The document provides an overview of recent news and events related to Germany: - Eastern Germany experienced severe flooding that caused billions in damages. - A neo-Nazi murder trial is underway in Germany. - President Obama will visit Berlin next week to give a speech. - The document discusses political views on Chancellor Merkel, Germany-Israel relations including submarine deals, the 150th anniversary of the Social Democratic Party, increased Holocaust survivor aid from Germany, and a physical altercation at a meeting of the Berlin Jewish community over financial issues.

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AN AMERICAN JEWISH – GERMAN INFORMATION OPINION
NEWSLETTER
dubowdigest@optonline.net
AMERICAN EDITION
June 13, 2013
Dear friends:
As I sit here looking out across the beautiful and calm Hudson River my thoughts are
with the people in eastern Germany who are undergoing terrible floods. DW reports
"Floods in Saxony have begun to subside, but only to show the extent of the damage
done by the swollen rivers. Costs are estimated to be in the billions of euros and many
people have lost their livelihoods." Very sad!
In spite of such a natural disaster, Germans are enjoying the eight weeks of having an
abundance of their favorite gastronomic treat - a special variety of asparagus they call
"Spargel". Read about by clicking here.http://www.dw.de/germany-celebrates-its-
annual-edible-ivory/a-16874063
The Neo-Nazi trial is underway with the person who supplied the murder weapon
testifying. I won't report on it further in this newsletter as the trial will probably last quite
a few weeks and there is no outcome as yet. I'll keep you advised of important
developments as we go along.
Last but not least, President Obama is going to be visiting Berlin next week and will be
making a major speech at the Brandenburg Gate. Keep an eye out for TV and general
media coverage.
Let's get on with the news...
IN THIS EDITION
THE CHANCELLOR: ANOTHER VIEW – Not everyone can love everyone – especially
in an election year.
A 5th
SUBMARINE: MORE IMPORTANT THAN TALK – Especially when it comes to

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Israel’s national security.
THE SOCIAL DEMS: 150th
BIRTHDAY – This venerable party celebrates but has a
tough election in front of it.
MORE HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR AID – Still paying. Now at even at greater levels.
BERLIN JEWISH COMMUNITY: FISTICUFFS – It’s gone from “Oy!” to “Oy Vey!”
HEZBOLLAH & GERMANY & THE EU – Terrorism is terrorism. Germany gets on board
in calling out Hezbollah.
THE KONRAD ADENAUER FOUNDATION & EGYPT – Egyptian justice takes a
nosedive victimizing an organization dedicated to encouraging democracy.
HIDING NAZIS: THE AMERICAN ROLE – After World War II, when it came to
prosecuting Nazis, the American government did not cover itself with a lot of glory.
THE CHANCELLOR: ANOTHER VIEW
If you have been reading DuBow Digest over the years, you know that I (and a lot of
others) think Angela Merkel is a master politicianwho has led Germany very effectively.
In the last edition I said, ―It seemed to me that the Federal Republic was in a ―business
as usual‖ mode with people going about their lives in a normal manner. If this is the
―European Socialism‖ that some of our politicians were (and still are) denouncing, all I
can say – it ain’t bad!
What I didn’t say is that this peaceful somnambulistic state of affairs had much to do
with the leadership of Chancellor Merkel. It does! For sure Germany has problems but
there is not the kind of open political warfare we seem to be having in the U.S.
However, even in Germany not everyone can love everyone.
There are those have a different view of Ms. Merkel. Take, for instance, Dirk Kurbjuweit
who has written for Die Zeit and currently runs Der Spiegel's Berlin Bureau. In a Spiegel
On-Line article entitled, “'Mommy Merkel': How the Chancellor Paralyzed German
Politics‖ he opines, “During her eight years as chancellor, Angela Merkel has skillfully
lulled Germans to sleep and used feel-good policies to switch their focus from politics to
personal comfort. By starving Germany's democracy of vibrancy, "Mommy Merkel" has
caused it to wither.
