Administration In Crisis Over Burgeoning Quagmire
August 12, 1945
President Truman, just a few months into his young presidency, is coming
under increasing fire from some Congressional Republicans for what appears
to be a deteriorating security situation in occupied Germany, with some
calling for his removal from office.
Over three months after a formal declaration of an end to hostilities, the
occupation is bogged down. Fanatical elements of the former Nazi regime who,
in their zeal to liberate their nation from the foreign occupiers, call
themselves members of the Werwolf (werewolves) continue to commit
almost-daily acts of sabotage against Germany's already-ravaged
infrastructure, and attack American troops. They have been laying road
mines, poisoning food and water supplies, and setting various traps, often
lethal, for the occupying forces.
It's not difficult to find antagonism and anti-Americanism among the
population--many complain of the deprivation and lack of security. There are
thousands of homeless refugees, and humanitarian efforts seem confused and
inadequate.
In the wake of the budding disaster, some have called for more international
participation in peacekeeping.
A Red Cross official said that, "...the German people will be more
comfortable if their conquerors weren't now their overlords. It makes it
difficult to argue that this wasn't an imperialistic war when the occupying
troops in the western sector are exclusively American, British and French."
The administration, of course, claims that, given the chaos of the recent
war, such a situation is to be expected, and that things will improve with
time. As to the suggestion to internationalize the occupying forces, the
administration had no official comment, but an unofficial one was a
repetition of the quote from General McAuliffe, when asked to surrender in
last winter's Battle of the Bulge--"Nuts."
In an attempt to minimize the situation, a White House spokesman pointed out
that the casualties were extremely light, and militarily inconsequential,
particularly when compared to the loss rates prior to VE Day. Also, the
attacks seem to be dying down with each passing month. But this statement
was leaped upon by some as heartless, trivializing the deaths and injuries
of young American men.
Many critics back in Washington seem now to be prescient, with their
previous warnings of just such an outcome a little over a year ago.
One congressman said that "...it's time to ask whether the German people are
better off now than they were a few months ago. Yes, a brutal dictator has
been deposed, but at least the electricity and water supply were mostly
working, and the trains running on time. After years of killing them and
destroying their infrastructure with American bombs, it seems to me that the
German people have suffered enough without the chaos that our occupation,
with its inadequate policing, is bringing."
It's not clear how much support the Werwolf has among the populace, who may
be afraid to speak their true minds, given the fearfully overwhelming
"Allied" presence in the country. But it is possible that, like the guerilla
forces themselves, the people have been inspired by Propaganda Minister
Josef Goebbels' pre-victory broadcasts, and those of Radio Werwolf.
"God has given up the protection of the people . . . Satan has taken
command." Goebbels broadcast last spring. "We Werewolves consider it our
supreme duty to kill, to kill and to kill, employing every cunning and while
in the darkness of the night, crawling, groping through towns and villages,
like wolves, noiselessly, mysteriously."
While no new broadcasts of Goebbels' voice have been heard since early May,
no one can be certain as to whether he is alive or dead, and continuing to
help orchestrate the attacks and boost morale among the forces for German
liberation. As long as his fate, and more importantly, that of the former
leader Adolf Hitler himself, remains unresolved, the prospects for pacifying
the brutally conquered country may be dim.
Although Grand-Admiral Donitz made a radio announcement of Hitler's brave
death in battle to the beleaguered German people on the evening of May 1,
some doubt the veracity of that statement, and there has been no evidence to
support it, or any body identified as the former Fuehrer's. Rumors of his
whereabouts continue to abound, including reported sightings as far away as
South America, and many still believe that he is hiding with the "Edelweiss"
organization, with thousands of Wehrmacht troops, in a mountain stronghold
near the Swiss border.
Many have criticized flawed intelligence for our failure to find him,
causing some, in the runup to next year's congressional elections, to call
for an investigation.
A staffer of one prominent Senator said, "For months, starting last fall, we
were told by this administration that Hitler would make a last stand in a
'National Redoubt' in Bavaria. General Bradley diverted troops to the south
and let the Russians take Berlin on the basis of this knowledge. But now we
find out that there was no such place, and that Hitler was in Berlin all
along. And now we're told that we can't even be sure of where he is, or
whether he's alive or dead."
For many, marching in the streets with signs of "No Blood For Soviet
Socialism," and "It's All About The Coal," this merely confirmed that the
administration had other agendas than its stated one, and that the war was
unjustified and unjustifiable.
General Bradley's staff has protested that this is an unfair criticism--that
the strategic decision made by General Eisenhower was driven by many
factors, of which Hitler's whereabouts was a minor one, but this hasn't
silenced the critics, some of whom have bravely called for President
Truman's impeachment, despite the fact that most of these decisions were
made even before he became president in April. But some have taken the
criticism further, and say that failure to get Hitler means a failed war
itself.
"Sure, it's nice to have released all those people from the concentration
camps, but we were told we were going to war against Hitler, even though
he'd done nothing to us," argued one concerned anti-war Senator. "Now they
say that we have 'Victory in Europe,' but it seems to me that if they can't
produce the man we supposedly went to war against, it's a pretty hollow
victory. Without this man that they told us was such a great threat to
America, how can even they claim that this war was justified?"
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(following courtesy of Jim Alder:)
In 2003 a sociologist from Rutgers University named Ted Goertzel
wrote a paper in which he offered some insight into the psyche
of the left. Interesting reading:
In the 1970s, Stanley Rothman and Robert Lichter
administered Thematic Apperception Tests to a large sample of
"new left" radicals (Roots of Radicalism, 1982). They found that
activists were characterized by weakened self-esteem, injured
narcissism and paranoid tendencies. They were preoccupied with
power and attracted to radical ideologies that offered clear and
unambiguous answers to their questions. . . .
The unwillingness to offer alternatives reveals a lack of
self-confidence and self-esteem. If they offered their own
policy ideas they would be vulnerable to criticism. They would
run the risk that their ideas would fail, or would not seem
persuasive to others. This is especially difficult for anti-
capitalists after the fall of the Soviet Union. It has also been
difficult in the war against terrorism because Saddam Hussein
and Osama bin Laden are such unsympathetic figures.
Psychologically, it is easier to blame America for not finding a
solution than it is to put one's own ideas on the line.
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