steel,
Germany is a lso second only to
America.
The German merchant marine
grows from 980,000 tons in 1870 to
5,450,000 in 1914; Germany is third
after Britain and America. Foreign
trade skyrockets, and Germany is
fi.ghting with Britain for first place.
In all economic aspects, Germany is
one of the world's great powers.
An example of German economic
expansion is the Baghdad Railway
concession which is gran ted to a
German syndicate. The scheme
would ultimately connect Germa ny
to Baghdad, Iraq.
Though many nations vie for the
concession, the Germans receive lhe
prize. A visit by Emperor William U
to Constantinople and the Holy
Land in October 1898 and his proc–
lamation of friendsh ip for the
300,000.000 Moslems in the world
does much to pave the way for the
granting of lhe concession by Mos–
lem rulers to Germany.
"The German Reich has become
a Weltreich," the emperor congratu–
lares himself in 1896. "Thousands of
our countrymen live in far-flung
corners of the earlh. German goods,
German knowledge, German indus–
triousness. cross the ocean. German
ships carry goods worth thousands
of millions. You. gentlemen. have
the important duty ofhelping me lo
link this greater German Reich
firmly to ours at home."
The "Baghdad Railway" is an ex–
pression of this Weltreich. 1t is lo be
a rai lway buil t with German capi tal
- to run through the Turkish em–
pire. This Berlin-t o- Bag hdad
scheme would open up new markels
and create new friends.
But again, war in Europe is des–
tined to destroy the Weltreich. The
new German empire soon finds it–
se lf in the th roes of a new inter–
regnum - another time without a
strong ruler when confusion is to
PLAIN TRUTH l anuary 1975
be the order of the day in Germany.
Years 1914-1918: The Destruc–
tion of the German Emp1re. On 1une
28. 1914, Habsburg Archduke Fer–
dinand is assassinated a t Sarajevo.
It is the sho t to be heard round the
Europea n world and the spark
which sets off Wor ld War l.
On Augus t 4, 1914, German
troops cross the frontier of Belgium;
World War 1 has begun. Four years
later, though Germany has not been
invaded a nd t he Russians have been
defeated, ber empire is shattered.
Hosti lities cease on November 11 ,
1918. at 11 a.m. AH is quiet on the
Western Front. The emperor has
abdicated and a republic is an–
nounced in Berlin by Prince Max.
Fre n ch, B rit ish and American
troops begin the occupation of parts
of Germany.
The cost of the war has been stag–
gering. Germany and Austria have
lost three million men. The blow to
the German empire is both eco–
nomic and psychological.
"For four years," writes Winston
Churchill, "Germany fought a nd
defied the five continents of the
world by land and sea and air. T he
German a rmies upheld her tottering
confederares, intervened in every
theatre of war with success. stood
everywhere on conquered territory
and infl icted on their enemies more
than twice the bloodshed they suf–
fered themselves. To break their
strength and science and to curb
their fury it was necessary to bring
aH the greatest nations of mankind
into the field against them. Over–
whelming populations. unlimited
resources, measureless sacrifice, the
sea blockade, could not prevail for
fifty months. Small states were
trampled down in the struggle; a
mighty empire was battered into un–
recognisable fragments; a nd nea rly
twenty million men perished or shed
their blood before the sword was
wrested from that terrible hand."
Year 1919: The Weimar Republic
Begins. Germany is to be ruled by a
new government: the Weimar Re–
public. The Weimar Constitution
adopts the colors of the Holy Ro-
man Empire. These an–
cient colors stand for
the Grossdeutschland -
the Greater Germany. +
But Weimar is to be anything but a
reviva! of empire; it is to be Ger–
many's modern-day interregnum -
the new "time without an emperor."
"We start again from the very be–
ginning, as we did after 1648 and
1807," writes German philosopher
Max Weber.
T here is tbe Communist Red ter–
ror which is followed by the White
terror. After mobs pillage and mur–
der, the army and the Freikorps re–
ta liate with more murder. On top of
the violence in the streets is the eco–
nomic chaos. In 1922, the mark is
still worlh about one-fiftieth of its
pre-war value; one year later it is
not even worth one ten thousandth.
People pay for their res tau ran t
meals before they eat.
Then there is the humility of for–
eign invas ion. In 1923, the French
Premier Poincaré sends th e French
army into the Ruhr. The Germans
have not paid in coal and wood and
the French are there to fetch both.
Meanwhile Berlín , with its diverse
population, is the sin capital of the
world. In this mad. mad, mad Ger–
man world. " the Hitler putsch was
an epilogue, not a main event, in
this incredibly confused a nd miser–
able story," one historian has
pointed out.
The Weimar Republic withstands
much - the Versailles treaty. cata–
strophic civil war, the occupation of
the Ruhr, skyrocketing inflation, bu–
reaucracy, the communist menace.
In spite of the problems, there is
even a period of national health.
The years 1924-1929 are th e eco–
nomically productive years.
But then comes th e second eco–
nomic debacle and more interna!
strife. This is too much ; Germany
must have stability. And a dema–
gogue promises to rid the nation of
communism. economic confusion
and immorality. He is listened to.
On January 30, 1933, the Weimar
Republic ends. Adolf Hitler is
Chancellor of Germany. Not many
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