A Present Commentary, an Old Prediction – Folha de S. Paulo, February 9, 1990

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

For some time now, I have wished to say a few words to Folha readers about what is happening in Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

In my view, one of the many consequences of that event has not been sufficiently emphasized. In fact, it is not merely a single consequence, but an entire chain of consequences—linked, cumulative, and increasingly visible as the days pass.

I begin by saying that I have always been a staunch opponent of Nazi ideology and the Nazi regime. However, this has never kept me from feeling a deep admiration for Germany and the various nations of German descent, language, and culture. If I needed more reasons for this, it would suffice to look at what is happening now.

After World War II, as a result of agreements among the Allies, Germany was arbitrarily divided into two parts. One was forbidden from rebuilding its military strength and was subjected to an occupation that, labeled in one way or another, has not ended to this day. However, the victors allowed it to rebuild its economic power. And behold, this part of Germany, reduced to two-thirds of its former size, has flourished again and become a leading European power.

With the fall of the Wall, the communist grip that had turned the other Germany into a bleak place of servitude began to weaken. The Wall fell, and on either side of its ruins, the two Germanys met in an outpouring of joy that defied explanation. Free Germany—brimming with progress and prosperity—overflowed with the desire to help the Germany that had been enslaved until recently. Meanwhile, the latter, rising from its long servitude with unexpected strength, embraced its sister so passionately that diplomats, politicians, and military leaders around the world could not help but tremble.

Yet this kind of public figure does not tremble at what should genuinely unsettle them. The source of their fear should not be Germany, but Russia.

I wonder whether Gorbachev—along with perestroika, the fall of the Iron Curtain, his visit to John Paul II, and the Gorbachev–Bush meeting in the glowing waters of Malta, where once the ships of the Crusaders were reflected—does not signal a major effort to entangle the entire world in a web of a convergent, self-managed policy that leaves all nations but two steps away from communism?

Browsing through the archives of Folha de S. Paulo, I found an article by an obscure writer, dated November 23, 1969. From this piece—now collecting dust for twenty years—I pull out the quotes below. They will make many readers think, because they are still just as relevant today as when they were first written.

“Germany has been divided into two—Bonn and Pankow—since 1949. It naturally aspires to reunification.

“This gives rise to international problems. … With one Germany being neo‑capitalist and the other communist, how can they be merged into a single entity? Through a federation in which each part retains its current social and economic system? …

“Above all, there is the moral dilemma: since communism institutionalizes amorality and immorality in every aspect of human activity, would it be acceptable for West Germany to unite with East Germany by accepting the latter’s Bolshevization as a fait accompli?

“My firm belief that the acceptance of the communist regime in Pankow is immoral leads me to think it could be overthrown peacefully through a publicity campaign. All that’s needed is a universal outcry demanding free elections in East Germany, with prior free campaigning, all overseen by an international commission. I am confident that … the Pankow regime would fall like a house of cards. …

“As straightforward as this solution might seem, some people envision another one. … It would involve creating a federal system between the two Germanys, gradually merging them: West Germany would become somewhat more Bolshevik, and East Germany would become somewhat more ‘capitalist.’

“It is clear that, if this were to succeed on a German scale, it could then be applied on a European scale: a continental federation—including Russia—and, in turn, ‘homogenized.’

“It would be, according to the simple-minded… or the schemers, the way to avoid war.

“The fruit of morality is peace: opus justitiae pax. … Will Europe achieve peace through the spread of communist immorality?

“Who stands to gain from a semi-communization of Germany and Europe if not those who want to lead Germany and Europe toward complete communism?

“Let us applaud German unification. Not, however, through this spurious process.”

The anonymous author? It’s the one signing this article today.