The Cancer of Freedom

When Khrushchev does not have the law on his side, and when he dares not put things to the vote among those most concerned, he likes to talk (as he did last week) about its being "sensible to recognize the situation prevailing in the world." Translated out of jargon, Khrushchev was arguing that the West might not like Russia's presence in East Germany and Eastern Europe, and the East Germans and East Europeans obviously didn't like it either, but the world had better get used to it. It could as easily be argued that West Berliners want no part of Soviet occupation, and it would be equally "sensible" for Russia "to recognize the situation," and get used to it.

In his note Khrushchev pointed out that the Western powers, as well as Russia, were in Berlin as occupiers, and that, after all, "every occupation is an event of limited duration." As a philosophical generalization about occupation, this might have some validity. But it was not the people of West Berlin who wanted the West out. Khrushchev promised them their freedom, and the right to "private, capitalist ownership"; they were assured that the Soviet Union, by "placing orders"--whatever that meant--would assure their prosperity. They were told by Khrushchev that the U.N. in "one way or another" could guarantee their status as a free city. But they inhabit an island no miles inside Communist territory, and the Communists had refused to let U.N. observers into Hungary in 1956 when the chips were down:

Leaf by Leaf. "Quite intolerable," cried West Berlin's hard-driving young (44) Socialist Mayor Willy Brandt, who warned the world that Khrushchev's plan "clearly intends" having West Berlin cleared of Allied troops but left surrounded by Soviet divisions. Added the Berlin newspaper BZ: "We would be at the mercy of Communist intrigue. Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin have shown us how it is done. Suddenly there is unrest in the 'free city.' Then there are riots. Then come the 'spontaneous demonstrations'. Red flags appear. There are fights. Someone calls the 'People's Police.' The police come--and they stay."

"We in Berlin will not be intimidated," said Brandt. Without consulting anybody --or having to--Brandt made himself a spokesman for Berlin. Bouncing back from momentary dismay at Secretary Dulles' remark that the Allies might accept East German control officials as "agents" of the Russians, he cried: "We do not release our Allies from responsibility to defend Berlin with force." If the Allies soften their position, said Brandt, "the West will end up like an artichoke, stripped of its influence, leaf by leaf." Asked if West Berlin wanted to become a free state, he snapped: "Another Danzig? Never."

At West Berlin's big Kaufhaus des Westens, scare buying tapered off after a few days ; citizens jammed the Kurfuerstendamm's fancy restaurants, queued in block-long lines for movies. West Berlin's new Hilton Hotel opened with a shimmer of celebrities flown in from Manhattan. Siemens announced a new $8.6 million program for expanding its West Berlin electrical-equipment operation, promising 2,000 new jobs. Bonn decided to boost its $260 million annual subsidy to the West Berlin government by more than a third.

Ready to Talk. If Khrushchev was using Berlin as a wedge for a reopening of negotiations on the German question as a whole, there was no need to let him get away with his insistence that only his plan be discussed. In last week's note, in spite of the U.S.S.R.'s solemn promises, Khrushchev again rejected as "fantastic" any hope of free elections and any idea that a united Germany should be free to choose its own alliance. The British were all for having four-power talks (as they always are, regarding themselves as good at it) but there was no disposition in London, Washington, Paris or Bonn to abandon Berlin. It might have to be maintained against Soviet harassment for a long time. But it has already been maintained against Soviet harassment for a long time--and with spectacular success.

The legal and moral position of the West in Berlin is immensely sound--and widely unquestioned, in contrast with the U.S. stand in Quemoy, for instance, or the U.S.-British move last summer into Lebanon and Jordan. It remains as it has been for 13 years, and as it was dramatically defended by the airlift, a position from which the West can be blasted only by war or a Russian concession so big as to represent a break in the postwar deadlock. Khrushchev called West Berlin a "cancer." The dangerous element it represents, spreading itself throughout the entire Eastern European system, is an idea called freedom.

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