A SECRET DEAL

Evening Star, Issue 20053, 19 December 1928, Page 5

A SECRET DEAL

BERLIN AND MOSCOW GERMAN M.P/S INDICTMENT Russian Bolshevists arm in arm with German officers j high officials of the Soviet Government insisting that Germany should increase her armaments; anil, more slartiing still to anybody who knows neither Russia nor Germany, the Commandcr-in-Chicf of the German army in the thick of _ the itussian Bolshevist conspiracy against the peace of Europe. These are the facts which an honoured member of the Reichstag, Herr Franz Kunstler, has brought to light and established beyond a shadow’ of doubt (writes the Berlin correspondent of the 1 Gaily Mail ’). On October 12 Herr Kunstler published in ‘ Vonvaerts ’ a secret letter written by General \on Secckt, then Comnmnder-in-Chief, to the director of the Junkers Aeroplane Works. In this tho general urges him to keep to his agreement with tho Soviet for building aeroplanes for the Russian and tho German army, and refers to the financial support of the Gorman Government, amounting to hundreds of thousands of pounds, which ho is to obtain. Herr Kunstler, who as a Socialist dosires to expose tho hypocrisy of tho Communists, comments as follows:

“ Officers of the German army, sitting down to negotiate with officers of the. tied army—that is a fact which no deluge of Communist lies can emasculate ! That is a fact which is alone sufficient to put a stop to the swindle about the world’s only ‘ Government of the ’Workers.’ Here is Bolshevist Russia seeking an ally exactly as the Tsar did in the interests of Russian Imperialism. The glib talk about international solidarity turns out to be no more than soap bubbles when the hard fact about the military alliance between Soviet Communism and German militarism stands revealed.” Herr Xunstlcr points out that the chief of the Air Service of the lied army came specially to Berlin for the negotiations, which lasted eighteen months, and were concluded in 1923. An agreement was then finally made fgr the establishment of aeroplane works near Moscow at which 300 military aeroplanes should bo built yearly—sixty for the lied army, and more amazing still 240 for the German army. The works were to bo directed by Junkers, and an extract from one of the documents of the Ministry of Defence quoted by Herr Kunstler shows that he-

hind tho agreement with tho Red army, subsequently ratified by the Soviet Government and Professor Junkers, stood tho Gorman Government. A representative of tho Special Group of tho Ministry of Defence took part in by far the greater number of tho sittings of tho negotiators. To make it perfectly clear that this agreement lor mutual armament was not duo to tho independent action of hotheads in tho German Ministry of Defence, Herr Kunstler quotes sections of the fifteen-page secret letter which General Von Secckt, then Conunander-in-Chief, sent to Professor Junkers in August, l'J2'l, with a view to forcing him to keep to the agreement with tho Bolshevists into which ho had been dragged by tho general’s officers. Tho general reminds Professor Junkez’s that ho had received a written statement from the Armaments Office and tho Troops Office to tho following effect:—“ You receive as a subsidy tho sum of 8,000,000 gold marks (£400,000), inclusive of the 4,000,000 already paid, which should put you in a position to raise tho sum of 12,000,000 gold marks required by you, and with this sum to build tho works at Fill (near Moscow).” Tho general refers to tho notable fact that General Haase had spoken with the Soviet representative who came to Berlin, M. Roscnholz, on tho financial aspect of tho agreement. Ho points out tho importance of establishing in Russia a branch of industry “ which should bo useful for our army,” and, feeling that Professor Junkers is faltering, the general ends: “I cannot end, most honoured professor, without expressing my firm belief and definite expectation that you will continue your co-operation as in tho past, and will also adopt any means which may perhaps nob be agreeable to you, but which the necessity of the Slate requires you to adopt.” And this plot for mutual arming in the air was hatched at a time when Germany was assuring all the world that she was totally disarmed, and was carrying out to tho letter the disarmament clauses of the Peace Treaty. ■ : . We are told that Herr Kunstler 36 but revealing errors of the past, bat what people here want to know, and, what people outside Germany will want to know, is; What is tho present relationship between the Bolshevists and the German army? It is not reassuring to find that in some quarters the question of putting Herr Kunstler on trial for high treason is being raised.