SCHUMAN AND ADENAUER

In 1958, for example, when de Gaulle assumed power, Adenauer sent Buchman two personally signed messages, one for publication in the official government Bulletin, the other in a personal letter. The latter read in part: 'I share the conviction that now is the time more strongly than ever for European unity through Moral Re-Armament. You have given most valuable stimulus to the great work of unifying Europe. I am convinced with you that unless this work is carried forward, peace in the world cannot be maintained. Therefore, I would be extremely happy if you yourself could give your personal attention to it in the coming months, which are decisive for developments in Europe.'49 And when, in 1960, Adenauer visited Los Angeles, he specially asked Buchman to meet him there. It was their last meeting. 'I want to tell you with all the emphasis at my command how highly I value your work,' he told Buchman. 'It is essential for world peace.'50

Many Germans have confirmed this evaluation. For example, in 1960, when Dr Hasso von Etzdorf, Deputy Under Secretary of State at the German Foreign Office (formerly Ambassador to Canada and later, from 1961 to 1965, Ambassador to the United Kingdom), was asked by journalists in Atlanta, 'What is the most significant development since World War II?', he replied, 'The new accord between Germany and France, which I believe is permanent. For this the work of Moral Re-Armament is largely responsible.'51 'Dr von Etzdorf seems to have expressed this view in similar words in 1959.52 And it is a view to which he still subscribes,' Price concludes.53

When Buchman died in 1961 the German Government's official Bulletin wrote, 'Since 1947 Caux has been the symbol of Dr Buchman's work for the German people. Through it he brought Germany back into the circle of civilised nations, after Hitler had forbidden his movement in Germany and had earned for our country the distrust and disdain of other nations. At Caux every kind of German - politicians, scientists, industrialists and workers - met those who had been their bitter enemies during the war. So Caux became one of the great moral forces to which we owe our new standing in the world. For this Dr Buchman will never be forgotten. His name also stands for ever linked with the understanding between Germany and France, the foundations of which were laid by the first meetings between Germans and French at Caux.' Nor have these services been forgotten. In September 1982 the President of the German Federal Republic, Professor Dr Karl Carstens, received Moral Re-Armament delegates from twenty-two countries and said to them, 'During the post-war years, when we Germans regained acceptance in the international community and rebuilt relations with France, it was to a large extent due to Moral Re-Armament.'54

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