Design Notes: Line
A line is a mark or stroke that is long in proportion
to its width. Lines are the fundamental marks used in drawing. There
are three uses for line in art:
used to define edges
Divide space
used to separate areas in an image
Decoration
used to adorn or embellish
In this lesson you will:
Learn the different uses for line in art
Discover what line quality is and how it is used.
Learn about left and right brain thinking and how
they relate to drawing.
Make a contour drawing of a plant form and a decorated
frame that complements it.
The Swiss artist Paul Klee defined line as a dot out for a
Line is a surprisingly difficult concept to define. My dictionary gives
86 definitions for line. The simplest explanation is that it is a long
thin shape that ceases to act like a shape and acts like a . . . . . line.
Lines are basic to all of the visual arts. Drawing is more or less based
on using lines. Lines have many uses in pure design as well.
The odd thing about lines is that they do not occur in nature. There
are cracks and edges, long thin strands etc. But those things either have
mass (are objects) or are edges of objects.
Line in art is an artificial device that we have learned to interpret
as representing something. You have learned to read drawings with lines
since childhood. The usual meaning of a line is that it represents an
A contour is a line that defines or bounds anything -- defines
its edge. Most lines in art are contour lines. An object does not have
a line around its edge, nor anything that looks like a line. Yet when
you see a line drawing you have no trouble interpreting the image as representing
something in the real world.
There are more contours on any complex object than the outside edge.
There are many more subtle contours that can be seen and drawn. Things
like folds and color changes can be represented by contour lines -- anything
that has an edge.
DIVIDE SPACE
Line can be used to define the edge of space as well as the edge
of an object. The line above divides the information about contour lines
from this section about dividing space. The line that forms the rectangle
to the right separates that shape from the rest of the page. The line
through its center divides the rectangle in two.
If you read the rectangle as a shape then its outline is a contour line.
If you read the line as defining a format then it divides the space of
the page from the space in the format.
These kinds of lines have many used in design. It is even possible to
use a long thin negative shape as a line to divide space. This takes place
between two columns or rows of type in a book or newspaper.
DECORATION
There are many ways line can be used to decorate. Linear shapes
and/or patterns decorate many objects. Look at fabrics and wrapping papers
for examples. Even natural surfaces like wood grain or hair sometimes
look like linear decoration.
Detail of an etching showing hatching and cross-hatching.
One common use of line in drawing is to shade using hatching
and/or cross-hatching. Hatch lines are multiple lines that all
go more or less in one direction and represent value in an area. The closer
together the lines are the darker the shading.
Cross-hatching uses lines that cross on two or more directions.
These types of shading are used in ink drawings and some kinds of printing
techniques.
Lines can even represent something that is not there. The lines streaking
behind the drawing of a speeding car for instance.
Another kind of invisible line is an implied line. When one admires
the lines of the latest sport car the reference is not to stripes painted
on the car. The reference is to the flow of the contours of the car, its
sense of design. There are lines there as edges in the car but the description
is more about the car's ambiance -- its lines are sleek, classic, etc.
LINE QUALITY
Lines are tools for communication. When an artist uses lines
to define the edges of an object or to describe its surface they are like
someone telling a story. A good storyteller knows that it is not just
the story, but the telling of it, that makes for success. The qualities
of the lines in a drawing are like the timing, vocal inflections and emphasis
that a storyteller uses.
Line quality also adds interest by increasing the variety in an image.
Line quality describes the appearance of a line -- its look not its direction.
Different line qualities like thick, thin, light, dark, solid, broken,
colored etc. all will change how the line is interpreted in a drawing.
It is not enough to accurately delineate the edges of the objects in
a drawing. You must help the viewer make sense of the information by telling
what is most important, what is less important and what kind of changes
are taking place as the eye moves over the surface of the objects drawn.
Notice how the uniform lines of the humming bird on the left keep it from
looking as dynamic or as dimensional as the drawing on the right with its
varied line qualities.
There are several drawing classes taught at Palomar College.
