European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - October 15, 1950, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The East zones Peoples trained along military will play a decisive role in getting out the vote in today single ticket election of soviet zone the East zone marshals its voters another historic step in the attempted communication of Central Europe will be taken today when the Power holders of Eastern Germany renege on their year old Promise to give the people free when the soviets set up their ready puppet staffed provisional regime in Berlin a year it was announced that a october 1950 conditions would permit the government to risk its life at the ballot today about residents of Eastern Germany will be eligible to participate in the promised an elec Tion despite last years glib prom involves absolutely no risk for the Rones communist Here is an election fantastic by Amer ican or any bother it is rigged to an even greater extent than any elec Tion farce Hitler Ever each of the participating political parties knows in Advance exactly How Many seats it will win in the each Candi Date carefully picked from above i3 to add to the Absurdity of this Bur Lesque imitation of a democratic the cowed and confused soviet zone population had not even been informed at this a week before election their ballots will look like or what will be printed the mechanics of the election have been a closely kept secret throughout months of Campaign As elec Tion Day approached amid great fanfare and the trumpeting of every propaganda instrument Between the Oder and the nobody in Eastern Germany except cowed populace As by unopposed list of red candidates by Dwight staff writer communist politburo members and their russian Bosses knew what the procedure will be inside the voting the bewildered voter knows Only that it will be or rather of him that he approve a list of 400 designated candidates for the Peoples also he has been told repeat edly that these 400 certain winners of legislative seats stand foursquare for the Unity of Friendship with the soviet the Success of the five year plan and a Happy future for everyone except imperialists and the rarely explicit East German elec Tion Law provides that Only four sets of figures will be reported on the state level 1 the number of eligible voters in the area 2 the number of votes cast 3 the number of valid votes and 4 the number of invalid Only official Dom knows what makes a vote valid or Western observers attempting to penetrate the election smoke screen doubt any possibility will be Given the voter to Register a straight observers reason that opposition to the regime might be expressed by invalidating the ballot but How and after those who run the election can hardly be expected to announce to the world an unfavourable result in election District of Lor a per cent pro government vote is not nor can the size of the voting even assuming it will be accurately re be considered a valid indication of the True sentiments of the soviet zone squeezed by great instruments of Public propaganda and police the manipulated masses have Little but to play out their role in this command High commissioner John Mccloy declared in his latest quarterly report to Washington the society that the soviet Union has been developing in Eastern Germany is nothing More than a soviet organized after spontaneous demands from the masses in the period this instrument is a Mere facade be Hind which controls Are exercised which were established before the facade was Walter general Secretary Boss of the East German communist last week delivered an unmistakable warning to those who might have contemplated staying at Home on elec Tion Day those who do not he the warmongers in the prison terms Given by soviet zone Courti to those found guilty of assisting the warmongers in the West vary All the Way from two years to Ever since when the propaganda heat was turned on in no Effort has been spared to impress on every segment of the population the necessity of registering ones vote for the five year plan and the Unity of Premier Otto Grotewohl decreed that every party member must now become an workers in most Large soviet zone enterprises have been required to sign statements pledging themselves to much of the electorate has been organized to report to the polls in units for mass each county and City District in the zone has its enlightenment group whose Job it is to apply continuous psychological pressure on the i Ulbricht recently reported Vot u ing lists were found to be out of Date in Many a great Effort has been made to Correct this so no one will be Able to avoid voting through oversight by registration special efforts have been exerted to bring into line members of Church groups and the so called Bourgeois Par a handful of communist line Cler meeting recently in is sued a statement proclaiming it the duty of christians to support the National front election leaders of the East zone Christian democratic Union cd Van Organiza Tion now completely separate from tha party of the same name in the West were feted by soviet control commis of Page feature Section