OBSESSIONS OF BERLIN
suspicion that the Bolshevik colossus rests upon feet of clay and that,
notwithstanding possible initial successes, it would not last in a pro–
longed war. It is not so much hunger for revenge, as the desire
to
escape
the camp of the defeated, which motivates the German sympathies-–
such as they are-for the West.
However, no real turn to the West is possible. Victors behave as
such; even where no great gains can be realized the victorious gestures
will be maintained. These gestures alone confront the Berliners, re–
moved as they are from the bargain-counter of international diplomacy,
where special claims historically and otherwise, are framed in terms
of coal and iron. France's anxiety over a possible German revival is
not shared by her occupation troops, who recognize its baselessness merely
by looking around. No fear-determined brutality accompanies their rule.
Only the French officer behaves as arrogantly in Berlin as did the
Nazi officer
in
Paris. And in the French desire to demonstrate their
superiority the Germans may recognize their own behavior of better days.
It
is
not a wise girl who refuses a French soldier a dance in the Amuse–
ment Park; she may very well get her face slapped. One must be careful
in
the use of one's language when facing the French interrogator, since
a real or imagined lack of respect may lead to painful consequences. In
general, however, the French behave toward the Germans in Berlin as
they would if they met them in Paris. In their persistent enmity they
are like all the other Western people who endured the Nazi occupation.
Apparently, they are not as yet finished with the war and their pre–
viously suffered humiliation still looks for compensation.
Only the British soldiers attempt to make themselves inconspicuous,
provided they are sober, and so long as they are on their own. But they
are forced to do a lot of marching and shouting. Their officers stick to
themselves in Germany as once in India. Barbed wire around their com–
pounds, toll-gates, and many guards secure their isolation. They bring
their wives and children to Berlin and live their English-way-of-life as
if they were at home. The privates turn to German girls, which brings
them into contact with the population. They are no longer feared but
envied for their better food and happier outlook.
The presence of the French and British is largely ignored, however,
as it is clear that only two great powers determine Berlin's status.
America means many things to the Berliners.
It
means relatives and
friendly organizations that send food and clothing. It means coffee and
cigarettes on the black market. It means work and sales. It means a
hamburger with a G.I. in the
Titania Palast,
and well-filled garbage cans
for the scavengers. For some it provides the unfounded hope for social
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