Voices of Europe; Helmut Weber

There babe or would you accept the characterization of your party the s r p as the neo Nazi Party of Germany. I sing but absolutely wrong. Neo Nazi new not Susan has today used the same meaning as a lot heretic in the old times. But you know that are OT kind of additive and today no nastiness has no real meaning in Ramle. Because of for example the communists call adn our film are also all fascists are neo nazis. Voices of Europe. Milton mair American broadcaster and lecture author and professor of social research from the University of Frankfurt has been traveling throughout many of the countries of Western Europe recording the voices of

ordinary people on a great variety of subjects. These are Europeans who are alive and sensitive to the tragedy and dilemma of the conditions that surround them. People who speak directly and candidly of their own feelings in their own aspirations to help us to understand the basic conditions of life in Europe and the views these people hold of their own problems. Today in the town of Marburg in Germany Milton Mayer interviews Mr. Hellmuth Baber Mr Weber's at the age of 31 is state chairman for the state of health of the socialist Fischer Reich apartheid the SRP which many Americans have heard of as the so-called neo nazi party. Mr Weber's also a member of the National Committee of the SRP vapor was born in middle Germany the son the only child of a locksmith. His father is now retired and has a chicken farm like so many retired Americans. Mr Weber's attended high school and was graduated in 1939. He

was a member of the Hitler youth as was almost every other schoolboy in Germany at that time and he rose to the rank of what we would call battalion commander in the Hitler youth organization in 1939 after graduation he decided to be a soldier and voluntarily after doing his six months of regular labor service which every young man and did in Germany at that time. He entered Officers Training School and became a first lieutenant in the army. He fought in the Air Force in Russia from 1941 to 1943 and then became a teacher an air force tactics in the Air Force Academy in Berlin and was then as a person Lieutenant commanding officer at the end of the war of a paratrooper Talon. He was wounded and captured by the Canadians in March 1945. In the course of defending the last German bridgehead on the lower Ryan river after three years as a prisoner of war in England he returned to Germany entered the university to study law which he has been doing up until very recently.

Here is Milton Mayer to interview him would waver. Here babe or would you accept the characterization of your party the s r p as the neo Nazi Party of Germany. I sing but absolutely wrong. Neo Nazi neo-Nazi some has today is the same meaning as a lot in the old times. But you know that our OT Cryan all activity today neo nazism has no real meaning Romney because for example was a communist call Adenauer are awful fascists

are neo nazis. Well exactly. They're vapor What would you say were the differences between the s r p and the old National Socialist Party the old socialist National Socialist Party. Stuart father grew up in CPP. Love means leadership principle. In effect dictatorship dictatorship but the US are. He is standing for the principle that the people of South must decide its political way. The program opposition Naisi party arrested on the rise. DR in NZ as our people rock them there was no bark as to raise our show

and the party itself. I have never until this day the rop raise our eyes talk to them where they were when you came back from England. Released as a prisoner of war in 1948. Just what was our political attitude. Nineteen hundred forty eight former soldiers came back from the camps concentration camps which we had our after night not 45. And I think that the as is the typical Poppy generation

which fought in the second round at war. Some but not all of us. Our form of Office Professional Office hours none of that remark was very off. We were our comrades obvious us our common man soldiers the chairman the SRP today boss the cop out of the army and his representative. Today is a drawn out of one of the good things are you ram an army that walked out with that there are no class distinctions of class about I walked

in the old drama. That was the same thing in the whole drama. People was one of the bath things. Nothing other socialism brought us our way to understand then there they were that in this respect the SRP does regard itself as the successor of National Socialism. In this one respect yes you are right in this one little respect but it's wrong to call this succession. Because if you would see one thing is goat you must not be a success are officeholder Prady obvious or light on how an outlook of life I

think. If you think that only one thing I'm seeing out of the whole. I understand and the one thing or the most important thing that your party finds that was good in national socialism was the wiping out of class difference for the establishment of a community of the people. Yes this is what we called the mind shot. Folks go my shop is off the bronze abodes off our peak now. Now they are a favor in this folks mind job or community of the people which Naziism established in Germany.

There were certain groups of persons who were excluded by virtue of race or religion or so-called blood. Which groups if any would be excluded. Perhaps even an exterminator in your program in the program of the s r p p is excluding nobody in the US. P. We have as a matter. Dude it's Dutch. So are they are members of the US. R. P.. This RPG is vastly the doormen party

but the party is for our good. Europeans were united to us and we Romany so fast that for a real free and united Europe. Is this your party program. Yes it is but we have labor. Every party and every politician uses terms like freedom and democracy. He unity and so on. If I remember right the Nazis used all these terms too. Yes I know politics you have a lot of slogans but ask me to give very briefly most

important points. Our programme pleased as he strives actors a story from the drama of our life because that means the uniting of the now divided Germany the SRP claims the independence of Germany the right of every free people stands for a free and independent European community. The party claims are defined as every free people are its democratic way of life and the corporations

you hold people are political decisions but the current political system. People democracy will mean something for the German people. We must develop our own democratic way. They're braver. If your party indeed has such a program as you have recited it. It sounds harmless enough acceptable enough at least for the purposes of free political debate.

