Position In Germany Research Articles

To the Editors

To the Editors Peter Ruggenthaler In a recent issue of Kritika, Andreas Oberender published a review essay on two books, including mine on the so-called 1952 "Stalin Note" on Germany.1 At that time, the Soviet Union had officially proposed signing a peace treaty with the other victorious powers by which Germany would be reunified as a neutral state. While I myself am certain, based on what all declassified sources from Soviet archives show, that Stalin had no desire to sacrifice the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and give up the USSR's position in Germany, the historical debate (especially in Germany) is now focusing on the decision-making process in the Kremlin under Stalin in his last years. Oberender concludes that "Stalin's role remains as obscure as before" (948). In fact, Stalin's role is quite clear, as my book was designed to show. Until the very end of his life, he decided all crucial questions regarding foreign policy on his own.2 No single Politburo decision on any matter would or could have passed without his approval. Even when he was not in Moscow, all relevant materials were sent to him. There is absolutely no indication that even a single decision could have been made without him. If one studies individual documents out of context—for example, Andrei Vyshinskii´s report to Stalin on 2 February—one could come to Oberender's conclusion that Vyshinskii "took the lead" (944). But in fact, Vyshinskii never did. On the contrary, he was a loyal lackey of Stalin and always restricted by instructions from above. It was simply his job to keep Stalin and the Soviet leadership informed. [End Page 697] Oberender is in some sense right to "remind" me that one cannot distinguish "the different, partially conflicting aims [of] all these actors" (948). In an environment where people like Vyshinskii had to fear for their lives if they tried to act against Stalin's will, and in this case eventually caused the loss of the GDR, one cannot speak about conflicting aims. The fact nonetheless remains that even if some had ideas different from those of Stalin, no one would have dared to pursue them while Stalin was alive, especially not on questions of such importance as Germany. There is no evidence that Stalin would have given up Soviet positions in East Germany. No neutrality for a unified Germany was ever discussed in Moscow in the last years of Stalin's life. Why should such evidence be kept secret in Moscow archives? Finally, Oberender criticizes not only my "handling of sources" (947) but also my engagement with secondary literature. He mentions especially Wilfried Loth and Geoffrey Roberts. Loth is an expert on the West in the Cold War and does not speak Russian. Regarding Roberts, it seems to me sufficient to note that Vladislav Zubok criticized him for assuming that Stalin meant whatever he said or wrote. "We know how many people perished because they trusted Stalin's words, and took them at a [sic] face value. Taking Stalin's words as facts is a methodological approach for Roberts. For me it is a bizarre misunderstanding of Stalin's personality, and the nature of his immense power."3 There is nothing else to add. If Oberender is right to assert that no consensus will ever be reached on this issue, then this is because some historians choose to ignore new facts in favor of fantastic arguments to the effect that a neutral Germany was more useful to Stalin than a divided one. All evidence from Soviet archives shows the opposite.4 No single internal document showing that Stalin would have preferred a unified, neutral Germany has ever been found; nor will this ever occur. Peter Ruggenthaler Ludwig Boltzmann-Institut für Kriegsfolgen-Forschung Schörgelgasse 43 A-8010 Graz, Austria peter.ruggenthaler@bik.ac.at Footnotes Andreas Oberender chooses not to respond. [End Page 698] Footnotes 1. Andreas Oberender, "Stalin's Postwar Foreign Policy," Kritika 13, 4 (2012): 937-49; Peter Ruggenthaler, Stalins großer Bluff: Die Geschichte der Stalin-Note in Dokumenten der sowjetischen Führung (Munich: Oldenbourg, 2007). 2. As my book shows, in the early 1950s...

