changes have taken place.

Since then,

sitions.

BERLIN™
ie #

OUR hundred candidates from
| different political parties and
national organizations will figure
on the united) list which will be

put before the electorate of the
German Democratic Republic on

October 15.

Just under a year ago the So-
Cialist. Unity party, the largest
political party in Eastern Ger-
many, which came into existence
through the merger of the Com-
munist party with the Social
Democrats, refused to discuss a
united list. How is it then that
a united list hag been ay up
after all?.

Since the time the Socialist
Unity party (SED) refused @
united list several significant
The
Socialist Unity party, which vig-
ilantly -aWoids the penetration

within its ranks of all Nazi, semi-
Nazi,

militarist and other re-
actionary elements, could not at
that time agree to place its can-

-didates on a common list with

the representatives of the non-
Socialist parties of a year ago.

PMC ME ET ee ee

BY BEDRICH UTITZ

sec jes ARERR EUR Rd civeh sca ntmnalaTPodeintnsneiotucay

however, elimination

of Nazi and other reactionary

elements from the ranks of these

parties has changed the situation
in such a way that today no ob-
jections can be raised to a united
list of candidates.

When the German Democratic

Republic was founded and So-
viet occupation authorities hand-

-ed over the administration to

the new German authorities, re-
actionary groups believed _ that
the time for action had come.
Developments have since proved
them wrong.

Owing to the vigilance of the
working people as encouraged by
the initiative of the Socialist Un-
ity party, a huge number of re-

actionary groups and individuals |
were exposed and their activity

against the new republic made

impossible. Remnants ‘of the old

Nazi hierarchy had in some cases
found their way into: leading po-

inside the non-Socialist
parties, and from thence to ‘im-
portant and influential positions

in the political and economic ad-

ministration.

In Thuringia it was, Finance

Minister Moog, members of the
who
led a gang of saboteurs; in Sax-

Liberal Democratic party,

Christian Democratic
Minister Rohner; in

ony, the
Finance

' Mecklenburg the Christian De-

mocratic deputy Reichert; at
Potsdam a deputy of the same
party, Richard;
deputy-chairman | of the Pro-
visional National Assembly, Hick-
mann. All these individuals had

something in common—they were
personally connected with West
German industrial concerns

oe monopolies.

in Berlin the .

4

emocratic Germany
goes to the polls

(

Nate

{
Their tactics were practically

the same. as those practised by.
similar individuals in the People’s :

Democracies, and it “was not very
hard to detect the guiding hand
of Anglo-American ‘imperialism
and its agencies in the Bonn Gov-
West German Social

and other
parties employed in several fash-
ions by Wall Street and the us

Intelligence Service.

ernment,
Democrats

\

‘By eliminating these elements

and their supporters, not only

were the ranks of the individual

‘parties cleared of subversive and

criminal elements but the whole
political atmosphere’ was thor-
oughly cleansed. A new relation

‘between the rank and file of all

parties resulted from the process.

Workers recognized that mem-

‘pers of different political parties

with different views on many
matters could still fight together
for a common aim. The fact that
the masses of all parties not
only supported put actively help-
ed in the cleanup was one ny
portant factor. |

‘The new relation pabesen the
rank- -and-file inthe different par-
ties was one of the main factors
leading to the united list of can-
didates.

Another important factor is the

‘economic situation in the Ger-
man Democratic Republic. The —

early fulfilling of the Two-Year
Plan brought about an increase

“y living standards which is ap-

parent to every Sane of the

_ republic.

The necessities of life, which
a year ago seemed the peak of

1

(MMM TTT TE |

political

becoming part of
normal life again, Luxuries
which a year ago. were ~ only
dreams are available again and
life is gaining a normal peace-
time aspect. In comparison with
the desperate situation of as late
as. two years ago and the bad
situation, to say the least, a year
ago, the progress made during
the short history of the German
Democratic Republic is spectacu-

luxury, are

lar.

And people are not blind. It is
difficult to sell them on the pro-
mises of the Marshall Plan when
they see the sad results of these
measures in the nearby sectors
of West Berlin, where about one-
third of the population is suffer-
ing directly or indirectly from
the consequences of unemploy-
ment.
ceive the people with propaganda

of a war of revenge, when they

The

utilized for purposes of destruc-
4ion and the extermination of
human beings. It must be put
to the service of peaceful, creat-
‘ive labor alone.