Merkel avoids open confrontation whenever she can. She shies away from making clear
statements, polarization and big social ideas that could spark disagreement. She's
drifting through the current election campaign, hoping it will benefit her party if voter
turnout is low because hardly anyone can find reason to get particularly worked up
about how she leads Germany. Instead of making any demands, she doles out benefits
to retirees and families. Indeed, she's sapping the life out of Germany and sprinkling

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powdered sugar on top.
And she's getting away with it. In 2009, she reduced voter turnout to a historic low.
Since she doesn't offend anyone, she enjoys outstanding approval ratings. While
combating the financial crisis, she has pursued policies that she declares to be "the only
option." And, believing her, the SPD amiably toes the line in the best interest of the
country. Merkel's main rival candidates from the SPD -- Frank-Walter Steinmeier in
2009 and Peer Steinbrück in 2013 -- previously served as part of a grand coalition with
her, the former as a foreign minister, the latter as finance minister. Ever since, they
have seemed incapable of showing anything but complete respect and chivalry toward
the chancellor. In fact, there have been no serious attacks on Merkel because there are
no politicians willing to make themselves unpopular by taking a popular chancellor to
task.
The general public, too, has remained calm -- just as Merkel likes it -- and no one
seems to be able to come up with much reason to protest against her. There is no
particular enthusiasm for Merkel, but rather paralyzed consent
Merkel's policies could even be described as expansionary. She would like for other
countries to adopt Germany's standards of stability and efficiency, allowing Europe as a
whole to become more competitive. That way, Merkel figures, Germany as a major
power in Europe would be able to preserve its influence in the world. It's been a long
time since a German politician dared to have so much national ambition. And this
attitude is well received by the general public. For many Germans, Merkel is the
defender of their homeland against the world.
I would not want to accuse Mr.Kurbjuweit of being a malcontent. Perhaps one can make
the case that making things too good, slowly but surely, drowns democracy. Frankly, I’d
like to give German politics a try here in the U.S. We could use a period of rest. Perhaps
the case he is making has some validity. The German people will make up their minds
in September when their election takes place.
In any case you should read the entire article which you can do by clicking here.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/how-chancellor-angela-merkel-has-
paralyzed-german-politics-a-900330.html
A 5th
SUBMARINE: MORE IMPORTANT THAN TALK
Talk is cheap and sometimes we intensely study statements politicians make on Israel
and Jewish matters to determine whether they are friends or not. When making
sweeping statements about anti-Semitism in Germany (certainly there is a good deal of
it) I would suggest that the “facts on the ground” be examined as well to determine
where Germany stands in relation to Israel.
Perhaps the most important “fact on the ground” in recent times is the providing of
world-class submarines to Israel by the Federal Republic of Germany. The Jerusalem

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Post recently reported, ―Israel and Germany unveiled the fifth Dolphin-class submarine
constructed for the Israel Navy at a ceremony at the German port of Kiel on Monday.
The submarine – called the INS Rahav – is the most expensive defense platform ever
purchased by Israel. The vessel is set to undertake several long-range classified
missions that are critical for Israel’s security.
The submarine is viewed by the navy as an important ―force multiplier‖ that will enable
Israel to cope with threats in the increasingly unstable Middle East region.
According to foreign reports, the navy’s Dolphins also provide Israel with nuclear
second-strike capabilities, as they can travel far from Israel’s territorial waters and are
reportedly able to carry long-range cruise missiles tipped with nuclear warheads.
Some defense analysts consider the submarines to be a crucial aspect of Israeli nuclear
deterrence vis-à-vis Iran.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu welcomed the announcement, calling the
submarines ―a strong, strategic tool for the IDF.‖
―The State of Israel,‖ said the prime minister, ―is ready to act anytime, anywhere – on
land, sea and air – in order to ensure the security of Israel’s citizens.‖
Among their many capabilities, submarines can launch conventional missile attacks on
near and distant targets, fire torpedoes at various naval vessels and engage in
intelligence-gathering.
