European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 27, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes sunday april 27, 1986 columns & comments William f. Buckley observations on Waldheim s question a a past concerning the matter of Kurt Waldheim s questionable past a few observations. 1. They ask Why the record of his involvement with the nazis As a Young Man has t affected his standing in the austrian elections. Two of the explanations Are most male austrians Over 60 years old were involved in what we would properly Call nazi  since the Nuernberg trails and the never ending evolution of the Story of Hitler s comprehensive bestiality austrians have done to themselves what most human beings would do to themselves namely excuse their conduct. How primarily on the grounds that they did t really know the full Story  usually True and so they Are understanding toward someone of the Eminence of Waldheim who says he did t know the Story. If he did t know the Story then How could they be expected to know it he is for that reason useful. Two thirds of austrians were not alive when Hitler was and he has for them become a Remote memory ugly yes but ugly in the sense that Genghis Khan was ugly or maybe the dumb germans and austrians who launched world War 1 and killed 15 million human beings to no one s apparent advantage. They Are presumably thinking that Waldheim s participation in those events is of primary interest to historians not to a people who Are being asked to vote for one of the world s most prominent diplomats who was Secretary general of the United nations for 10 years. 2. If we assume that Waldheim was indeed conscious of Flora Lewis what it was the germans were doing in Salonika that he knew the jewish population was being transported to death houses that in Yugoslavia he knew the partisans were being tortured and executed How do we explain the extraordinary hiatus Between his involvement in such activity and our hearing of it Simon Wiesenthal must feel a Little like de Koch Wiesenthal s Job at which he has proved Superb is to discover former nazis who Are working As plumbers in Milwaukee. To miss one who was working As Secretary general at the United nations suggests something. What Well it suggests collusion in High places in keeping the records hid Den. Collusion by whom who profited from the Igno Rance of Waldheim s past the simple answer to this question is not absolutely self evident. It is True that during the 10 years Waldheim was head of the United nations the soviet Union made deep inroads. It was during that period that we clearly lost control of the general Assembly and during that period that we sat by More or less helplessly As the third world consolidated its opposition to Israel denouncing zionism As racism. But it in t at All obvious that Waldheim could have arrested this movement. U Thant was there when the erosion began and the incumbent Perez de Cuellar can t do much about it. The easiest Way to put it is that the party that profited primarily from the suppression of the record of Waldheim was Waldheim enjoying As he palpably did his Long tenure As the most conspicuous civil servant in the world. 3. Since it is not a matter of official interest in America who gets elected As president of Austria which is primarily a ceremonial role in a country whose constitutional indenture commits it to neutrality we Are forming really purely personal impressions of Waldheim. What Are we to think of him he made a pretty poor witness in his own defense when he appeared on "60 minutes last sunday. For one thing he has the habit of smiling at Inopportune moments. A smile is an inappropriate facial expression to accompany the statement that you did not know torture was going on in Yugoslavia. And certainly Waldheim was guilty of Eva Sion in suggesting that after he was wounded on the West Ern front in 1941, he was through with soldiering. For this he apologized. I believe he was not however insincere when he said it had been a very ugly War and that both sides had acted out ugly roles. The partisans treatment of nazi soldiers was a Case in Point. But did t the nazis invade Yugoslavia in the first place of course they did. But nazi soldiers he seemed to be saying were primarily Young germans conscripted by the nazi government and sent wherever Hitler decided to Send them. This is a Point riot Worth losing in the general and valid indignation Over Waldheim s convenient personal memory. And of course it touches on Austria if one is looking for truly evil intent one is thinking of hundreds perhaps thou Sands of people not millions. Do that and you May As Well give up on the human race. C Universal press Syndicate Waldheim and Austria not facing up to soiled past Kurt Waldheim s Campaign poster for Austri a s presidential election says we austrians will choose whom we  no doubt they will. And it says some thing about the country s voters that the More evidence there is that Waldheim lied about his activities during the nazi period the More popular he seems to be. The German weekly Der Spiegel commented the Austri ans Don t want to give up their beloved living lie concealing avid participation in the Hitler War and murder machine. Der Spiegel pulls no punches. Its cover shows a picture postcard Mountain Village shadowed by a Strong Arm stretched in the Hitler Salute from beyond the Alps. The title is Austria s silent  in a Tough interview with Waldheim its correspondents keep asking whether he does t think their past imposes a special responsibility on both austrians and germans to be truthful and sensitive to world opinion. No Waldheim does t think so. He sees no reason for shame or guilt and argues that such questions 41 years after the War should be closed. The austrians Are not entirely to blame for their convenient freudian memory lapses. In the Moscow Declara Tion of 1943, the United states Britain and the soviet Union proclaimed Austria the first victim of nazi aggression not a willing ally. It was a futile Effort before a Day to give Austria an incentive to get out of the War when the allies approached Germany. The strategy failed but the result was a Lack of serious Effort at de Nazif cation in Austria no attempt to exam Ine and judge the past and widespread collusion to excuse it. At a stroke As Der Spiegel says the accomplices be came victims. V in any Case the historian Oliver rat Kolb Esti mates that a Quarter of the population was directly or indirectly involved in helping the nazis. Throwing them out of Public service would have nearly stripped the coun try of civil servants teachers and such. A number of other prominent politicians have As bad or worse a record As Waldheim. Some 10 percent of austrians joined the nazi party compared with 7 percent of germans. Clearly Waldheim was a minor figure although the Prinz Eugen division to which he was attached in the Balkans was one of the most murderous. He was forgot ten and left to pursue his vaulting ambition an ambition not so much for Power As for prominence and pomp. A senior european Diplomat who watched him for a Long time said recently he is so thick skinned he does t need to worry about having a  and that is an important reason he became Secretary general of the United nations for 10 years contributing greatly to the deterioration of the world organization by encouraging All the blowhards the self serving blocs and the log rollers for special causes. Once he was out of that office he wrote a stinging criticism of the United a a Billy i can explain All  tons. But while he was in his main concern was to Curry everyone s favor so As to keep being re elected. He succeeded the flighty burmese u Thant in 1971 because the russians vetoed the likeliest candidates. The Best was Finland a . Delegate Max Jakobson. Privately soviet officials spread the word that their Arab friends would t understand if Moscow accepted a Man who had a jewish father and a jewish wife. But Jakobson says now i think that was an excuse that Moscow thought i would be too Strong a Secretary  the tradition of Dag Hammarskjold and it was worried that the prestige of the office would strengthen Finland s concept of  Waldheim had already shown his penchant for acquiescence during the 1968 soviet invasion of neighbouring Czechoslovakia. As foreign minister he announced that Austria did not feel any threat. It has now come to Light that he also ordered the austrian ambassador in Prague to close the embassy and refuse visas so czechs could not seek Asylum. Ironically the ambassador then was Rudolph Kirchschlage Austria s current president. He ignored the order Waldheim now says  All of this is ugly. It does t support the innuendos that the russians chose Waldheim so they could blackmail him on his hidden record. But it does no Honor to him or his country. There is probably More to be dug out of the archives. Who knows what will come next indeed austrians have a right to their own decision but they should t be sur prised if other countries Are reluctant to receive state visits during a Waldheim presidency. They will be Choos ing their own image and the hand they offer to the world. C 1986 the new York times