Germany Resurgent

There are straws in the wind which suggest that the 21st century may be plagued as the 20th was by the ambitions of a resurgent Germany. The European project was always a revival of the Holy Roman Empire which is essentially a Vatican/German objective though it proceeded by small increments, by deception, and the apparent willing participation of others

It was conceived in the aftermath of the catastrophic defeat of the earlier attempt by Adolf Hitler, supported as he was by the Vatican in the person of Pope Pius XII --- support which paid off in the escape route to South America provided via the Vatican for senior Nazi personalities

Its very flag - the twelve gold stars - are a reference back to Charlemagne and the earlier Holy Roman Empire which saw the birth of the Papacy at the point of a sword. They are in fact a halo and a particular halo depicted in Strasbourg Cathedral in a stained glass window. It is a representation of the Virgin Mary enthroned and crowned with these twelve stars round her head.

There were difficulties in the beginning. Germany was in ruins and a pariah amongst nations. It was rapidly rebuilt with Marshall Aid, and Chancellor Konrad Adenauer found a clever way forward by presenting the project as an act of rapprochement of reconciliation between Germany and France which would rule out future continental wars. For decades afterwards there was an apparent Franco/German axis which in constant consultation guided first the Common Market then the EEC and then the EU as the project gradually took shape.

In the long run there was always going to be a contest between the axis partners for dominance. It now appears that France is sidelined after the Referendum which rejected the constitution and that there is a central bloc developing consisting of Germany, Austro-Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and the Baltic States -- a bloc which seeks to expand eastwards into the Ukraine and southwards into the Balkans where it already has allies in Croatia and Slovenia.

The supremacy of Germany within that bloc is assured by its population and by its industrial might. Nevertheless it is strengthening its hold by organising to be the hub of energy distribution to the rest of Europe with Russia as the source. Europe provides Russia with an assured market which Germany will control as well as secure distribution, unlike the route to the south which passes through difficult terrain and unstable regimes.

A significant move was the speech by the German Pope Benedict XVI at Auschwitz, of all places, when he told the Germans that they bore no guilt for the second world war. They had been taken over by a criminal gang he said and abused by them. Now we all know that he is the fount of all truth and infallible. However those of us who were around at the time (and there are still a few about) also know that he is talking through his funny hat. Hitler was elected by the German people who in the main adored him and followed him willingly and enthusiastically as newsreels of the time incontestably testify. Not only that but Pope Benedict's predecessor Pope Pius the XII was in support of a man who looked like winning the war until things started to go wrong in Russia

It is essential however if the Holy Roman Empire is to be re-established that the German people should be on side. They are not likely to disbelieve a Pope who absolves them of any guilt for the past. Moreover that will prepare them for adventures in the future. Indeed it is possible that like Napoleon who led France to defeat at Waterloo and became a national hero, Hitler may well come to be seen as a national hero in the eyes of Germans and that is obviously doing a disservice to some of them. After all his fault was that he failed to win the conflict that he started.

There are those in Germany, mostly journalists it must be said, who are aware of these aspects of what is happening and are reporting them to the outside world.

The idea that the new regime represented by the UN, International Law, the Human Rights Convention and so on, excludes the possibility of conflict is a delusion. The same manoeuverings and struggles go on with the same players - Russia, France, Germany and Britain juggles the three. On another plane the major players, the USA and two others not yet fully configured - China and India, are standing by.

In all this Britain is hampered, even hamstrung as was the intention, by a foolish decision to be involved in the new Holy Roman Empire, from the original of which King Henry VIII extracted us. Of course that was not how it was presented but that is how it was.

Future conflicts however are less likely between the smaller players than between the major players of which, as envisaged by its creators, the new Holy Roman Empire would be one. So we could have a situation in which Britain, as part of the new Empire, was in conflict with China, India or even the USA. It would be absolutely barmy.

It is time that Britain ceased to get involved in others' quarrels. To be able to stand aloof however two things are essential. They are a secure supply of energy and more important still - a secure food supply. British agriculture must be capable of providing a survival diet of meat, milk, vegetables and fruit in season. We have seen too often how the Channel ports can be closed irresponsibly and air transport can be so easily interdicted. What I am saying is that unless Britain can feed itself it can be threatened with starvation in order to secure compliance. In both world wars the attempt was made to blockade supplies, including food. What makes matters more menacing is that for decades past there have been policies emanating from Brussels with the evident intention of destroying British agriculture and making Britain dependent on imports. The record of British Governments in the last half century, of surrendering to threats of one kind or another does not breed confidence.

The pound sterling has now returned to its former role as a reserve currency for the world's central banks. In the last two years known reserves have grown from 55 billions to 111 billions. The most recent recruits to the sterling club are Russia, Switzerland and Italy. For that role to be sustainable Britain must stand aloof from the world's quarrels. That is not to say that it should not have a view but its voice should be on the side of sanity. Armed conflict is seldom sane though for self preservation it might be unavoidable

In the 1930s Hitler could have been stopped at little cost. His reoccupation of the Rhineland in defiance of the 1918 settlement should have been a wake up call. He could have been stopped then and it is probable that he would have lost the support of the general staff. He was emboldened by the failure of Britain and France to act. He was further emboldened by subsequent talk of negotiations and signatures on bits of paper. It is almost certain that there were those in the British establishment who knew what was happening and who was in support and would have preferred Hitler to succeed without bloodshed. It was called by the polite name appeasement.

Today things are at a much earlier stage of development. At least we should have no part in them and make it plain and public where we think they are heading. In politics and international affairs few things are what they seem to be. The EU as a cooperation of 25 nations (if that were true) is one thing, as Germany ‘writ large' it is something not to be tolerated. If the British Establishment tries to adopt its natural posture (bottom in the air and head in the sand) that bottom should be vigorously kicked.