It is the duty of the United
Nations. to put an end to the
atomic weapon and to other basic
types of weapons adaptable to
mass extermination of human be-
ings. This. is the demand that
confronts the Assembly. —

The Soviet Union government
considers it essential that the
General. Assembly adopt all the
measures in its power to imple-

ment and put into operation. the

decision previously taken by the
Assembly on this question in or-
der to ensure the prohibition of
the atomic weapon as early as

possible and to condemn as a

rt tt it a |

It is also difficult to de- ss

1

see that they were never better
off than today, when peace is
the leading theme of political and
economic activities
the country.

Not less important is the in-
ternational situation, For the
first time in German history the
German people are striving to
base their relations: with other

nations. on friendship, mutual

‘respect and cooperation instead

of intimidation and arrogance.
The people of the German Dem-
ocratic Republic have recognized
the truth behind the “hatred”
against the Soviet Union, against
Poland, Czechoslovakia and other
European countries. They have
learned during the last five years
that friendship with these na-
tions will lead them much far-
ther than imperialist war plans,
of which Germany has had
enough in the past.

(EO ME E

throughout :

The German Democratic Re-
public, having formulated a poli-
cy whose principles are recog-
nized by a vast: majority of the
population, created the pre-
requisites for a united list of can-
didates. é

The most important point, how-
ever, is how the united list came
about. And here it must be
stressed that the initiative came
from the people. From factories
and workshops came the first re-
solutions, demanding a united
electoral campaign and refuting —
the old methods of demagogy and
The call

false promises. was

taken up by more and more fac-

tories, in town and countryside,
discussed in party organizations,
trade unions and other mass or-
ganizations. In. the end, all poli-
tical parties supported the sug-
gestion of a common electoral
campaign and a united list of
candidates, and the proposal was
finally accepted by ‘the Democra-
tic Front of all political parties
and mass organizations.

Of the 400 candidates, 280 have —

‘been nominated by political par-

ties, only 100 representing the
Socialist [Unity party, the Chris-
tian Democratic party_and Lib-
eral Democratic party having 60
seats each. The trade unions get.
40 seats, youth 20 seats and the

rest go to cultural workers, for-

mer political prisoners, women,
cooperatives and other parties
and mass orgahizations.

Workers and professors, men
and women, young and old—all
sections of the population—are~
represented. All the candidates
were carefully selected and re-
quired to prove that they had

actually taken an active part in ©

the reconstruction of the new
Germany. They also had to
state clearly and concretely in
what way they intended to par- —
ticipate in further reconstruc—
tion work and in the poe ooa ieee”
of the five year plan.

The electoral campaign thus
became a competition in work, in
constructive pledges, instead of
an abusive slander campaign and ;
a collection of false promises —
never to be fulfilled. ‘

The way in which the elections
in the German Democratic Re-—
public are taking place is a
proof of the maturity of the
German people. |The German
Democratic Republic proves in
these elections that five years of
re-education have changed the
whole nature of Germany and ~
the Germans, at least in the —
area where the re-education was _
carried out by the Soviet Union
in the spirit of real democracy.

path to peace

war criminal that government

‘which will be the first to use the

atomic weapon against any coun-
try. ‘

The opponents of the prohi-
bition of the atomic weapon and
the opponents of the reduction
of armaments aré those who are
inciting the war psychosis, propa_
ganda of new war plans and a
new war and are covering all
that with false cries about de-
fense and with slanders and libels
against the peaceful policies of
the Soviet Union. This is not
the first year that countries of
the North Atlantic bloc have been
the scene of a strengthend cam-
paigned designed to
world public opinion in such a
way as to turn it in favor of
the new war.

This propaganda is not dying
out. On the contrary, it is

PACIFIC .TRIBUNE

influence |

, France,
_ Union,

spreading more , and more under
ooo pretexts. ..-

“rhe Soviet Union government,
in its peaceful proposals, bases —
itself on the consideration that
peace can fbe devekoped and

strengthened by the combined o

and unified efforts of all mies :
large and small, ; :

'The Soviet Union government, :
at the same time, bases itself on —
the consideration of the great
responsibility that lies upon the —
great powers... .

That is why the Soviet ‘Union
government deems it particularly —
important that the
powers, the United States of ©
America, the United Kingdom,
China and the Soviet —
should combine their —
peaceful efforts and should con

clude among themselves a treaty ;

for the strengthening of peace...

— OCTOBER 6, 1950 — PAGE 5—

five great —