The latest Dolphin-class subs can remain submerged longer than their predecessors.
The INS Rahav, together with the INS Tanin – the fourth Dolphin sub, delivered to Israel
in 2012 – and the sixth sub, which is still being built, will cost a total of some 1.4 billion
Euros ($1.8 billion). The German government is reportedly covering a third of the cost.
All I can add is - action speaks louder than words.
THE SOCIAL DEMS: 150th
BIRTHDAY
Last month Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD) celebrated its 150th
birthday. At a
meeting of its leaders, according to Jackson Janes of the American Institute for
Contemporary Studies, ―Germany’s oldest political party reflected on its roots as a
movement that began with a commitment reflected in the name of the SPD’s first
formation in 1863: the Allgemeinen Deutschen Arbeiterverein (General German
Worker’s Association).
The figures who led the SPD over those many years were each a product, as well as a
shaper, of their time in history. August Bebel, Rosa Luxemburg, Otto Wels, Kurt
Schumacher, Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt, and Gerhard Schroeder each defined and
then redefined the challenges and responses the party faced under their influence—all

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of which became part of Germany’s long struggle for the political and economic
benchmarks which outline the Federal Republic’s democracy today. That commitment
was demonstrated uniquely and historically by the courage of Otto Wels refusing, in the
name of the SPD, to accept Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship in 1933, a decision which was to
cost many Social Democrats their lives during the years of Nazi terror.
This year’s elections will once again test the ability of the Social Democrats to persuade
German voters to give them another chance at the helm in Berlin. As of today, those
chances don’t look terribly promising, but the volatility of voters gives pause to those
who believe that Chancellor Merkel has a lock on a third term.
There are some who might question what the unique selling principle of the SPD can be
one hundred and fifty years after its inception. Modern Germany has absorbed much of
the mission of the Social Democratic platform of social and economic justice. Labor is
firmly integrated into political decision making, and the social market economy is an all-
encompassing product of a wider consensus on the equation of social values. Some
critics of Chancellor Merkel even accuse her of turning her party into an ―SPD light‖ by
moving left of the traditional conservative agenda. On the other hand, critics of the SPD
complain that Gerhard Schroeder gutted the accomplishments of his party by giving too
many of them away in his effort to modernize the social security system through his
Agenda 2010.
Interestingly, while the Christian Democrats (CDU) have dominated the national scene,
the SPD has been very successful in the states and locally. (Janes)The SPD currently
runs governing coalitions in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony,
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Hamburg,
Bremen, Brandenburg, and Berlin. They are also part of coalitions in Baden-
Wuerttemberg, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. Additionally, the SPD has
found success at the city level, where they have elected mayors in several major cities,
including Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt, and Berlin, among others.
The big question going forward revolves around a way for the SPD to deal with the
popularity of Chancellor Merkel. So far it hasn’t been able to (See the first article
above). Because of their local (state) strength they do have somewhat of a veto power
in the upper house of the parliament, the Bundesrat, whichrepresents the federal states.
So, Happy Birthday to the SPD! Let’s see if the celebratory birthday spirit can light a fire
under the voters to do better by the party in the September election than the polls now
show them doing.
MORE HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR AID
One would have thought that by this time, 68 years after the end of World War II, that
German payments to Holocaust survivors would be scaling down. Surprise! – they’re
increasing!
JTA recently reported, ―The German government agreed to significantly expand its

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funding of home care for infirm Holocaust survivors and relax eligibility criteria for
restitution programs to include Jews who spent time in so-called open ghettos.
The agreement, reached after negotiations in Israel with the Claims Conference, will
result in approximately $800 million in new funding for home care for Holocaust
survivors from 2014 to 2017. This is in addition to $182 million for 2014 that already has
been committed.
