GERMAN PSYCHOLOGY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 8 July 1938, Page 9

GERMAN PSYCHOLOGY

DIFFICULTIES OF NEGOTIATIONS BY BRITAIN.

Whoever has studied the history of Anglo-German relations since 1871 will agree with me that the chief difficulty facing Britain has always consisted in her inability to obtain exhaustive information from the German Government regarding her real demands, writes Harold Nicolson, M.P., in a Paris journal. Our frequent requests for such information have always been considered either insulting or in some manner deceptive by the Welhelmstrasse.

The reason for this recurring misunderstanding lies in the fundamentally different conceptions of politics held by the two nations. The British attitude to politics is that of a merchant desirous of clearing up his business transactions as efficiently as possible. We believe that when strong interests conflict it should always be possible to arrive at a compromise by having each side sacrifice something; in this way both sides will be ultimately satisfied, and the basis of future co-operation and friendly relations established. But the German attitude is the heroic one of the warrior. The ability to direct negotiations in one’s own favour is taken as a measure of strength, is held to be expressive of the victory of one side and the defeat of the other. And not only that. The German is ■inclined to regard the whole structure of diplomacy as a kind of warfare in which military tactics should be used—i.e., surprise attacks, camouflage, manoeuvres, etc, to outwit the enemy. Thus while we consider a diplomatic negotiation as hardly more than a business agreement, the German considers such an attitude unheroic, “cattlemarket politics.” Every concession he is called upon to make seems to him a terrible humiliation, while every concession we make is to him a proof of our weakness. In other words, the goal of German politics is something abstract —i.e., prestige; concrete gains are important only as manifestations of this prestige. This difference renders a lasting agreement between England and Germany difficult of attainment. This mental attitude is of vital importance in the problem of colonial concessions. Many people in England, not understanding the spirit that animates the German Government, believe that she would be grateful for a “magnanimous gesture” on our part. But to the German “gratitude” means humiliation, and “magnamity” condescension. The Germans do not want to be friendly at all; they want us to be afraid. I