Adenauer

On April 19, 50 years ago, Konrad Adenauer, the first Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, passed away. On this occasion, Der Spiegel published an article, "Geheimakte Adenauer" (Adenauer's Secret Files), revealing that, among other things, der Alte (the old fox) had used the secret services to spy on the opposition party, the Social Democrats, and its leaders.

@Der Spiegel

They also mentioned again the arrest of Der Spiegel's editor-in-chief, Rudolf Augstein, in 1962 for publishing an article titled "Bedingt abwehrbereit" (Limited Preparedness), which claimed that the German Bundeswehr (defense force) was incapable of meeting an attack from the Eastern Bloc. Adenauer accused Augstein and his collaborators of high treason and stated in the Bundestag (parliament): Ich schaue in einen Abgrund von Landesverrat (I am looking into an abyss of high treason).

What Adenauer did not expect was that the German people would stand up and demonstrate that democracy, which he had instilled in them, was effective. In the aftermath of the Spiegel Affair, he was forced to dismiss several of his ministers and reshuffle the government. He never regained his popularity.

At the beginning of his chancellorship*,  Adenauer's credo was based on three pillars: 
*Adenauer became chancellor at the age of 73 with a one-vote majority (his own) in 1949. He stepped back in 1963 at the age of 87.

- Integrating Germany into the Western alliance, deferring German reunification forever and a day,
- Reconciling with France, and
- Promoting a social market economy that led to the Wirtschaftswunder, Germany's economic miracle.

Adenauer, a man educated in the Kaiserreich of the 19th century, near the end, was plagued by senile stubbornness and understood democracy as being something useful for his Christian Democratic Party. His opinion about the German voter: Der dumme Bürger, meine Herren - und der Bürger in Deutschland, ich weiß nicht wie er anderswo ist, ist strohdumm! -, glaubt das. (The dumb citizen, gentlemen - and the citizen of Germany, I don't know how he is elsewhere, is empty-headed! -, believe that).

Nevertheless, in Adenauer's case, we should not apply Shakespeare's dictum: The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones. 

Requiescas in pace, Konrad, Du hast Dich um Dein Land verdient gemacht! (May you rest in peace, Konrad, you served your country well!)

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