This unprecedented amount of funding means that we can give Nazi victims around the
world the aid that they desperately need as they grow more frail,‖[former U.S.
ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, who leads negotiations with Germany for the Claims
Conference] said. ―That the agreement encompasses funding through 2017
underscores the German government’s ongoing commitment to Holocaust survivors. It
is all the more impressive because it comes at a time of budget austerity in Germany.‖
In last week’s negotiations, which took place in Israel, Germany also agreed to relax
eligibility criteria for the Central and Eastern European Fund and Article 2 Fund, through
which the German government gives pension payments of approximately $411 per
month to needy Nazi victims who spent significant time in a concentration camp, in a
Jewish ghetto in hiding or living under a false identity to avoid the Nazis.
Until now, only those who were interned in closed-off ghettos were eligible for pensions.
As of Jan. 1, 2014, pensions will be available also to those forced to live in any of 300
specific open ghettos, such as those in Czernowitz, Romania, where Jews lived under
curfew, lost their jobs and were subject to persecution.
Germany in negotiations to take place this fall also agreed to discuss possible special
aid for child survivors.
The session that just concluded was the first time since restitution negotiations with
Germany began in Luxembourg in 1951 that talks were held in Israel. For decades, the
negotiations were held only in the German capital. In recent years, sessions also were
held in New York and Washington.
Before they began negotiating last week, German representatives met with survivors in
Tel Aviv, Bnei Brak and Jerusalem, visiting private homes where survivors are receiving
home care, a senior day center and a soup kitchen. They also took a guided tour of the
Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and museum in Jerusalem. The negotiations were
held in a classroom at Yad Vashem‖
There is not much more to say. There is a need and Germany has responded in a most
favorable way.
BERLIN JEWISH COMMUNITY: FISTICUFFS
In my April newsletter I wrote about the dysfunction in the Berlin Jewish community. I
noted at that time, ―Spiegel On-Line recently reported,―Amid accusations of waste,
nepotism and smear campaigns, long-established members of Berlin's Jewish

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Community are in open conflict with relative newcomers from abroad. Severe financial
difficulties are at the core of their problems with one another.‖
Things have not gotten better. In fact they’ve gotten worse. In late May The Jerusalem
Post reported, ―A meeting of the elected leadership of the conflict- ridden Berlin Jewish
community –Germany’s largest with 10,500 members – spilled over into physical
attacks on Thursday due to disputes over the 2013 budget.
The session turned ―brutal,‖ said one observer at the community’s representative
meeting to The Jerusalem Post.
The daily Berlin Der Tagesspiegel reported on Friday that ―some members were
choked‖ when community members, including supporters of the head of the community,
Dr. Gideon Joffe, attacked opposition members during a break in the meeting.
Criminal complaints were filed and the police appeared at the representative meeting.‖
Tagesspiegel reported profanity- laced language at the altercation with one member
saying, ―F*** you, you a**hole.‖[Ed note: I’m not sure how to un-translate that)
The representative meeting consisted of 21 officials and members and is responsible for
the budget of the Berlin Jewish community.
The conflict had centered around finances for the second financial quarter of 2013 and
growing tensions between Joffe’s group and opponents of his leadership.
The Berlin Senate had recently pulled the plug on its payments to the community in the
second quarter of 2013 to clarify financial questions it had with the group. As a result,
the salaries of over 300 workers in the Jewish community could not be secured.
At the Thursday meeting, Joffe said the Berlin Senate had imposed a 5.7m. Euro cap on
the community’s budget and that the sealing limit violated the contract between the
Berlin state government and the community.
However, Carola Melchert- Arlt, a former member of Joffe’s group, contradicted the
leader.
She had participated in the negotiations with the Berlin Senate and said the dispute
revolved around the budget for 2013 and that Joffe did not provide a correct table of
organization.
