All Russians in Berlin Convinced Of Rightness Of Country’s Beliefs: Leave No Scope For Discussion

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 85, 23 August 1948, Page 5

All Russians in Berlin Convinced Of Rightness Of Country’s Beliefs: Leave No Scope For Discussion

No such gesture could, by any sretch of Muscovite imagination, be sincere or altruistic. Irritated by the persistence of the West, they are not even prepared now to kick this thesis round as a debating point. These circumstances made no easier the task of British and American officers in Berlin whose task it was, till the Kommandatura broke up, to work with Russian opposite numbers in administrating the city. British officers who faced them across the table in months of tedious debate concede the Russians may be genuine, but their methods hardly led to speedy decisions and smart administration. Round-Table Marathons The Russians, they found, wound tirelessly through labyrinthic argument with the earnestness of an Oriental carpet seller. As with these tradesmen, the Western temperament just was not in the race. The British are by now prepared to give the Russians best at ’ round table marathons, and it will be surprising at any Berlin settlement involves a return to the. old' methods.

For a long time the Russians had great fun pulling smart moves on the side while keeping up a stream of deadpan double-talk round the conference table. Their success may have persuaded the Americans and British that it is a line worth adopting. One reason for the Russians’ spiki,ness, in the opinion of some of their British opposite numbers, is a firm conviction of the West’s wrong headedness in all matters. It is no help jth&t this conviction runs almost as | strongly from West to East. ! When such a powerful faith as I that of the Russians comes to the top, close reasoned argument gets nowhere. Mutual Suspicion Underlying every idea, too, is the suspicion that the other side is preparing for war. Neither protaganist mentions this openly. In Berlin the threat is not held to be immediate. But -throughout Germany, whose people, with centuries of experience, can sense the approach of war in much the same way as an old farmer v can sense coming weatjjier, therie is - the t'. feeling that a clash must come. ' Three months, a year, ten years, but sometime. An atmosphere which markedly diminished the “Old Boys” stuff round East-West conference tables. Among officers who dealt with them at all levels in Berlin, there "are • shades of opinion as to how much initiative and authority: Russian negotiators are given. Early in- the occupation, in 1945, they would. consider counter arguments, and were to a small degree flexible. Within narrow limits, they bargained as Western negotiators are accustomed to.

Prepared Statements As the situation tightened,, the same officers would arrive at a conference with a prepared statement, leavened with the usual accusation that the Western powers were col-

(By Reece Smith, New Zealand Kemsley Empire Journalist). Berlin, July 26, Russians, all down the line from Molotov to junior officers in Berlin, are so convinced of the rightness of their country’s beliefs as to leave no room whatsoever for discussion. The final realisation of the Russian idea is so inevitable, to their minds, that it is wilful obstruction to propose measures, such as Marshall Aid, which may delay world revolution. .

onising Germany instead of restoring her. These statements, all bearing the same trade mark, were read straight through, and were not open for discussion. British and Americans combed through them in vain for some sign of common ground, and in the process became mildly weary of being told they were always wrong, and the Russians were always right. Over the caviar and vodka afterwards the Russians would be greatly surprised that these charges cintinued to rankle outside the conference room. Some bewildered onlookers, accustomed to the man to man basis of Western dealings,' have suggested that everything would go' more smoothly if the hard arguing took place off the record and on the vodka, so that, having expressed themselves freely and without any gallery play, the sides could return to the conference table with at least some indication of the possibility of settlement. With champagne substittued for caviar, this is how European diplomacy has been getting along for some decades. Russians “Mighty Stand-Offish” Whether this in itself is any recommendation is questionable, but an even stronger objection is the Russian conception of neighbourliness. They may all sleep on the same stove at home, but they are mighty standoffish by the time they get to Berlin. At Western social and diplomatic occasions, when a Russian officer can be persuaded to attend, he never comes alone. In the long gone days when British tommies were having drinks with Russian soldiers, the Russians would not split up singly as Tommies-might with G.l’s. Always it appears as if they are keeping a check on each other. There is, too, a tendency for officers who accept Western hospitality in Berlin not to be- seen again about the city. Hostesses, it will be appreciated, are dapidly running out of eligible Russians for their parties. Another Sore Spot Russian wives in Berlin have been ordered home. Not, it -is’ 1 assumed, because of imminent ■ war,. but because the impact of western- ways arid wealth may sow a seed of doubt. Another Berlin, sore spot .is the tendency for a Briton or American to find himself in jail if he exer•erses his rjgbt to. wander : through the Soviet sector of the city. The Russian zone of Germany is definitely taboo, but there is still supposed to be free access to'the sectors of the .capital. Germans can move about without let or hindrance, but western occupation members tend to wind up in the interrogation room. There are bound to be faults on both sides, but from the Western sector of Berlin it looks just as if the Russians have thrown our endeavours at friendship back in our face. Somehow, for all their vodka parties, they do not seem very good at making friends.