The most important thing to learn in a drawing class is how to &see.&
Drawing is the technique used to start almost all art projects. It can
also be used to produce finished images. It is not the intent of this
course to teach drawing but rather to introduce the student to some of
the fundamental concepts of drawing.
An excellent source for information about drawing is Betty Edwards'
book &Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.& Her book
is based on theories related to right and left brain functions. She explains
these concepts and uses them to teach the student how to &see&
as an artist sees.
LEFT BRAIN/RIGHT BRAIN
The brain is physically divided down the center into two halves.
Some of the different functions of the two halves have been known for
a long time. The right half (hemisphere) of the brain receives sensory
information from and directs the actions of the left half of the body.
The left half does the opposite.
The left brain has long been thought as the intelligent half of the brain.
Someone injured there or having a stroke in that hemisphere might loose
his or her ability to speak for instance.
In the 1960s there was research done on individuals who had the connecting
nerves between the two brain halves (the corpus callosum) severed surgically.
This allowed a more sophisticated understanding of left and right brain
functions.
Betty Edwards bases her teaching theories on the results of that research.
The left half of the brain is where most of what we consider intelligence
takes place. It specializes in verbal, analytic, rational, digital (numbers)
and logic skills. The three Rs are learned there: reading, (w)ritting
and (a)rithmatic. It is where you keep track of time, follow a
sequence of ideas and understand abstractions (using a small bit of information
to represent a whole thing).
Most of your schooling has been directed toward increasing left brain
skills. That part of the brain is in charge in most people and is reluctant
to give up control.
The mind copes with the overwhelming amount of data it receives by using
a sort of filing system. Once enough information is gathered about any
item to identify it (what file it belongs in) the mind moves on to the
next item. This simplification fills the mind's memory banks with simplified
versions of everything that it is familiar with.
The problem this presents to drawing is that the mind has a simple diagram
remembered for most common objects. When you go to draw one of them the
left half of the brain automatically draws the diagram. This makes it
very difficult to &see& what the object really looks like.
The left brain also objects to the amount of time it takes to see and
draw well.
The right half of the brain is in many ways the opposite of the
left. Among other skills it is nontemporal -- without a sense of time.
It also &sees& what things really look like in three-dimensions
(concrete and spatial skills). It is able to understand the big picture
-- to see the whole thing at once.
These right brain skills are ideally suited for drawing. The trick is
to get the left brain to let the right brain do its thing. Doctor Edwards'
book is full of these tricks.
CONTOUR DRAWING
Some of the most useful tricks are based on contour drawing.
Blind contour drawing is when you imagine that you are a machine that
records exactly what your eyes see. You do this without looking at your
drawing (blind) to keep the nosy left brain from criticizing your work.
You record with your pen(cil) exactly what your eyes see as they slowly
trace the edges of your subject.
You must draw very slowly to further frustrate your impatient left brain
into submission.
You will do an exercise using blind contour drawing in class.
Modified contour drawing is one step removed from blind contour
drawing. Here you only draw when you are looking at the subject but may
look at your drawing occasionally. When you look at your drawing, to see
that you are in the right place and to check your progress, you must not
This makes sense because when you draw while looking at your drawing
you are either drawing from memory or making up what you draw. The information
you need to record in order to draw realistically is only available when
you look carefully at your subject.
You will use this style of drawing for the project for this lesson.
PLANT DRAWING WITH A BORDER
Make a life-sized line drawing of a part of a plant that is about
the size of your hand. Use at least three different line qualities in the
drawing. A pencil or pen may be used for the drawing.
Reformat the drawing to make the most attractive composition paying particular
attention to the negative space around the plant drawing.
Draw a frame around the format that is decorated with at least three
different line qualities. Balance the visual interest between the plant
drawing and the frame. Position the framed plant drawing appropriately
on the page.
Use only lines for this project. No solid shapes or shading
of any kind (including hatching and/or cross-hatching) may be used.
PROCEDURE - DRAWING
Find part of a plant that is interesting looking but
not too complicated (avoid ferns) and sturdy enough to survive until you
are through with the drawing. Turn it around and look at it from all angles.
