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As everyone knows the Treaty limits Germany to 100,000 troops. What are troops? The President decreed that 20 training camps shall be opened at which young German males of every kind (except Communists) will be drilled by ex-officers of the German Army, commanded by lean, grim, hard-bitten General Edwin von Stülpnagel, retired.
Officially the 20 camps will be known as Germany's "National Curatory for the Promotion of Physical Fitness." To avoid too flagrant violation of the Treaty of Versailles, they will function not under the Defense (War) Ministry but under the Ministry of Interior. It received a preliminary grant of 1,500,000 marks ($357,000) last week, promptly began the work of putting an expected 300,000 youths into "simple uniforms of coarse duck."
Patriotic German journalists stressed "the absence of sport in the English or American sense" at the National Curatory, wrote that General von Stülpnagel will instruct his youths in "military sports," such as throwing dummy hand grenades, drilling with wooden rifles.* In Berlin next day Socialist Reichstag Deputies voted "denunciation of the Cabinet's militaristic policy" and the Government was also censured by the Executive Board of Socialist Trade Unions, largest body of organized German labor.
Third Pocket Battleship. In a modest bid for sea power last week, the von Papen Cabinet let contracts for construction of a third German "pocket battle ship," estimated to cost about $20,000,000.
Simultaneously the Geneva Disarmament Conference received formal notice that Germany will attend no more of its sessions until the Great Powers agree either: 1) that each must disarm down to battle parity with Germany; or 2) that Germany may re-arm up to battle parity with the strongest Great Power (see p. 13).
Diplomatic Shakeup. Finally last week the German Diplomatic Service received such a shakeup at the hands of Foreign Minister Baron von Neurath as it has not had since the Revolution of 1918. Diplomats of Republican leanings were shifted from major to minor posts or retired. Momentarily the axe was expected to fall on Ambassador to the U. S. von Prittwitz und Gaffron, a stanch Republican. Typical of the shakeup was the promotion of Ulrich von Hassell, reactionary son-in-law of the late Admiral von Tirpitz, from Minister at Belgrade to Ambassador at Rome.
Ambassador at Rome before the shake-up was Dr. Carl von Schubert, onetime closest associate of Germany's late, great "Peace Man" Dr. Gustav Stresemann. Dr. von Schubert was retired. Queerest appointment was that of a minor Foreign Office official, Dr. Roland Köster, to succeed Ambassador Leopold von Hoesch in Paris. Dr. von Hoesch, "suspected of being too compliant toward the French," was shifted to London. Dr. Köster is priceless. His hobby is taking watches apart, repairing, reassembling, regulating them. Whenever a Foreign Office functionary's watch goes wrong Dr. Koster fixes it.