MORALE OF THE RED ARMY IN GERMANY
of the Russian Communist Party,
but the students rarely go beyond
the famous Chapter IV (on dialectical materialism as interpreted
by Stalin). Here and there Party universities have been created, with a
two-year program of weekly lectures. The curriculum includes courses
in the history of the Communist Party, on the Five-Year Plan, on
the history of foreign policy, and on dialectical materialism. The
officers dutifully register at such universities, but there is no genuine
interest in them, and, needless to say, the poor quality of the teaching
personnel does not contribute to their popularity.
As a rule the officials of the political department enjoy little
respect in the army. Between them and the combat troops a sharp
antagonism prevails, and behind the scenes a continuous struggle
goes on. The soldiers refer to the political officials only as "agents"
(
deiateli).
Ostensibly preaching against cohabitation with German
women and junk collecting, the political officials often sin in these
respects far more than the combat troops. There is a well-known
story of a lieutenant colonel of the political department, who after
bringing his wife from Russia, continued to cohabit with his German
landlady. When his wife was about to report this fact to the author–
ities, he threatened to commit suicide. It would be naive to speak of
sincerity of conviction in these "educators of the ranks." The only
thing
in
which they are successful is the tracking down of those who
have "disintegrated." Such "disintegrated" soldiers are demobilized
and sent directly to concentration camps.
The employees in military and administrative offices, and the
so-called dismantlers (officials empowered to dismantle and evacuate
German plants and factories), whose work brings them in contact
with local populations, have proved particularly prone to "disinte–
gration." These groups supply the bulk of the defendants in the
military courts. The commander of one city garrison turned his
offices into a brothel; another commander, a colonel, became a tool
of "foreign espionage," under the influence of his female interpreter,
a foreigner. To combat such disintegration, the command changes the
office personnel frequently, but to little avail: knowing that their term
of service is short, the employees are in a particular hurry to make
their fortunes in these lush regions. I was told about one officer who
deserted to the west taking his whole family with him in a govern–
ment car.
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