Many of the German leaders, whose experience of democracy before the war had been so disappointing, were greatly taken by Buchman's conception of 'inspired democracy'. Hans Peters, Professor of Constitutional Law at Berlin University, not only spoke much of it at Caux that year but published a book in 194816 in which he analysed the various types of democracy through the ages and described 'inspired democracy', as conceived by Buchman, as the best form to answer the failures of the twentieth century.17

Buchman himself seldom led the plenary sessions during this period. He sometimes slipped in at the back, or took an armchair on the floor to the left of the speakers' platform where he could watch the audience. But most of his time was spent in his two rooms - a bedroom and a sitting room - on the same floor as the meeting hall. There he frequently took part in the preparation of meetings and saw a stream of individuals and small groups privately.

One of his most fruitful contacts that year was with Mme Irène Laure, the Secretary-General of the national organisation of socialist women and a recent Member of Parliament for Marseilles. A friend and disciple of Léon Blum, Irène Laure had tried to build friendship with pre-Hitler Germany. Thereafter she was disillusioned, and the experience of the Occupation, when she was a leader of the Resistance in Marseilles and her son was ill-treated by the Gestapo, turned this disillusionment to hatred. After the war she had witnessed the opening of a mass grave containing the mutilated bodies of some of her comrades.

Irène Laure came to Caux expecting a capitalist trap, and her suspicion turned to revulsion when she found there were Germans present. That some were the widows of men executed by Hitler after the July plot made no difference: whenever a German spoke, she left the hall. On one such occasion she met Buchman in the corridor. 'What kind of unity do you want for Europe?' he asked her. The question plagued her and, though her bags were packed to leave, she decided to stay on. Through sleepless nights, she struggled with her hatred. Finally, she decided that she must give it up. She asked to speak at a meeting.

The preparation for the meeting next morning could hardly have been less propitious. It was to be a German-speaking session, and Buchman, from his bed, around which the possible speakers were gathered, suggested that an Austrian Minister should speak. He refused. 'I was in a concentration camp for four years. I cannot speak with Germans,' he said. A young German said that if the Germans were guilty, the Austrians were no less so. A heated argument broke out. 'The young man is right,' interrupted Buchman. The preparation meeting broke up in some confusion, and those who expected to run the public session moved uncertainly towards the meeting hall. Just as they were about to start, Buchman, now fully dressed, climbed on the speaker's platform and took over.

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