European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 15, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes Viia Ign but bit Mia Ian Grimma  letters answered on mein kampf incident. Apparently because a German National illegally and 1 emphasize illegally purchased a copy of Hitler s mein kampf from the Stan and so rips Bookstore in Berlin All of us will now be stripped of our Guaran tees under the first amendment. What s wrong with this picture the fault lies with the failure of the stars and stripes Bookstore employee to scrutinize customers id cards and the questionable moral practices of a German journalist who knowingly entered the . Facility illegally and purchased the prohibited Book Atso illegally. Now we Are expected to sit by complacently while our civil rights Are confiscated. Is Legal action pending against the journalist or the to news Magazine Abendschan the official explanation that the action was taken in recognition of Host nation sensitivity is something less than acceptable to me. What about my sensitivity and those of my countrymen mad . Forces been present in Germany in 1938, would we have turned our backs to the holocaust in the name of Host nation sensitivity t understand the intent of West German criminal Law prohibiting commercial distribution of literature preaching nazism racial hatred or violence. I m not for a minute suggesting that mein Klampt ranks As a literary achievement of any consequence but in retrospect its historical significance can never be disputed. The lessons of history must be heeded no matter How painful. Adding sail to an already open wound was flip admission thai the manager of the stars and stripes Bookstore in Berlin was asked by it. Col. Dan Bunnell Deputy chief of staff for political and military affairs with the . Mission to review other potentially offensive  All due respect to he manager 1 hardly feel that her position qualifies her to sit in judgment on what i am permitted to read or not read. Although u. Col. Bunnell later annulled the decisions i can t help but be concerned about the implications. Totalitarian systems manipulate constitutions to serve the masters. What is applicable today May not necessarily be the Law tomorrow. Liberty and Freedom Are not Concrete terms in societies where there Are no absolutes the american Experiment in democracy has worked be cause of the Sanctity of individual freedoms and civil rights. How can 1, in Good conscience Leach my children about inc Sanctity of our Constitution if i choose to ignore the blatant disregard of everything it represents constitutional guarantees arc not negotiable under any circumstances staff St. War run d. Buchanan Rhein main a West Germany. First i must admit the Story which appropriately was run on the same Page As the article accusing the stars and stripes of censorship Only mildly stirred my anger until i reached the part of the article which stated that the Man Ager of the Bookstore pulled three other books off the shelf Friday after being asked by it. Col. Dan Bunnell. To review other potentially offensive  my god that statement is downright scary. Granted this was probably a special circumstance involving Many sensitive political issues. But docs thai defend mis limited action with so Many other things in this Day and age when does such a limited action Slop who makes the determination. To me this is one of America s Basic freedoms we Are talking about while also realizing i m not in America am All for wonderful German american relations but . Forces have to draw the line some where. Even though an unauthorized person purchased an item banned by local Law bul fully within the rights of americans to own an apology and a Promise of increased vigilance should have sufficed. Also you can t Tell me that no one knew that this Bookha been available for Sale for it least eight years and probably Longe if the germans can permit or look the other Way due id their numbers at demonstrations by pro nazi groups i m sure an accommodation can be made Between our two governments on the books that Are sold in our bookstores. Personally 1 found main kampf to be the dry ramblings of a madman. I could t even Wade through the whole thing. But at least i had the Opportunity to determine that for myself. I m sure someone will re Spond to this letter by saying that the Book will always be available through mail order etc., but that s not he Point i m trying to make. It s the principle of Why i have to buy a certain Book somewhere else. Name withheld Berlin we should All be alarmed at the news that books Are being pulled off the stands of the stars and stripes Bookstore. This is a Gross wilfully done breach of our rights As americans As guaranteed by he Constitution. What is equally alarming is that you did not fight it tooth and Nail no it appears to me that you rolled Over and died a sad commentary for the press whose self i pressed Pur pose in a free society is to assure that he truth is known. We must All realize that any slate that suppresses knowledge and information docs it to protect itself and not its citizens. When we see such suppression each and every one of us should stand up and shout for All to hear mat we will not stand for such action by the Sale we have to Tell the state that it is wrong and that we the citizenry will not stand by when information is suppressed. They will Tell you that it is for your Good but it is nothing but propaganda. You folks blew ill you Tel us . Citizens Down. You let one More Chip of Freedom be taken from the Rock of democracy and 1 abhor you and your Organiza Tion for letting it happen. Nathan r. Keith a Springen West German if it was t for having just gone through a presiden tial election i would begin to question exactly what my citizenship was. Certainly american citizens Are free to Purchase a Book detailing the political Aims of a fallen dictator in a Bookstore going by the name of stars and stripes. If the act of pulling that Book and the biography of Field marshal Rommel in t blatant censorship i cannot imagine what is let s recount what we have Here a Book on Silc to americans Only in a facility that Only americans arc supposed to shop in and a German news person Pur chases a Book that is forbidden to germans because of the shame brought upon their nation. This action re sults in the withdrawal of that publication to any who migh wish to Purchase in. Sensitivity is one thing