Beware the Wolves

The U.S. and Britain were not the only ones. Russia was also having occupation trouble.

Letters home from Russian soldiers told of Germans living in cellars and dugouts without light, food or water, and begging from the Red Army. People's Commissar of Foreign Trade Anastas Ivanovich Mikoyan flew to Berlin and Dresden, reported these remedies last week:

P: Farmers were given permission to sell, without price or other restrictions, all produce not needed by the occupation authorities.

P: A similar free market was established for all consumer goods, which had virtually disappeared under the Nazis' tight rationing.

This Russian laissez faire surprised those who had expected the Russians to be tough on all Germans. Actually, the Russians were tough on a selected few; but ordinary Germans fared better in the Soviet zone than in U.S. and British areas. If this contrast redounded to the Soviet Union's benefit, so much the better for the Russians.

Proudly explained Mikoyan: "The moral outlook and traditions of the Soviet people enjoin them to treat members of a conquered nation humanely. . . . There is also the well-known Russian saying that a man must not be hit when he is down."

On Guard! German welfare was not the Russians' sole concern. As when the Russian soldiers were exposed to the joys of Bucharest (TIME, Oct. 23), Soviet officials were worried by the possible effects of a new scene on Red Army soldiers. Said Red Star:

"A Soviet warrior abroad continuously meets the local population, local customs and a different social structure. . . . Vigilance must, therefore, be increased. Propaganda on the Party, on the successes of the Socialist state, on the causes which led to victory over Hitlerite Germany, and on the advantages the Soviet Socialist system has over a capitalistic system must be on a scale unprecedented in the Army. It is necessary to organize immediately. . . ."

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