Congress of Berlin

“ The delegates of the Powers brought to the Congress of Berlin a determination to solve the problems of South-eastern Europe, according to what they believed to be the personal selfish interests of the nations they represented. ”

“ Now that all the perfidious plans inspired by Berlin have come to nought, now that the defenders of German policy at St. Petersburg, Warsaw and elsewhere have come to grief, and that the Peace Congress—even though it may not have fulfilled the generous hopes of Nicholas II—has nevertheless led to a great advance in the opinion of the public as in that of governments, on the subjects of arbitration and disarmament, William II shifts his rifle on to the other shoulder. ”

“ And he founds the issuing of this decree on the act of the American Congress of the 2d of March, 1811. That very act, which was passed upon the ground of the definitive repeal of the Berlin and Milan decrees, on the 1st of November, 1810; and which, it is agreed on all sides, the American Government were bound in honor not to pass, except in case of such antecedent repeal.
Were ever a body of men so abandoned in the hour of need, as the American Cabinet, in this instance by Bonaparte? Was ever any body of men so cruelly wounded in the house of their friend? ”

“ In point of fact, among the German-Americans there are manufacturers, merchants, and bankers of colossal fortunes, who control the lives of hundreds of thousands of workmen or employees living in dependence upon them. The German-Americans also own many newspapers and associations. They have therefore been able to exert a considerable influence on the policy of the United States, and even to secure the election to Congress of members devoted to their interests. ”

“ If anyone doubts the extent to which our presence is desired by the people of West Berlin, compared to East German feelings about their regime, we are ready to have that question submitted to a free vote in Berlin and, if possible, among all the German people. ”

“ No doubt it was good policy in one way to transfer the Constituent Assembly to Weimar. An Assembly whose vitality is that of an elderly politician after a contested election and whose voice is that of a tired lawyer talking in his sleep, could not make itself heard, still less felt, against the violence, and volleyings of modern Berlin. Whether its work will be worth much must depend on how slow things move. They could easily move too fast for the pace of the Assembly. But at least as Dr. Preuss said to me of his Constitution—"it will not get in the way of anything better." ”

“ Free people of Berlin: Today, as in the past, the United States stands for the strict observance and full implementation of all parts of the Four Power Agreement of 1971. Let us use this occasion, the 750th anniversary of this city, to usher in a new era, to seek a still fuller, richer life for the Berlin of the future. ”

“ The council formally confirmed the choice of the six Volksbeauftragte and established rules for their guidance. Neither the council nor the people's commissioners could claim to have their mandate from the whole Empire, but they assumed it. Revolutionary governments cannot be particular, and Berlin was, after all, the capital and most important city. There was, furthermore, [pg 174] no time to wait for general elections. The Circus Busch meeting had good revolutionary precedents, and some sort of central government was urgently necessary. ”

“ The Majority Socialists, who had hoped for an absolute majority but had not expected it, polled about 43 per cent of the total popular vote and secured 163 delegates to the National Convention. This was an increase of nearly 8 per cent since the last general election of 1912. The Independent Socialists demonstrated considerable strength in Greater Berlin, but only one in every twenty-five of the whole country's voters supported them and only [pg 241] twenty-two of their followers were elected. ”

“ It is a hard working group and generally speaking it is honest. In the service of the state it has a record of efficient government that few democratic countries can show. The officials of German towns and cities, provinces and states, taken from the hereditary upper classes, are well trained, faithful, and free from the suggestion of corruption. It will take New York or Chicago many years to develop the state of good government that exists in Berlin. Moreover, the German autocracy has the respect of the German people.
Up to last winter the Russian autocracy was an obstacle to peace. ”

“ These rights have been repeatedly confirmed and recognized in special agreements with the Soviet Union. Berlin is not a part of East Germany, but a separate territory under the control of the allied powers. Thus our rights there are clear and deep-rooted. But in addition to those rights is our commitment to sustain and defend, if need be - the opportunity for more than two million people to determine their own future and choose their own way of life. ”

“ We cannot and will not permit the Communists to drive us out of Berlin, either gradually or by force. For the fulfillment of our pledge to that city is essential to the morale and security of Western Germany, to the unity of Western Europe, and to the faith of the entire Free World. ”

“ Standing before the Brandenburg Gate, every man is a German, separated from his fellow men. Every man is a Berliner, forced to look upon a scar. President Von Weizsacker has said, "The German question is open as long as the Brandenburg Gate is closed." Today I say: As long as the gate is closed, as long as this scar of a wall is permitted to stand, it is not the German question alone that remains open, but the question of freedom for all mankind. Yet I do not come here to lament. For I find in Berlin a message of hope, even in the shadow of this wall, a message of triumph. ”

“ The immense balloon-like rise of the value of land, and the tremendous race to erect buildings everywhere, brought to the city a great concourse of artizans and labourers from all parts of Germany. Competition gave them big wages, but it also incited the formation of powerful trades’ unions, the best of which were in effect Radical clubs, and the worst of which became centres of Socialist agitation. Berlin has six members in the Reichstag, of which four are Radicals, or Freisinnige, and two are Social Democrats. ”

“ By these means we seek to increase the safety of Europe and all the world. But we must remember a crucial fact: East and West do not mistrust each other because we are armed; we are armed because we mistrust each other. And our differences are not about weapons but about liberty. When President Kennedy spoke at the City Hall those 24 years ago, freedom was encircled, Berlin was under siege. And today, despite all the pressures upon this city, Berlin stands secure in its liberty. And freedom itself is transforming the globe. ”