Glenis Long's contribution to animal psychoacoustics

Glenis and I were psychology graduate students together in 1970-1971. She was interested in auditory psychophysics, but soon developed an interest in comparative psychophysics which she pursued in a post-doc and a faculty position in Germany, where she obtained a behavioral audiogram for the horseshoe bat and later studied masking in the same species. This audiogram was one of the very first psychophysical investigations of hearing in any bat and the very first for the horseshoe bat. It confirmed a rather complex frequency response function with sensitivity peaks at about 20 kHz and 60 kHz, and a very sharp peak at about 80 kHz. The masked thresholds indicated rather normal critical masking ratios (CR) except in a narrow region at about 80 kHz where the CRs are up to 15 dB lower than expected, suggesting a critical band of about 300 Hz at 80 kHz that is presumably used in Doppler-shift compensation. In 1981-1983, Glenis went on to investigate frequency and rate modulation discrimination in the chinchilla, for the first time, and to study tone-on-tone masking in the chinchilla. Since these early works, Glenis has maintained her comparative interests with studies on birds, kangaroo rats, frogs, and fleas on cats.

Smoking—A Study That Leaves Many Questions Unanswered

Some 10000 study participants were recruited by specialist physicians in private practice in the German state of Saarland for the data analysis of the ESTHER (Epidemiological Study on the Chances of Prevention, Early Recognition, and Optimized Treatment of Chronic Diseases in the Older Population) study’s baseline examination (4). As the clinical director of the hospital for internal medicine V (pneumology, allergology, respiratory and environmental medicine) at the University Hospitals of Saarland, I was very surprised by the evaluations of this baseline examination. The analyses did not take into consideration smoking related pulmonary pathologies, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or cancers—especially lung carcinoma—although the internationally acknowledged epidemiological cancer registry in Saarland participated in the study. Lung carcinoma is the fourth most common cause of death in Germany (Federal Statistical Office, ICD-10, C34) and the most common cause of death due to cancer in men. Worldwide, COPD is the fourth most common cause of death; it reached 6th position in Germany in 2007 (Federal Statistical Office, ICD-10, J44). It is to be expected that mortality due to COPD will move into 3rd position of the worldwide statistic by 2030; it should therefore be the focus of particular interest in the context of the ESTHER study. In 1950, the British researcher Sir Richard Doll described for the first time the association between smoking and lung cancer (1). He later expressed regret that he had not included comorbidities (such as COPD) in his deliberations immediately at the outset of his clinical observations (2). It seems that the ESTHER study is subject to an identical error—namely, that diseases that are extremely important as smoking related comorbidities were not included. The result is a limited perspective, and the question arises of how such an epidemiological study was done with such a narrow approach. Surely, additional questions to the study participants, to elicit additional diseases and comorbidities, and their evaluation would not have been excessively time consuming or elaborate. A valuable opportunity was thus missed to collect data on these comorbidities—much as in a series of other studies in smokers (3).

Die aard van wetgewende diskresies by die Suid-Afrikaanse uitvoerende gesag

This article focuses on the nature of legislative discretions in the hands of the executive authority of the state. Relevant concepts are analysed, followed by an exposition of the position regarding delegation of legislative authority to the executive under the previous constitutional dispensation when the country had a sovereign Parliament. This is followed by a discussion of the legal position in Germany, which shows similarities to the situation in South Africa. It appears that differences in approach to the problem exist worldwide, but one similarity is to be found in all, namely that a complete parliamentary abdication of legislative authority is always disallowed. What follows from this is that South African law seems to follow the German example regarding the delegation of legislative powers. It seems that the South African Constitutional Court considers the delegation of essential legislative authority as undesirable. Limits have to be placed on the extent of Parliament's competencies pertaining to legislative delegation. Furthermore the manner and form requirements in the Constitution must be met when legislation is adopted. This however does not occur in all instances of legislative delegation to the executive authority. When legislative delegation takes place, it is consistently done by granting the executive the authority to adopt subordinate legislation, which in any event has the same legal effect as legislation of Parliament itself. Next the Transitional Constitution of 1993 is considered against the background of relevant case law. It appears that the legal position was not changed by the promulgation of the ("final") Constitution of 1996. Empowering legislation that delegates any legislative authority must lay down guidelines providing direction regarding the exercise of the delegated authority. Delegated legislation may of course not contain substantive norms. Like the German Bundesverfassungsgericht, the South African Constitutional Court seems to require empowering legislation to lay down the content, extent and purpose of the empowering provisions before it will enjoy legal effect. This content, extent and purpose will not primarily be evident from the delegated legislation, but must be contained in the empowering legislation itself. If this is not the case, the delegation of authority will have exceeded constitutional limits. Therefore, a wide delegation of legislative authority without limitations regarding its exercise, at least as far as content, extent and purpose are concerned, will without doubt be unconstitutional.

