SECRET GERMAN ARMY

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 68, 17 September 1927, Page 20

SECRET GERMAN ARMY

REVEALED IN THE EEIOHBTAG,

Bemarkable evidenco as to a secret illegal army which Germany started raising in 1922-23 was givon before the Vehm Committee of the Reichstag by the ex-Prussian Minister of the Interior, the Socialist, Herr Severing (states the Berlin correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph"). The Monarchists and Militarists have all along maintained that Herr Severing was a party-to the formation of the "Black Reiehswehr." His"statements showed that exactly the contrary was the case. • Negotiations of his Department with the Ministry of Defence had as their object, he said, to ''prevent the connection of official quarters with private (militarist) organisations." The Defence Ministry .promised that these connections 1 should cease, but did not keep its word, and further representations by the Prussian Govornment led to the so-called Seeckt-Sev-ering agreement of 30th June, 1923. Under this agreement the Defence Ministry pledged itself to prevent the training of volunteers, the drafting of lists of civilians of military ago, and the handing over of army equipment to persons aiming at a violent transformation of the Constitution." Herr. Severing's. lieutenant, .Herr Abegg, said that "numerous breaches of theso agreements" rendered necessary further correspondence between the two Ministries. Conservative members of the committoo suggested that the "Labour commands" (tho official title of the Black Keiehswehr) were legal organisations. To this Herr Severing replied: "If they had been Labour commands of six men who really did nothing but collect arms they certainly would not have been illegal. But when this work wast Only a pretence to hide the establishment of big formations, such organisations were illegal. And this.was how it was with mL „ r comniaads. .In September; 1923, there were in Kuestrin and its torts many hundreds—indeed, -thousands—of men who threatened to shoot anyone who came to see what' they were< doing." ' At another point in his deposition Herr Severing was asked if he never personally inspected the Labour commands. He replied: "It was my intention to do so, but no one would guarantee that I should come back alive."