Joffe then called on the members at the meeting to vote to lend community property in
exchange for credit to pay for budget deficits, including the salaries of workers ranging
from day care to social services, but he declined to name the piece of property and the
financial amount involved in the transaction. The situation escalated when Joffe’s group
pushed for a ―stop the debate‖ motion and his majority members eventually approved
the use of the property to raise funds, Tagesspiegel wrote.

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Tensions among members in opposition to Joffe’s leadership led to the start of a
campaign to collect signatures calling for a new election.
The main German Jewish newspaper, Jüdische Allgemeine, reported last week that
three key opposition leaders – Micha Guttmann, Michael Joachim and Tuvia
Schlesinger – said the community’s relationship to the Berlin Senate is shattered and
the workers of the community face an ―uncertain immediate future.‖
The opponents of Joffe – and their Initiative New Elections 2013 – have collected 1,500
signatures for a new vote. It is unclear when the group plans to formally file for a new
vote.
If all this trouble occurred in some small Jewish community the matter would merit a
couple of paragraphs in the newspapers but – this is Berlin with the largest Jewish
population in Germany. From what I can gather, a “recall’ election would probably fail as
the Joffe forces won the last elect by an overwhelming vote. However, if the Berlin
Senate (an administrative body) is not satisfied with the state of the Community
finances they could install a government manager to clear it all up.
Jewish matters in Berlin (really, all of Germany) are very sensitive. I’m sure the Senate
officials would not at all like to be involved. However, it is now up to Joffe and the
elected board to straighten it all out and get the story off the front pages.
Stay tuned to see if it happens.
HEZBOLLAH & GERMANY & THE EU
It wasn’t easy – but Benjamin Weinthal writing in The Jerusalem Post) reported, ―The
Merkel administration has long vehemently rejected Israel’s request to ban Hezbollah
from the EU. Last week, German diplomats issued a statement reversing the country’s
longstanding policy toward the Lebanese Shi’ite militia: ―In the light of discussions we
have had with our partners following the terrorist attack in Burgas [in Bulgaria], Foreign
Minister Guido Westerwelle supports listing at least the military wing of Hezbollah as a
terrorist organization in the EU.‖
The statement continued, ―The German position is based on an increasingly clearer
picture of the facts and on the progress achieved by Cypriot authorities in analyzing
terrorist activities. Minister Westerwelle hopes that the necessary consultations within
the EU can be concluded rapidly.‖
Hezbollah has used German territory to raise funds for the families of suicide bombers
involved in killing Israelis. A 2009 report from the European Foundation for Democracy,
titled Hizbullah’s Fund-raising Organization in Germany, revealed that the Orphans
Project Lebanon (Waisenkinderprojekt Libanon e.V.), situated in Göttingen, Lower
Saxony, is ―the German branch of a Hezbollah suborganization‖ that ―promotes suicide
bombings‖ and aims to destroy Israel.

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The Federal Republic still allows the Waisenkinderprojekt Libanon e.V. to operate but
eliminated its tax subsidy several years ago.
Germany has a large Hezbollah organization on its soil. According to a German
domestic-intelligence agency, there are an estimated 950 members as of 2011. It is
unclear if Germany’s interior ministry will evict Hezbollah members from Germany and
shut down the Hezbollah-controlled Orphans Project Lebanon.
The Post has learned that Hans-Peter Friedrich, Germany’s interior minister, favors a
robust crackdown on Hezbollah, in contrast to the Foreign Ministry.
Friedrich’s predecessor Wolfgang Schäuble banned reception of Hezbollah Al-Manar
TV in hotels in 2008. The partial ban, however, did not apply to residences.