Klinische Forschung im Kompetenznetz „Akute und chronische Leukämien“

D Background: Leukemias are a challenge and a cost factor to society because of their frequency in all age groups. They also serve as a model for a variety of diseases and possess exemplary relevance for basic research and patient care. Leukemia research and therapy have achieved high standards and even a leading position in Germany with regard to clinical trials, standardization of diagnostics and molecular studies of prognostic factors, signal transduction and gene expression. Progress is hampered, however, by fragmentation of leukemia trial groups, diagnostic approaches and treatment research activities. D Goals: A network was therefore created to integrate the leading leukemia trial groups on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and chronic myeloproliferative diseases (CMPD) and their interdisciplinary partners (diagnostics, treatment research, biometry) in cooperation with basic research and pharmaceutical industry to foster advancements in leukemia-related research and health care through clinical trials, promotion of translational research, introduction of standards for diagnostics and therapy, and development of evidence-based guidelines. □ Achievements: Achievements include establishment of central information, communication and management structures, creation of an AML intergroup comprising five study groups, formation of an MDS study group and establishment of platforms for diagnostics, genomics and proteomics, and medical informatics. Exchange of scientific progress is mediated by intra- and internet, biannual newsletters, regular project group meetings, and annual network symposia. □ Perspectives: On the basis of experience with the Competence Network ,,Acute and chronic leukemias" with its management, communication and information structures, the,,European LeukemiaNet" (ELN) has been established within the 6th Framework Program of the European Union. The ELN integrates 78 leading leukemia trial groups (AML, ALL, CML, CLL, MDS, and CMPD), their 83 interdisciplinary partner groups (diagnostics, treatment research, registry, guidelines), industry and SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises) across Europe to form a cooperative network for advancements in leukemia-related research and health care.

Anthroposophical Curative Education in the Third Reich: The Advantages of an Outsider

Anthroposophical curative education originates from the philosophical and pedagogical ideas of Rudolf Steiner. Born in Germany in 1924, in the heyday of racial hygiene, and with a phase of establishment parallel to the growth of National Socialism, this reform movement for children with special needs faced some crucial challenges. By shedding light on the conditions and strategies of the Steiner institutions under the Third Reich, this article explores some of the reasons why the co-workers in these institutions in several cases avoided collaboration with the Nazi regime and their lethal politics towards disabled children. One assumption is that anthroposophical curative education was in an outsider position in Germany, allowing the professionals involved the benefit of operating outside the direct jurisdiction of the agency of the Third Reich.

Scientists and Their Pursuit of Excellence: Crossroads and Gateways (or Who is Who in the Festschrift)

Scientists and Their Pursuit of Excellence: Crossroads and Gateways (or Who is Who in the Festschrift)

The competitive position of the Nordic wood industry in Germany – intangible quality dimensions

This study examines the importance of various intangible product quality dimensions as perceived by wood-trading retailer and wholesaler companies in Germany. Using perceived importance and perceived performance, the study first examines the dimensionality of intangible product quality and then compares Nordic wood product suppliers with suppliers from other major supply regions. Data was collected from 76 German companies during 2000–2001. Results indicate that intangible product quality can be described in three dimensions, “Behaviour and Image”, “Serviceability and Environment”, and “Reliability”. Results also show that Nordic suppliers do not have a strong competitive position in Germany in terms of intangible product quality dimensions. Thus, Nordic suppliers could improve their competitive position by enhancing their service, logistics and other dimensions of the intangible product offering.

