The Real German Army
The clearest test of the respective protestations of Rust and the Western Powers of their desire for peace is found "; the simple fact that, while the West has been talking a gre,3 deal and doina nothing in particular about building up we West German armed forces, the Russians have created all East German military machine of 100,000 men. The Foreign Office has revealed its own disquiet at this state of affairs bY:, publishing some new and highly instructive figures showinlos the growth and present size of the East German forces and It much as is known about their armament and dispositions c is a shocking picture, but it is possible that the shock will ,,b,) salutary. It was much too fashionable some two years ab'. to discount the strength and significance of the Bereitschaftel.1: which were already known to exist in East Germany. It ic.si now confirmed that even by October, 1949, these so-calle police forces included 50,000 men. Stories that they possessej'e artillery and even tanks were at that time represented by ne°P., in this country who should have known better as being 111',, leading or merely comic. It is now confirmed that they indeed had these weapons for nearly three years and have bet fully trained in the use of them. There are even Air Polin and Sea Police. Surely, we may now be spared the fatuitiet; of the observers who could not take seriously the threat ,te the future unity of Germany as well as to the security of West in general which lies in this gratuitous Russian exercl„"r in rearmament—gratuitous because neither two years ago tt, now could any increase in. the Communist armed forcc3 justified by reference to the size of the forces of Even without Germans, the Russians have all, and more than all, the defensive forces they need. At this moment the only real German Army is in the East, and it owes its existence to a deliberate Russian attempt to make mischief.
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