Many organizations, especially the Jewish ones (AJC in Germany) have been working
on this matter for some time. However, according to Weinthal it was ―The meticulous
documentation collected by Israeli officials [that] played a critical role in changing
attitudes among German foreign ministry officials who were reluctant to include
Hezbollah in the EU’s terror list.‖
THE KONRAD ADENAUER FOUNDATION & EGYPT
You have read a couple of weeks ago in the general press that (DW)‖A court in Cairo
court has sentenced 43 non-profit workers, among them Egyptians and at least 15
foreign employees of several non-governmental organisations to jail sentences. It has
also ordered the permanent closure of branches of several NGOs, including the
German Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
The Arab Spring in Egypt did more than dissolve Hosni Mubarak's regime. Many other
people and institutions got drawn into the revolution's wake, including 44 international
NGOs who were accused by Egyptian leaders of intruding in the country's internal
affairs. Among them is the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS).
In the final days of 2011, around eight months after Mubarak's regime fell, armed police
forces searched the KAS offices in Cairo. They confiscated documents and computers
and proceeded to arrest the office director, Andreas Jacobs, who was then interrogated
for hours. Jacobs and a second KAS employee were eventually released on 500,000
euros ($654,000) bail and able to leave the country.
The charges faced by the two were absurd, says Hans-Gert Pöttering, head of the
Konrad Adenauer Foundation, which has close ties to Germany's conservative Christian
Democratic Union (CDU). In an interview last week with German public broadcaster
ARD, he said the KAS has worked in Egypt "just as has been customary for the last 30
years," and that there have never been complaints about its actions.
Pöttering says his organization simply conducts seminars and conferences on topics
like "the social economy, developing democracy and the rule of law as well as gender

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equality."
The motives for the legal proceedings remain unclear. It seems probable that the KAS
merely got caught in the wide net cast by Cairo's prosecutors, whose complaints were
originally directed against NGOs associated with the United States. Prosecutors said
their work had destabilized Egypt during the Arab Spring.
Critics accuse Egypt's justice system of acting unpredictably and fabricating charges. At
the center of these accusations stands Egypt's Minister of Planning and International
Cooperation, Faiza Abu Naga. She is suspected of having embezzled money from
benefit payments that came from abroad. In 2004, American foundations began sending
their aid money not by way of her ministry, instead sending the funds directly to
Egyptian NGOs. Some suggest that the trials represent a personal act of revenge from
a corrupt politician.
Whatever the real reasons for the court ruling, to think that the KAS is some sort of
enemy of the Egyptian government or its citizens is absolutely absurd. Anyone who has
had any connection to the organization knows that its prime reason for having offices
overseas in developing countries is to foster the growth of democracy. To believe that it
is a spy or undercover intelligence entity is total foolishness.
To make things worse, the court has sentenced two of the KAS professionals to prison
terms. Luckily, both returned to Germany before they were arrested. You can read
about this by clicking here.
http://www.dw.de/absurd-sentences-in-cairo-for-germans/a-16858963
Obviously, the actions taken by the court have little do with the KAS but, rather, with the
disastrous political situation in Egypt itself. The battle between the Morsi government
and the courts and the increasing pressures to destroy any democracy that might
develop in Egypt is being fought out in many arenas. The KAS, which is trying to
improve the situation of the people, is obviously “collateral damage”. In this case, the
way it has been handled is very damaging to Egyptian democracy.
(For the sake of transparency, if you did not already know, I have a more than 30 year
connection to the KAS through the Exchange Program KAS has with AJC. My opinions
above are grounded in a great deal of knowledge about the organization.).
HIDING NAZIS: THE AMERICAN ROLE
A German journalist, Malte Herwig, has written a book explaining why members of
Hitler's Nazi Party were able to hide their membership long after the end of World War
II. For instance, in 2006 it revealed that Nobel Laureate Gunter Grass had been an SS
member.It took 61 years for that to become public knowledge!
How come? Herwig found out and American officials do not come out with clean hands.
According to a Haaretz story by Ofer Aderet, "Herwig, who was 34 at the time, was
astounded by the intolerable ease with which Grass - a public figure famous the world

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over - managed to hide the dark secret of his past for so long. Wasting no time, he
hurried to the Bundesarchiv ?(the German Federal Archives?), where Nazi-era files are
kept, to look for names of other famous Germans hiding Nazi pasts. What he found
astounded him. On the list were left-wing activists, Communists, academics and
democrats - not types one would have expected to see among Nazi Party members.