Das Kompetenznetzwerk „Akute und chronische Leukämien”

Leukemias are a challenge and a cost factor to society because of their frequency in all age groups. They also serve as a model for a variety of diseases and possess exemplary relevance for basic research and patient care. Leukemia research and therapy have achieved high standards and even a leading position in Germany with regard to clinical trials, standardization of diagnostics and molecular studies of prognostic factors, signal transduction and gene expression. Progress is hampered, however, by fragmentation of leukemia trial groups, diagnostic approaches and treatment research activities. A network was therefore created to integrate the leading leukemia trial groups on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and chronic myeloproliferative diseases (CMPD) and their interdisciplinary partners (diagnostics, treatment research, biometry) in cooperation with basic research and pharmaceutical industry to foster advancements in leukemia-related research and health care through clinical trials, promotion of translational research, introduction of standards for diagnostics and therapy, and development of evidence-based guidelines. Achievements include establishment of central information, communication and management structures, creation of an AML intergroup comprising five study groups, formation of a myelodysplastic syndromes study group and establishment of platforms for diagnostics, genomics and proteomics, and medical informatics. Exchange of scientific progress is mediated by intra- and internet, bi-annual newsletters, regular project group meetings and annual network symposia. Already now, the network structures leukemia therapy and research in Germany and supports the spread of scientific excellence in the field of leukemias.

Liberty, Security, and Terrorism: The Legal Position in Germany

Just one day after the attacks of September 11, 2001, the German minister of the interior, Otto Schily (SPD), demanded a new security concept. Immediately the existing security laws and precautions were placed under special scrutiny in search for any sorts of deficiencies. The results of these reviews were two legislative initiatives, termed “security packages” or “anti-terror packages,” which changed or altered numerous existing statutes. The new security laws contain a number of infringements into fundamental civil rights and liberties. The legislative process thus had to raise the issue of the relationship between security and civil liberties and weigh the balance between the protection of individual rights and collective security. This, however, does not constitute a new challenge for the German legislature. The collision of security interests with individual civil liberties has caused a legal problem in Germany for some time. September 11 might constitute a political watershed, but in the context of civil liberties in Germany, this date does not represent an important mark. The current measures have to be understood within the context of an at least thirty-year-long period of continuous weighing between security and freedom.

Structural Features of Female Employment Status and Earnings Mobility: The Experience in Germany

Structural changes in basic economic indicators, changes in traditional role patterns, and in female employment behavior shed light on the performance of the European labor markets in the 90s. This paper focuses on the cyclical sensitivity of women's employment status and earnings position in Germany. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) we test the hypothesis that labor market adjustments are not gender-neutral but affect women's employment status and women's relative earnings position to a greater extent than those of men. Cross-sectional as well as longitudinal analysis indicate positive effects on female employment status and earnings position during a period with worsening economic indicators. Logistic regression analysis confirms an increasing likelihood of an upward earnings mobility for women in the 90s. Notwithstanding these positive trends the results show that - due to social norms and attitudes - women are still discriminated against in the labor market and in terms of their relative earnings position. Thus social policy is called upon to improve women's social and employment conditions.

Restacking the deck: Family policy and women's fall-back position in Germany before and after unification

This paper examines some of the effects of East and West German family policy on women's economic position by analyzing intrahousehold bargaining power, defined here as based on co-resident partners' relative fall-back positions, which in turn depend on the individuals' access to income in the event that the partnership ends. East German policy sought to integrate women into the labor force through programs such as free public child care and liberal maternity leave. West Germany based its family policy on the assumption of a stark gender division of labor, with one lifetime breadwinner per family and a second parent who temporarily leaves the labor force to raise children. On the basis of her findings and analysis, the author argues that while East German institutions increased women's bargaining power, gender-specific policies interfered with women's ability to use this power to bring about changes in the household division of labor. West German family policy did not assign gender roles, but it offered women less bargaining power with which to negotiate. The author maintains that society's refusal to address women's greater child-rearing costs is not based on an assessment of such costs and the costs of redistributive government programs, but on the assumption that women should absorb the risks and burdens of reproduction.

