Germany lies in the constant flood of refugees from the Eastern Zone. Already there is a severe shortage of doctors and teachers. If this flow continues, the German Democratic Republic may well be faced with an internal crisis that can only be solved by union with the flourishing Federal Republic.
This would, however, mean the virtual abandonment of a Communist outpost in Eastern Europe, and it is unlikely that Soviet Russia and Soviet China, whose opinion carries increasing weight in these matters-would agree to such a surrender, and the consequent loss of face, without being
impelled to it by overwhelming
necessit y.
Further, the reunification of Germany, having as an almost certain result the formation of a basically non-Communist Germany, would mean that Poland would no longer be completely surrounded by Communist countries. As it is, Poland is restless enough under Soviet domination, and the existence of a frontier with the West might well encourage her to break with the Communist system.
BARRIERS
The Soviet plan for Germany would seem to be to hold out against the reunification of the country for as long as possible while turning East Germany as rapidly as possible into a model Communist country. Greater leniency would be the obvious way of halting the flow of refugees into West Berlin; but the overriding necessity of saddling Bonn with an unmanageably Communist Eastern Germany when reunification does at last come has made Ulbricht and the Socialist Unity Party more Marxist than the Kremlin.
Another major barrier is the question of the "former German territories" or the "reclaimed Western territories" to the east of the Oder-Neisse line, the present frontier between East Germany and Poland that has never been ratified by the Allies. The Germans who were expelled from this areawhich include the solidly Catholic bishopric of Ermland in East Prussia and roost of the archbNhopric of Breslau (Wroclaw) in Silesia-claim that the land is going to waste and that the Poles who have been settled there are not staying.
The Poles, on the other hand, claim that these territories are historically and ethnically part of Poland, besides giving her the shortest and best frontier between the Baltic and Czechoslovakia, and that the land is being properly used by Polish settlers whom it would be an obvious injustice to uproot now. 13 years after the end of the war.
Thus it seems that, even if the
Communists could be forced to agree to the surrender of the Eastern Zone, German and Polish intransigeance will meet in a head-on clash on this question. For Ciomulka to give way would destroy what little confidence the majority of Poles have in him, since besides being a Communist he would thereby he shown to be unpatriotic; while if Bonn were to acquiesce in this enlargement of Poland the way would be clear for a militant nationalist party to exploit the genuine grievances of exiles for its own nasty ends.
R.A.N.
ENGAGINENTS
Archbishop Godfrey of Westmln.ster.-Monday : Receives mem-hers of Catholic Conference on higher studies. attends dinner, and presides at inaugural address, St. Rotary's College, Strawberry Hill, 6 p.m. Wednesday: Blesses chapel and house and as,sists at Solemn Mass, St. Edward's, Totteridge Lane, Whetstone, 11 a.m.
Archbishop King, Bishop of Portsmouth. Sunday, September 21: Holds ordinations at Claritian House of Studies. Highcliffe Castle, Christchurch, Hants. Tomorrow (Saturday): Lays foundation stone, St. Paul's new school, Paulsgrove, Cosham, 11.30 a.m.
Bishop Ellis of Nottingham. Monday: Attends Factory Feast at Ernest Turner Ltd.. Spa Mills, Derby, and presides and preaches at Mass at 11 a.m. Sunday, September 21: Visitation and Confirmation, Spinkhill, nr. Chesterfield, 3.30 p.m.
Bishop Petit of Menevia. Sunday: Visitation and Confirmation, Burry Port. Monday: Attends conference of higher education, Strawberry Hill. Wednesday: Says Mass for Pharmacists' Conference, Llandudno. Sunday, September 21:
Visitation a n d Confirmation, Lampeter.
Bishop Cowdtroy of Southwark. -Sunday: Visits hop pickers. Whitbread's, Beltring, 11 a.m.; leads Knights of St. Columba pilgrimage to Canterbury. Tuesday: Presides at Clothing, Visitation Convent, Weimer, 10 a.m. Wednesday: Consecrates the church, Portslade, 3 p.m. Thursday: Visitation and Confirmation, Chichester. Friday, September 19: Presides at meeting of the Governors of St, Peter's School, Guildford. 7 p.m. Saturday, September 20: Ordains at Wonersh.
For heroism
The Carnegie Foundation of the United States has awarded a gold medal, posthumously, to Sister Margherita, an Italian nun who lost her life in 1957 when she saved three children from being crushed by a falling rock. In saving the girls she was trapped and killed by the rock.