South Bend, [Beginning of May], 1972
Thinning Out
Since about half of the primaries have been held, the field of Democratic candidates is thinning out. Edmund Muskie withdrew after the primaries in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Yet Hubert Humphrey remains an attractive candidate. Also, after the primary in Florida, George Wallace stays at the top of the list. However, it is George McGovern who has turned out to be the front-runner of the Democrats. As populist he shapes the new image of the Democratic Party. He has great appeal and must be taken into account for the nomination. But everything remains open until the National Convention of the Democratic Party in Miami.
South Bend, May 8, 1972
The Blockade of Haiphong
As a measure against the latest North Vietnamese offensive, President Nixon announced a blockade of the harbor of Haiphong. Again, the world is anxiously waiting whether Russia will react to this American course of action. Should the War in Vietnam escalate into a worldwide conflict after all?
Addendum
After several days it has become apparent that the Soviet Union will not intervene. Vietnam remains a regional conflict that does not lead to a confrontation between the two superpowers. Also, the planned trip of President Nixon to Moscow will not be affected by it.
South Bend, Monday, May 15, 1972
The Assassination Attempt on George Wallace
At a campaign rally for tomorrow’s primary in Maryland, an assassination attempt on Governor George Wallace occurred at the Shopping Center of Laurel, a suburb of Washington. Wallace was shot at close range. He was severely, but fortunately not fatally wounded. It was again the deed of a psychopathic individual who had mingled with the crowd of people.
[George C. Wallace, born 1919, was a four term Governor of Alabama, 1963-87. He was paralyzed by the assassination attempt and bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Wallace died in September, 1998.]
South Bend, May 19/20, 1972
Die Ostverträge - The Treaties with the Eastern Bloc States
The acceptance of the Ostverträge or treaties with the Eastern Bloc states by the Bundestag, the German Parliament in Bonn, was for sure taken notice of in the United States but not commented on corresponding to their significance. The majority of Americans will therefore have little understanding of what the Moscow and Warsaw treaties mean for Europe. This demonstrates again that Americans are not adequately informed about issues like the Ostverträge or the Common Market. By and large, Americans show little interest in the political and economic questions in Europe.
[Transl: The so-called Ostverträge refer to the German-Soviet Treaty on Renunciation of Force and Cooperation and the German-Polish Treaty recognizing the Oder-Neisse Line as Western border of Poland. Chancellor Willy Brandt had signed these treaties in 1970. The Bundestag ratified the Ostverträge with the Soviet Union and the Socialist Republic of Poland on May 17, 1972. The treaties came into effect on June 3, 1972.]
South Bend, May 21, 1972
Stopover in Salzburg
The stopover in Salzburg, which President Nixon had chosen on his flight to Moscow, moved Austria into the limelight of the world press. President and Mrs. Nixon were received with hospitality at the Klesheim Palace, the guest house of the Austrian government outside the City of Salzburg. Yet the headlines and images that are disseminated by the media are not what the Festival City has expected or deserved. While Chancellor Bruno Kreisky as host of the Austrian government is entertaining the American guests in Klesheim, one sees images of Salzburg how security forces and demonstrators are engaging in regular street battles. Is it only the Austrian left or the international left in general that has gathered here to demonstrate against the American President?
[In White House Years, p. 1204, Henry Kissinger emphasizes the international experience and diplomatic skill of Bruno Kreisky, which had also impressed President Nixon. Kissinger does not mention the demonstrations.]
South Bend, May 26, 1972
The Moscow Summit
How pragmatic world politics has become was proven last week at the Summit in Moscow. Neither the blockade of Haiphong, nor the American rapprochement with Peking, or the differences in the Middle East could disturb the friendly atmosphere of President Nixon’s state visit in Moscow. It has once more been demonstrated that the two superpowers would not allow themselves to be diverted by regional conflicts from negotiating about the urgent problems, concerning their own interests and in a wider sense the security of the world. Today the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) was signed in the Kremlin. Negotiations on this Treaty had been carried on for two and half years in Helsinki and in Vienna. The matter for negotiation was the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) system as well as the size and number of nuclear warheads. An essential step has been taken to ease the tensions of East-West relations.
[In the chapter “The SALT Negotiations Conclude” (White House Years, pp. 1229-46), Henry Kissinger gives a survey of the difficult negotiations that led to the conclusion of SALT I. As he points out, the United States had a technological advantage in the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) system, while the Soviet Union had a lead in Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs). It was necessary to achieve a balance between these two systems.]
Addendum
At the Moscow Summit further agreements were reached in regard to cooperation in space and taking common measures against environmental pollution. At the same time, prospects were held out for strengthening cultural and scientific exchange. Without a doubt, the Moscow Summit has ushered in a new era of détente between the United States and the Soviet Union.
South Bend, May 27, 1972
The Drive for Business Expansion
[When a local concern for refrigeration engineering and air conditioning acquired a smaller family owned company in Munich, I was asked to assist in the language communication between the two partners. That way I got a first hand insight into how such a transaction is being carried out.]
American companies are driving for expansion. They usually expand on the American domestic market and at the same time in Europe and Southeast Asia. What does really happen when an American concern takes over a German company? Usually, businesses are acquired that are insolvent or can no longer stand the fierce competition. The American concern has the financial resources and the management experience to modernize the acquired company. The American parent company may also have the new technical equipment, which is not as yet available in Europe. By selling, the German owner gains a profit in the short-term, but gives up any say in the management of the company. The American concern proceeds from different assumptions. The name of the German company, which is usually maintained, helps to open new markets throughout the Common Market area as well as in North Africa and the Middle East. It also calculates with lower wages, which, however, do not always apply anymore. When different opinions in management clash, an attempt will be made to resolve differences in good understanding. The American worker is willing to accept working conditions, which his European counterpart would not take. Here, women are still standing at the lathe and do the welding, which can hardly be seen in Europe anymore.
[The strong trend of transatlantic mergers and business takeovers set in at the beginning of the 1990s. Above all, German concerns merged with American firms or acquired weaker American companies. That was an essential factor for the global development of the world economy.]