Health life-styles, health concern and social position in Germany and The Netherlands

Based on a telephone survey of 1352 adults in Germany and The Netherlands 3 health life-style dimensions were distinguished and labelled as: i) sobriety (not smoking, healthy food habits and abstinence from alcohol), ii) activity (participation in sports and exercise and low body mass index) and iii) free-living (alcohol consumption, unhealthy food habits and the (un)importance of physical appearance). Gender, age and level of education were much more important predictors of health life-styles than people's concern about their health. In both nations, women compared to men have a more sober, more active and less free-living life-style. In Germany, older persons are more sober, less active and less free-living. In The Netherlands, older persons were less active. A comparison of the results for Germany and The Netherlands suggests that the structural and cultural embeddedness of health life-styles is somewhat different in both nations.

Selected Issues of Monetary Policy in the Czech Republic

This paper analyzes two selected, though interconnected, issues of monetary policy that showed specific features in the Czech Republic during its first stage of transformation toward a standard market economy. In the first part, the paper examines the role of a stable exchange rate as a nominal anchor. A stable exchange rate was one of the features that distinguished the Czech Republic from most other transfonning economies of Central and Eastern Europe. It is shown that the anchor works through specific mechanisms if relative prices are changing substantially and if the currency is undervalued in relation to purchasing-power parity and nonconvertible for capital-account transactions. In the second part, the issue of interenterprise arrears, which were present in practically all transforming economies, is discussed. The phenomenon is interpreted in the paper as a specific, pathological innovation typical for the initial stage of transformation in the postcommunist countries; the consequences for monetary policy are discussed. In the final part, some further steps of the Czech Republic toward a standard economic and financial system are outlined. Until January 1993, the Czech Republic was part of federal Czechoslovakia-a country at in 1990 started to make the transition toward a market economy. Czechoslovakia took its first steps toward creating a standard monetary and banking system at the very start of the transforrnation process. In December 1989, the existing monobank was transformed into a twotiered system: a central bank, plus a system of commercial banks. The centrl bank was made largely independent, being built on principles similar to the Bundesbank position in Germany. After the split-up of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, the Czech National

The Vote of theMillones(1590)

The efforts of Charles V (1500–58) to consolidate and defend his hereditary possessions gave a powerful boost to the development of public credit in western Europe. To meet a scale of expenditure which surpassed anything seen before, Imperial agents had recourse to an entirely new series of financial devices, necessity providing, as it normally did, the spur to invention. Charles V's servants exploited the facilities of the Antwerp Bourse to encourage the investing public to sink its money into government debt rather than commercial enterprises or speculations in commodities. Additional funds were raised on the credit-worthiness of provincial taxgatherers in the Low Countries. Thanks to the ingenuity of his financial advisers, the emperor survived the dramatic collapse of his position in Germany during the spring of 1552; and he was able shortly after to attempt the recovery of the Imperial bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun, which the Lutheran princes had bartered away in their bid for French support.

Criteria for the Choice of Video Systems

As early as in 1972 the FWU recommended the Philips VCR system (nowadays called Philips VCR standard) with the appropriate equipment for use in schools in the Federal Republic of Germany. At that time, the decision was fairly easy to make because price level, technical features and market position in Germany led to the conclusion that this system would meet educational needs as well as financial conditions. It served quite well for several years and the degree of standardisation reached in German schools even enabled central production and subsequent distribution of video tapes by A-V centres.

