end to the policy of seeking change by ingratiating themselves that the gentlemen over there pursued and that Brezhnev and his gang just laughed at. The way they went crawling to the Russians and their henchmen was embarrassing to see. Peace was what they wanted tobring, and détente – I ask you!’ Niklas brushed away a few drops of ice cream that his vehemently outraged pronunciation of the ‘ch’ in ‘henchmen’ had sprayed over the table.
‘Wimps, Niklas, wimps the whole lot of them! Middle-class revolutionaries from ’68 who’re still pursuing some daydreams or other but have no idea about the real world … They should come over here and live with us, or in beautiful Moscow, if the reality of socialism is that wonderful. But that’s not what these gentlemen want either, they’re not
that
blind.’ Richard had flushed red with anger and slapped his forehead several times. ‘They want to recognize the GDR, for God’s sake! We have to accept the division of Germany, they say, it’s a historical fact, they say, and the GDR is a legitimate state like any other! Don’t make me laugh! This state, huh, whose only legitimacy comes from the Russian bayonets holding it up. A state that would collapse at once – at
once
I tell you – if there were free, genuinely free elections …’
‘Richard, please.’
‘You’re right, Anne. But I do get worked up about it. These doves who’re soft on communism – against those hardliners! Reagan’s got the right idea, he has no illusions, tough talking’s the only thing the Russians understand … force them to keep up the arms race till the country collapses.’
‘But – Richard, the arms race … what if one side cracks up and presses the red button? Is what Reagan is doing right then – even at that price?’ Meno, a reflective look on his face, was poking around in his sundae. Reglinde, Ina, Ezzo and Robert, who were familiar with this kind of discussion from many family gatherings, were talking among themselves without bothering to follow the course of the argument. By this time Emmy had got to her hip operation, though the only one listening now was Gudrun, while Alice was showing the Rohdes, whom she hadn’t seen yet, photos of their four sons and their last holiday.
‘Yesyes,the red button, that’s the argument that’s always used by our hypocritical press. They write that because they’re afraid. They’re well aware that they’re starting to run out of steam. What are the four main enemies of socialism? Spring, summer, autumn and winter. Or why do you think they keep feeling it’s necessary to urge us to increase our productivity … Without competition nothing works, that’s what I’ve always said.’
‘But, Richard, surely you’re not disputing that the more weapons are stockpiled – and they’re here, all those rockets, they’re deployed in our country – the greater the danger of war. When there are no weapons, war is impossible. All your talk can’t make that go away.’
‘Oh, war.’ Richard made a dismissive gesture. ‘That’s what I’m talking about, Meno. I don’t think anyone really wants one. They’re not all idiots. Our media always draw a parallel between stockpiling armaments and war. And conversely between disarmament and peace. However, the paradoxical thing about it is – man has clearly been carved from such crooked timber that he’ll use his fingernails to scratch people’s eyes out if he has no other weapons. If, on the other hand, he possesses rockets and knows that the other tribe, over there behind the palisade, also possesses rockets – he’ll calm down and go and till his field. Odd but true.’
‘No, I’m sorry, that’s not true, it’s nonsense, Richard.’ Meno frowned and shook his head. ‘No weapons – no war, and that’s that. Fingernails, to stick to the terminology, could be weapons or, if you like, could be used as such. I would like to emphasize that. But what does surprise me is
‘Wimps, Niklas, wimps the whole lot of them! Middle-class revolutionaries from ’68 who’re still pursuing some daydreams or other but have no idea about the real world … They should come over here and live with us, or in beautiful Moscow, if the reality of socialism is that wonderful. But that’s not what these gentlemen want either, they’re not
that
blind.’ Richard had flushed red with anger and slapped his forehead several times. ‘They want to recognize the GDR, for God’s sake! We have to accept the division of Germany, they say, it’s a historical fact, they say, and the GDR is a legitimate state like any other! Don’t make me laugh! This state, huh, whose only legitimacy comes from the Russian bayonets holding it up. A state that would collapse at once – at
once
I tell you – if there were free, genuinely free elections …’
‘Richard, please.’
‘You’re right, Anne. But I do get worked up about it. These doves who’re soft on communism – against those hardliners! Reagan’s got the right idea, he has no illusions, tough talking’s the only thing the Russians understand … force them to keep up the arms race till the country collapses.’
‘But – Richard, the arms race … what if one side cracks up and presses the red button? Is what Reagan is doing right then – even at that price?’ Meno, a reflective look on his face, was poking around in his sundae. Reglinde, Ina, Ezzo and Robert, who were familiar with this kind of discussion from many family gatherings, were talking among themselves without bothering to follow the course of the argument. By this time Emmy had got to her hip operation, though the only one listening now was Gudrun, while Alice was showing the Rohdes, whom she hadn’t seen yet, photos of their four sons and their last holiday.
‘Yesyes,the red button, that’s the argument that’s always used by our hypocritical press. They write that because they’re afraid. They’re well aware that they’re starting to run out of steam. What are the four main enemies of socialism? Spring, summer, autumn and winter. Or why do you think they keep feeling it’s necessary to urge us to increase our productivity … Without competition nothing works, that’s what I’ve always said.’
‘But, Richard, surely you’re not disputing that the more weapons are stockpiled – and they’re here, all those rockets, they’re deployed in our country – the greater the danger of war. When there are no weapons, war is impossible. All your talk can’t make that go away.’
‘Oh, war.’ Richard made a dismissive gesture. ‘That’s what I’m talking about, Meno. I don’t think anyone really wants one. They’re not all idiots. Our media always draw a parallel between stockpiling armaments and war. And conversely between disarmament and peace. However, the paradoxical thing about it is – man has clearly been carved from such crooked timber that he’ll use his fingernails to scratch people’s eyes out if he has no other weapons. If, on the other hand, he possesses rockets and knows that the other tribe, over there behind the palisade, also possesses rockets – he’ll calm down and go and till his field. Odd but true.’
‘No, I’m sorry, that’s not true, it’s nonsense, Richard.’ Meno frowned and shook his head. ‘No weapons – no war, and that’s that. Fingernails, to stick to the terminology, could be weapons or, if you like, could be used as such. I would like to emphasize that. But what does surprise me is
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