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"Yet shifting a lliances are the or–
der of the day. The current tacit en–
tente of the U.S., Japan, and China
against the Soviet Union would have
been unthinkable even three years
ago. So it is not unthinkable that the
cornerstone of post-World War
11
Europe, the division of Germany into
two states, one allied with the U.S.,
the other with the Soviet Union,
could be eroding- and faster than
generally recognized....
"There seems no doubt tha t the
turn of the political tables on their
far eastern borders will force the
Russians to look for sorne counter–
weight in Europe. And the heart and
soul of the European system is West
Germany."
A month later, in the February 5,
1979 issue, another
Business Week
dispatch put it this way: " Bonn a lone
cannot rescue the East German econ–
omy, and Moscow simply cannot af–
ford to Jet it fall apa rt. ... To help
relieve the East Germans ... the
Kremlin might a llow the notion of
German reun ification to surface
again . That could get Bonn to come
across with a lot more, possibly in
new credit , and at the same time
provide the Soviets with a Euro–
pean counterpoi nt to U.S.-China
harmony."
Rusa Ambassador
To underscore the high importance
that it a ttaches to German affairs,
Moscow, a few months back, ap–
pointed Vladimir Semyonov to be its
ambassador to West Germany.
Mr. Semyonov is a deputy foreign
minister, a candidate member of the
Central Committee, and one of Mos–
cow's foremost experts on German
a ffai rs. He first served in Germany in
1940. He played a role in the Molo–
tov-von Ribbentrop conference that
led to the 1939 nonaggression treaty.
After the war he was a known advo–
cate of a neutral, united Germany.
Commenting on Semyonov's ap–
pointment and related matters, the
London Times
of October 31, 1978
editorialized that the Soviets "see the
European Community growing in
size and wealth and West Germany
becoming the dominant economic
and military power within.
" There is, however, a new factor
44
g1vmg added urgency a nd impor–
tance to Soviet efforts, a nd that is the
change in China. On top of this they
now observe China endorsing the
reunifica tion of Germany, which sets
a whole new puzzle for the Krem–
lin.
"Interestingly, the Soviet response
has been to scatter tiny hints that it ,
too, has a certain understanding for
German aspira ti ons. Sorne West
Germans have even detected echoes
of old Soviet proposals (notably Sta–
lin's note of 1952) for a reunified
neutral Germany. The Soviet leaders
appear to have decided that they can–
not allow China to play the reunifica–
tion card alone. Could there be any–
thing behind these hints other than a
desire to counter China, woo Germa–
ny, and possibly drive a few wedges
of suspicion into the Western al–
lianceJ
" lt
is possible that one day there
will be a Soviet leadership which
comes to regard eastern Europe as
more of a liability than an asset
. (which objectively it a lready is) but
the prospect is still too distant to have
any inftuence on contempora ry poli–
cy. Therefore any Soviet hints in this
direction must be purely tactical.
"The new situation is, however, in–
teresting as a reminder of how little
can be taken for granted as perma–
nent, how easily questioned a re sorne
of the basic assumptions on which
the present arrangements in Europe
rest."
Stage Belng Set
Even shortly after Germany's defeat
in World Wa r
11,
the editors of
The
P/ain Truth
told readers that Ger–
many would rise once again to un–
precedented heights, and that the un–
natural division of the German
people would very likely be healed,
producing a unified nation of enor–
mous power and prestige.
Germany,
P/ain Truth
readers
were told, would not embark again
upon any careless adventure of its
own, but would be the dominant pow–
er in a ten-nation union in Europe
(see Revelation 17: 10; Daniel 2:42).
lt
already is the leader of the nine–
nation European Community. How
much more influence would the Ger–
mans wield once they are united with
their industrious but frustrated coun–
trymen to the east?
The great image of Daniel 2 not
only has " ten toes," but of course
stands upon two feet. Could it be that
the coming ten-nation union will con–
sist of five nations or groups of na–
tions from Western Europe (possibly
considering the Benelux countries as
one entity) plus five nations from
Eastern Europe? The ancient Roman
Empire, one must recall, was divided
itself between east and west.
But how could this reunification
come about? Possibly something like
this: The Soviets, increasingly fearful
of the emergence of China and Pe–
king's growing ties with Japan, rec–
ognize they must fortify their posi–
tion in Asia. To do so means a relax–
ation of tensions a long the East-West
line in Europe .
Moscow decides to play its "Ger–
man card," offering to free East Ger–
many- perhaps even other East Bloc
states- in return for West Germany
and the remainder of Western Eu–
rope go in g neu tra l, a bandoning
NATO ties with North America.
Necding assurance of peaceful in–
tentions from Moscow, the Euro–
peans get the Soviets to agree to an
all-European nonaggression treaty.
The Soviets also agree toa pullback
of the monst rous SS-20 missiles
a imed at West European cities from
just inside the Soviet border. (Euro–
peans a re fearful right now that the
proposed SALT 11 talks between the
U.S. and the Soviets will allow these
horrible weapons to remain targeted
on them. U.S. credibility in West Eu–
ropean eyes is falling rapidly.)
Not being foolish, the reunited
Germans and their partners in the
West build up their own defenses
"just in case."
The odd man out in the entire mat–
ter: the Uni ted States! And what
happens to the U.S.? Keep reading
Mr. Armst rong's current series in
The P/ain Truth
on the United
States and Britain in prophecy to
find the startl ing answers!
This scenario may seem farfetched
to sorne. But events in Europe and
the world a re moving inexorably in
this direction. And, as the
Business
Week
article said: "Shifting alliances
a re the order of the day." o
The
PLAIN TRUTH April 1979