Teaching German to Foreigners in Heidelberg

Finding a summer teaching position in Germany outside of the regular exchange channels is not an easy task for an American Germanist, even if German is his native language. It took me almost a year of often frustrating correspondence' with such agencies as the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Central Placement Office (Zentralstelle ffr Arbeitsvermittlung) in Frankfurt, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Ministry of Labor, and the Federal Agency of Labor (Bundesanstalt fir Arbeit) in NOrnberg before I finally received a list of German-language schools from the latter agency' and could then start sending out applications to various institutions. My endeavors were successful, and, in the summer of 1977, I had the privilege of teaching German to foreign students and to German repatriates from Poland and the Soviet Union' at the Collegium

CONTINENTAL SYSTEMS OF ADULT TRAINING

How do other countries approach the problems of adult training? Following his descriptions last month of practice in France and Holland, Mr Mirfin now deals with the Swedish approaches — governmental and private. Next month the position in Germany will be described. We regret that Mr Mirfin's name was accidentally missed from the heading to his article last month

The German Catholics of the Universities

First of all I would like to thank the Executive Committee of Pax Romana and the Chairman for allowing me to address you here to-day and to speak to you about the position in Germany. You know that the German Catholics are not officially represented at this Congress, and I would like to stress the point that my credentials to speak on their behalf consist in nothing but the simple fact that I am a German Catholic myself, and that I was in Germany and in contact with some of the most eminent German Bishops, priests and laymen until the end of 1943.The theme of our discussion to-day is Relief and Reconstruction. It concerns the tasks, with which Pax Romana will have to deal in the near future. I must, therefore, ask your indulgence if, before talking about what lies before us, I shall refer at some length also to the past. There are two reasons why I should like to do this: first, that if you want to find the remedy, you must first know the disease. The problems of Relief and Reconstruction are thus of necessity to some extent retrospective. Second: Pax Romana will have to decide—and I hope that will be some time soon—whether it is going to re-admit as constituent members German University Federations. Monsieur l’Abbés Gremaud has told me—and I am painfully aware how right He is—that the spirit of Pax Romana has found only very few faithful witnesses among the Germans—students and graduates—and that the great question of the future would be how to make sure about the trustworthiness of any new federations that might be formed.

AEIOU: Some Reflections on the Meaning and Mission of Austria

r-5IIE IIabsburg duke Frederick the Younger, who died in 1493 as the Emperor Frederick III, was, throughout his long life and rule, neither . z a successful nor a remarkable personality. He was threatened by several revolts of his own subjects, was defeated by his external enemies, was unable to maintain the position of his family in Bohemia and Hungary, and contributed considerably to the weakening of the imperial position in Germany. German historiography rarely has had anything good to say of him. Never theless, this emperor of little energy, who seemed asleep on his throne, prepared the final union of all Habsburg lands and laid the foundations of a world-empire through the marriage of his son with the heiress of Burgundy; for more than three centuries after his death the imperial dignity was to remain almost uninterruptedly connected with his house, so that Empire and Habsburg became synonymous. This mediocre prince must have had a strong premonition of the coming greatness of his house. He expressed it in the strange combination of the five vowels which he used to inscribe on buildings and belongings. In his own interpretation they meant: Alles Erdreich ist Osterreich untertan or Austriae est imperare orbi universo. This naive confidence was, in the stress and storm of later periods, reinterpreted into the still confident but rather obscure apocalyptic erit in orbe ultima. The five vowels accompanied the house of Austria through its unprecedented rise and its later decline, always singling it out from the other dynasties and countries of the earth. Austria was a unique state. It was a territorial state and at the same time a universal empire, fusing into its service the two great universal ideas of western Christianity: the succession to the Roman Empire and the guardianship of the Catholic church. It was a product of German expansion and colonization, and it was at the same time multilingual and multiracial from the beginning; it stretched from the outskirts of the ill-defined and amorphous German Lebensraum into the much better defined and geographically more organic Donauraum, of which it became the organizing and strategic center. It was turned against the east, against Turkey, and much later against Russia, and at the same time against the west, agaiIlst France and Italy; but though it was turned against them in defense, it was wide open to their cultural influences, and its cultural universalism radiated as a civilizing influence in all directions. Thus the question of the meaning of this unique 513