German Developments
The disappointment among Germans which followed Monday's non-committal statement by the British High Commissioner on the subject of dismantling was undoubtedly heightened by the spate of rumours of a change of British policy which had preceded it. Since those rumours were themselves of German origin, the British authorities cannot be blamed for the fact that they were not con- firmed. Nor can General Sir Brian Robertson be reproached for pointing out that, although the factories due for dismantling lie for the most part in the British Zone, responsibility for the dismantling programme is shared by all three occupying Powers, so that another set of rumours, to the effect that the British were entirely to blame for Allied resistance to further reductions in the dismantling pro- gramme, were either deliberately mischievous or based on a misapprehension. In fact, however strongly the Germans may feel about the damaging effects of the dismantling programme on Western European relations, they have nothing to gain by representing that damage to be greater than it is. If the forthcoming statement on the subject by the Federal Government keeps above such devices it will probably secure a more sympathetic hearing, besides raising the prestige of the Government. No good purpose will be served by arousing once more the suspicions of the Allied Powers regarding the responsibility of the existing German authorities. Indeed, if the recent disquieting development in the control of the German Press goes on, positive action will be needed to prevent those suspicions from increasing. It has been notorious for some time that the group of newspaper owners who backed the organised Press under the Nazis are tightening their grip on the printing side of the industry so rapidly that the expression of democratic opinion is in danger of being choked within the next few months. The official British attitude, confirmed in the House of Commons this week, is that this is a matter for the Lander Governments. But it is not impossible that that attitude should change unless there is quick action to stop this flagrant menace.
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