Why is it that your party is under such great pressure if it is not as I understand it it is forbidden in some areas and meetings are forbidden publications are forbidden. The jurors are not allowed to appear. It seems to be under a great deal of pressure both inside and outside Germany. If it is a Democratic Party if it is not actually a neo nazi party how do you account for all of the wide spread opposition to it. You see the only people who would profit from the German defeat are the people which were our government newspaper

in 1945 without occupation powers France will get into these positions now. We were coming to politics. We are much younger generation which fought in the second world war. We freely that something's been the drama of history were good. What more common means for the people which are leaving from defeat an occupation to denounce us as neo nazis and so on is a success. Not that this is the last thing the occupation powers will help them against us

but they do go the occupation powers they will help the people. I'm guess that they need to stay in that position. It would be much better for them to end us than it was a Johnny after model. One last question here a favor. If you are today uphold international socialism in so far as the dictatorship principle was represented by it and in so far as it was a racist power why were you a National Socialist from 1933 to 1945. I was 12 years old my father

was one of six million unemployed. Germany was defeated in the past war. I was that drama boy. I think that you can understand that I was a man. Who raised Germany as he is that. Yeah but in 45 you are older. Yes 45. We also Second World War in a world war. You cannot qualify with your government as long as there was indeed only a transfer to avoid defeat.

We have to defend our country as everybody does under the price of our our unconditional surrender. We have the duty to defend Germany to the last. And I take it then that somewhere between 1933 and 1945 though you went on being a national socialist and fighting for the National Socialist state you became C or an anti Nazi. I was appointed lar because you did a lot for Germany a long time. You remember what charge was set on Hitler. Quite Britain the defeated one time he wished to have Great Britain. He sat and ate. I was for Germany

as I am today and not in the fast line. Everybody Bert you have said that you were for Hitler because Hitler did a lot of good for Germany for a long time. But there are some of us who feel that Hitler did a lot of bad for the world for a long time. You spoke at the beginning of our discussion of your return at the end of the war to the Allied internment camps which you referred to as the new concentration camps. I wonder if you would really compare the internment camps. No I have heard that there was a great deal of mistreatment in them with the real concentration camps the slaughter houses

of the involved and Doc the finest flower of National Socialist achievement. Do you accept the view today that there was more good in national socialism than evil. I think you can't ask this question because we referred only to some principles of National Socialism. And not of the practice of Nazi dictatorship. Do you think that we can separate the principles from the practice. Yes you must because every time the people striving for

good things that means. What a lot means in this he was wrong but principled he was good. Having your party the SRP you think you may safely say will avoid the bad means that the National Socialists used. Yes Rimmel do salt because we are an exact zero dictatorship. Europe wins the papers and all the things written about me and you accept what you regard as the good of National Socialism in particular the folks in shop idea or community of the whole people. However you would not exclude any groups or

persons from that community as I understand your program and I noticed that your party. Has the word socialist get its title as did of course the National Socialist Party and also the party of the Weimar Republic the Social Democratic Party. What does your party mean by socialist. Their favor. I think it's good to say that we strive for a middle way between socially as we have. We had Labor Britain unlimited. I cannot make freedom impossible to manage in a poor country as Romney is today. And socialism in your view.

In your party's view is an outright denial of capitalism as it is known in the West. Yes I thought you listen. Is this thriving far off. All people are made of the principle of justice without privileges. But would your Socialism include the nationalization of the means of production as it has for example as it does in orthodox Marxist socialism. No we are against nationalisation our of my means and so on. How then would you limit the development of this socialism to preserve freedom and also our private initiative and private rights.

I think that in these factories which can manage by individuals we shall because our individual ownership rejects the nuts and ization our factories. Especially if you have a special cause a special type. It's special height or greatness whiteness a special side side. Yeah so until a special size is reached and only if the operation becomes a very big

what then would it be nationalized a monopoly. Is that what you mean. No we are against the national law as at off. But we think a promise especially as a size of a factory you must have all that sort of income to save now. Well let me put it this way and see if this helps us with the language problem here vapor. Would you say that your model of socialism as far as your party is concerned would be the Labor Government socialization or socialist program which we had in England in the years after the last war.

The defect Nessun was Aizen at all but we've things that you must find who farms are ownership and big off activities and where by nationalisation. But by spreading the ownership among the workers. Yes and I mean the managers and doing away with the great accumulations of private prop up property. Yes at the time here they were. There is one last question that we haven't really touched upon at any length and that is the foreign policy of your party. Do you stand when you say closer to the west in the

present world tension or to the east or close to neither. In foreign policy yes R.P. stands for a strong united Germany and if possible Europe between the United States and Russia the only way to prevent Germany and do it up to becomes a Ross theatre after third quarter war. Perhaps it's possible for the United States when the thought world war. But I thing it's impossible for Germany impossible for Europe life to live after the war. And for this we must strive to prevent this war and to take out the

tension now between Russia and the United States our favor does the SRP propose to go about doing this as a first that is to unite Germany as a second step is to unite if you would up three on the plan and do it up between east and west. Thank you very much. Milton Maier has been interviewing home with Faber's state chairman of the state of Hesse of the SRP the so-called neo Nazi Party of Germany. Since the interview was recorded the SRP has formally announced its own dissolution in Germany but nonetheless the views of Helmut favor and the program of the SRP are representative of a voice of Europe which will not disappear in spite of a political party disbanding itself. The program you have just heard is made possible under a grant from the fund for adult education an

independent organization established by the Ford Foundation. These programs are prepared and distributed by the National Association of educational broadcasters in the interests of better international understanding. This program was introduced by Norman McKee and this is the end. A tape network.