The book’s name, ―Die Flakhelfer‖ (―The Antiaircraft Warfare Helpers‖?), was the
nickname given to German youth who helped the German army in the last days of the
war by manning antiaircraft batteries.
The book reveals that, for close to half a century, Germans in very senior government
positions intentionally obstructed access to the 11 million Nazi member files.
It is now clear that the files were kept in a German archive in the American sector of
Berlin. ―For decades, the German government prevented the return of these files to
Germany, even though the United States was ready to return them as early as 1967,‖
Herwig revealed. ―The German government didn’t want them back because the files
contained too many secrets about the Nazi past of politicians at the highest levels -
presidents, chancellors, ministers ... Germany knew that the Nazi Party files were a
Pandora’s box that would be opened the minute they came back to Germany. As long
as they remained in American hands, the secrets were safe,‖ he added.
How did the files end up in the American sector? After the war, in 1945, the U.S. army
seized the Nazi files and moved them to Berlin, the German capital, where the
Americans established the Berlin Document Center in a building that, during the war,
had served as the Gestapo’s audio surveillance center. As soon as the war ended, the
Americans started using these files against the Nazi war criminals in the dock during the
Nuremberg trials.
In his investigation, Herwig discovered how the Germans played the two sides off
against each other: Officially, the German government publicly appeared to demand the
Americans return the files, because the Bundestag (Germany’s Federal Parliament)
demanded it. But, behind the scenes, the Germans asked the United States to say that
an immediate return of the documents was impossible, thereby allowing them to blame
the Americans.
―No wonder,‖ Herwig said. ―The German foreign ministry, headed by Hans-Dietrich
Genscher, was responsible for these negotiations. But, of course, Genscher’s name
was itself in these files as a member of the Nazi Party. No wonder he had no interest in
that becoming public. It was only after he resigned in 1992 that the files were finally
handed over to Germany, in 1994.‖
However, as Herwig explains, the American government was worried that too much
scrutiny of the files would annoy West Germany - the newly formed country and
America’s ally in the Cold War against the U.S.S.R. and the Eastern Bloc. The
Americans, therefore, were in no rush to reveal the material, which could have
embarrassed their West German allies.

12. 12
After [Herwig] received permission to look at classified American Cold War diplomatic
documents, he also found documentation - a single paragraph - that explained to him
how the whole system worked. In a 1987 memo, Daniel Simon, the head of the Berlin
Document Center, wrote the following to his colleagues: ―I have no doubt that if we were
to offer them [the German government] the Berlin Document Center [with its
incriminating files], they would refuse the offer.‖ Similar sentiments were also expressed
over the next several years.
Only in 1994, five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, were the files finally returned to
the German archive in the city.
While I don’t think we can feel happy that the American government involvement in this
matter, both the German and American actions, in order to at least be understood, must
be seen in a historic perspective. During the period between 1945 and the collapse of
the Soviet Union in 1990, it was the Soviet Union that was seen as the arch enemy of
the U.S. Germany was already defeated and in order to get it back on its feet (so the
U.S. thought) the whole Nazi thing had to be put on the back burner. West Germany
became the first bulwark against the Soviets and its rebirth as a West oriented
democracy became the primary goal of American policy in the region. Germany became
a client state of the U.S. and was not an independent player. So, if there is major blame
in this sordid matter, I fear we should look to our own government but we should not
forget the situation in Europe between 1945 and 1990 when the USSR collapsed.
Maybe the U.S. government was right to do what they did. Maybe not!
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See you again in July.
DuBow Digest is written and published by Eugene DuBow who can be contacted by
clicking here.
Both the American and Germany editions are posted at www.dubowdigest.typepad.com