“ With the exception of the growing influence given to the large taxpayers in the constitution of the city council and the control of city business, public sentiment in Berlin seems to be fairly well satisfied with the existing system, and I found what I did not find to the same extent in other cities in Germany a feeling that it was a good thing for the welfare of the city that a considerable number of social democrats should be elected to membership in the city council ”

“ All residents of Berlin shall have the right to bring to the House of Representatives certain Berlin-related subjects of the political formation of will that lie within its decision-making competence. The initiative must be signed by 20,000 Berlin residents of at least sixteen years of age. Its representatives shall have the right to be heard on the competent committees. ”

“ Elections for the National Assembly are held January 19, 1919.—The victory of the Social Democrats was complete. The Independents, because of the small number of representatives they had elected, refused to form a part of the Central Committee, which thereupon consisted only of Social Democrats and was presided over by Leinert, then by Max Cohen, both very moderate in their opinions. The conflict between the Executive Committee of Workers and Soldiers Councils of Berlin and the Central Committee never gave the government any trouble. ”

“ The evolution of Communist control in the Soviet Sector of Berlin has followed a more complex court than that in East Germany because Berlin as a whole was originally governed separately under Four-Power authority and did not form part of the Soviet Occupation Zone under the basic quadripartite agreements. ”

“ When once the German people have a controlling voice in the government, then, and not till then, can other governments believe the word of the statesmen at Berlin. But at present the citizens of Germany have little real power. For, while they can elect members of the Reichstag, the Reichstag can pass no laws, for above this body is the national council, whose members are appointed by the Kaiser and the other kings and grand dukes. ”

“ Doubts were often expressed whether the capital would be able to bear the burden of empire, so enormous was the influx of new citizens. It is due to the magnificent services of the municipal council that the city was enabled to assimilate the hosts of newcomers, and it is to its indefatigable exertions that Berlin has in point of organization become the model city of Europe. In no other has public money been expended with such enlightened discretion, and in no other has the municipal system kept pace with such rapid growth and displayed greater resource in emergencies. ”

“ On the morning of the 18th their rejoicing and cheering came from full hearts, but when they saw or learned that the crowd had been fired into on the Schlossplatz, their already heated blood boiled over; the people so long cheated of their rights, who had been put off when half the rest of Germany had their demands fulfilled, could bear it no longer.
I must remind myself again that I am not writing a history of the Berlin revolution. ”

“ So long as the Communists insist that they are preparing to end by themselves unilaterally our rights in West Berlin and our commitments to its people, we must be prepared to defend those rights and those commitments. We will at all times be ready to talk, if talk will help. But we must also be ready to resist with force, if force is used upon us. Either alone would fail. Together, they can serve the cause of freedom and peace. ”

“ It will have to come that the highest leadership issues directives which are decisive for the civil as well as military administrative districts, whereby a basic law, according to an English model, has to be considered always: first of all experiments are made, and only then, after examination of the experiences, will the final decisive orders be given by the central office. This knowledge of leadership from century old experience, as possessed by the British Empire must finally be taken over by the proper central administrative authorities in Berlin. ”

“ Simultaneously with the elections for the first German Parliament in Frankfort-on-Main, elections went on in Prussia for the Prussian Constitutional Assembly, which was opened by the King in May. This body numbered few eminent members, the best men having been sent to Frankfort. Berlin was in an almost anarchic condition; the arsenal was stormed and plundered, the political clubs terrorised and coerced the Assembly. It rejected the constitution proposed by the government as not sufficiently democratic. The result of this was a first change of ministry. ”

“ Loebe, however, never assumed office, and the cabinet consisted of five members until it was abolished by act of the National Assembly in February.
The Majority Socialists staged a big demonstration on Sunday, December 29th, in favor of the new government. Thousands of the bourgeoisie joined in a great parade, [pg 221] which ended with a tremendous assembly in front of the government offices in the Wilhelmstrasse. The size and character of the demonstration showed that the great majority of Berlin's law-abiding residents were on the side of Ebert and his colleagues. ”

“ On the other hand, the Berlin comrades, who have been complained of by the friends of compromise as violators of the Hamburg resolution, have conscientiously followed the spirit and the letter of it, and by their decisive stand maintained the authority of the supreme party council and performed a service to the party.
The advocates of compromise tactics overestimate the value of parliamentary activity and parliamentary representation. ”

“ By the early sixties the Soviets began to allow the East German regime greater freedom of movement on some issues affecting Berlin, apparently in response to pressures by the Ulbricht regime. The regime hoped a more active Berlin policy would enable East Germany to carve out for itself a more important role in determining the future of both East and West Berlin. During most of the mid and late sixties the East Germans - undoubtedly at Soviet behest - were careful to avoid serious threats to Allied rights in West Berlin and concentrated instead on disrupting West German ties with the city. ”

“ The Centre, as we have said, represents the nascent Rhenish and Bavarian industrialism, the Radicals have made significant gains in Berlin, and the Social Democrats have gained in nearly all the towns except Berlin, where they have lost seats to the Radicals,—on what ground does not seem clear, unless it is that the more Anarchical section, which has all along been strong in Berlin Socialism, has rebelled against the centralised dictatorship of the party. ”