allowing the illegal Purchase by someone of another nationality of an article to affect the availability of a Book to me an american citizen is abhorrent and. Smacks of the same thought pattern that led to Book burning of another Era. Chief warrant officer 3 James e. Norris ,. Berlin. T this Issue fuels the current discussions in Bonn about limitations of German sovereignty Over . Installations which have surfaced As a result of army plans to station More aircraft at Wiesbaden a and the Legal liability issues stemming from the Ramstein air show disaster. German Law does stale that Supply of goods and services by military activities to nato forces Mem Bers is not to be considered As Trade in the German Economy and appears to be applicable Here. The Ille Gal Sale of. A copy of main kampf in Berlin to a German should not result in limiting Access to that or any other publication to authorized Bookstore custom ers.  cafes employee irate about shoplifting 1 am an cafes employee. I work in the Giessen main Exchange for the past year that i have worked there almost every Day i see evidence of shoplifting. What kind of evidence empty boxes tags off cloth ing items empty tape cases and More. These things arc sometimes hidden underclothing Racks in the fitting rooms or elsewhere for us to find. Who Are these shop lifters spouses and children of the soldiers and even the soldiers themselves some of these people arc pros at it and they do it every time they come in the store. Sam of hem May jus get their nerve up to do in every once in a while " -. -. I Sec the maps taking people All the Lime to the Man Ager s office for shoplifting. Some of the women even have their children with them when they get caught. I know of one Mother who hid her merchandise in her baby s stroller what is wrong with you people Don t you have any morals at All you Are ripping us off and laughing at us Hal Hal i m ripping you off and you Don t even know it bul you re wrong. We do know this in going on but we have to Caich you red handed taking the Merchan Dise. Believe me one Day you will eel caught even you pros. V.  -. " we employees arc becoming More aware of whal you Are doing and we Are watching for you. This does t make our Job As employees an easy one to be courteous and Friendly when we have to be suspicious and wonder if the customer we Are waiting on is going to go Back in a Corner somewhere to shoplift. And All this shoplifting also makes the prices go up in our exchanges. This is so unfair to the people who arc innocent. You people doing this really make me sit is it really Worth the Chance of Gelting caught every time you steal something name withheld. " Glessen West  sensitivities Tell me that stripes Bookstore management should ignore isolated local  both . And German authorities should be support ing higher ideals such As the United nations resolutions on the free unhindered flow of information. After All both countries acceded to , ideals and the . Charter when they became member states. Leonard a. Nadybal Komei hint West Germany editor s note we receded two replies to these letters. The tint � from Steven w. Stram Valt Public affaire office is. Community Berlin the writers Are All disturbed it the perception they Are be fog denied Access to the Boot. This is not the Cue. Any authorized Patron of the Bookstore May obtain i copy of mein Kain if a a special order Ihn Tsih stars and stripes or any Olber publishing House that carries the title. The Book was removed front display ool of respect for the sensitivities of the berliners. The . Command presence in Berlin is t partnership and while we must never lose sight of the rights of american  in we must also Tike Ore to respect the rights nod i abilities of oar partners the Berliner. In summary any authorized Patron of slurs and stripes can hive the Book within � very few Days by simply ordering it the n cont reply is from cot. Jeffrey Mcook command or of taif stars Ami strip Rte the comments nude by  and other readers ate thoughtful and valid. I la try to explain whal occurred and Why. I think it is important to keep in mind from the outset hat you did in fad read about the Meln Kampor Issue in the european slant and stripes. The situation was neither ignored nor suppressed bul is fully reported Given that Busk Point Why did we remove the Book temporarily from stars and stripes bookstores when we became aware of what had occurred in Berlin Over he weekend of nov. 12-13. We asked our supporting staff judge advocate How Meln kampf related to the Laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. The first Blush response we received was that in was a violation of Section 86 of the West German criminal code to sell the Book and we were required to observe this Law. Given this preliminary Legal Reading i had the Book removed from the shelves until we could set a def in live answer am acutely aware of our responsibility to ensure we do not arbitrarily remove something from Sale simply because it May offend someone or some group. Since the situation involved possible violation of West German criminal Law the prude no Ihung to do Al that Point was to remove the Book until we knew where we stood legally. The definitive Legal  have now received states that we need not remove main Karn for any of her Book from our bookstores As a result of Section 86 of the German criminal code. We must however ensure that Only authorized patrons buy from our bookstores ,. Given hit determination we have now made the Book available by special order within the Federal Republic of Germany. We will put it Buck in the stores where we previously stocked it in about 45 Days after we have reviewed and strengthened our system far checking ids. V your department of defense charter requires us to Stock books and Matt lines so that we approximate what one would find in a commercial Bookstore in the United Stales merchandising decisions Are nude. From our Darmstadt Headquarters based on customer interest and demand. At the same time we would not be acting responsibly of we ignored the Laws of the Host nation or the status of forces agreement under which we must operate pen pals Piti pub Fuji my Kwiw me Popup my  Guiua Huq act of Fentell Ruyn annul Oca Yinwu Mil hot mro in your in Pil column j my 21 and my Hob i ill Cooke tag it unit we Lugo Dunn cooking us. Ounda c. Own Bitagon . My Plaht re any pin pal column. 9 j. Boubai. A str a. Brt Loti