Determine from what point of view the plant looks the best. There is no
point in trying to make a beautiful drawing of an ugly plant (it is possible
to do so but not without a lot of experience).
Position the plant near your drawing paper against a simple background
(a sheet of white paper) and with good light on it and the drawing paper.
Make sure you are comfortable (this is supposed to be enjoyable).
Imagine the plant is already drawn on the page. Try to see its size and
position on the paper. Start your drawing in a place that will let you
reproduce your vision of the plant.
Notice what are the most important edges of the plant. These should be
the most visible lines in the drawing. Less important edges should be
represented with lighter lines. Use lines that describe the surfaces you
are seeing -- smooth or rough. Allow the lines to change weight along
their length to keep them from looking mechanical (you are drawing a living
Do not hesitate to use an eraser. Think of it as an editing tool not
a removal tool. Stop drawing occasionally and stand back to look at your
drawing. Try to do so with an objective eye.
As you draw be careful to not make anything up. Record exactly
what your eye sees -- nothing more and nothing less. If something is not
important enough top draw carefully, leave it out.
Go back and darken some of the important lines that do not show well.
Lighten others until the image reads like the plant looks (or as close
as you can come). Remember to use a variety of line qualities.
FORMATTING
Determine what is the optimum composition for drawing. Framing
&L&s are useful for seeing how much negative space to leave
around the drawing. They can be moved around to make different sized and
proportioned rectangles to evaluate as a format.
If there is too much space the subject can look isolated and unimportant.
Too little space can make the viewer feel claustrophobic. Strike a balance
that best displays the drawing and balances the composition.
If more space is needed consider cutting out the plant drawing and moving
it to a better position on another sheet. If the drawing is too large
it may be necessary to crop part of the image (it may be desirable to
do that in any event for a better composition).
On another page draw some ideas for frames to put around the
plant drawing. Draw sections of one edge or corners as a sample. Cut out
the samples and put them against the drawing to see what works best. This
is similar to the way a picture frame is chosen for a painting.
The frame should complement the drawing and can borrow some visual characteristics
from it -- shapes, line quality, etc.
Lay the frame out carefully with a ruler using very light pencil guidelines.
Carefully draw the frame around the plant. It is also possible to draw
the frame in the desired position on the page and glue the cutout plant
drawing into the frame. Do whatever is necessary to make an attractive
presentation. Clean up the drawing with an eraser.
Label this project LINES.
It will be worth 20 points.
& 2002 James T. Saw
Do not copy or reuse these materials without permission.There is a line or not a line between acidity +sulfur pollution. if not, why? 急需！！！_百度知道
There is a line or not a line between acidity +sulfur pollution. if not, why? 急需！！！
有问题可以问我。This is about Acid rain deLesson ojbect is find out how acid rain is caused and the effect it has
在酸雨形成和硫化物污染之间有没有关联呢，如果有，那是为什么呢？
其他类似问题
其他1条回答
有一个行或不行酸度+硫污染。如果不是，为什么？
等待您来回答
下载知道APP
随时随地咨询
出门在外也不愁Why is the Oder-Nei&e Line a Peace Border? (1950)
Background: This is a translation of from an East German summary
of arguments for agitators. It is an attempt to explain the loss of German
territory to Poland after World War II. This was a publication of the
Abteilung Massenorganisation of the SED (the East German Communist Party).
It was subtitled &Arguments for daily discussion,& and according
to a note from the editorial staff, it was to help &convince the
masses of the rightness of our policies, our methods and our aims.&
The source: Frage und Antwort, Nr. 6 (1950)
Why is the Oder-Nei&e
Line a Peace Border?
Question: What led to the loss of the districts in the
Answer: The cause is the second war of conquest unleashed by German
imperialism. As in the First World War of , German imperialists
attempted in the Second World War to conquer and subordinate other countries.
In both cases land once belonging to Germany was lost. In 1918 Germany
lost Schleswig, Eupen, Upper Silesia, and so on. In 1945, it lost the areas
east of the Oder-Nei&e Line. Those parts of Germany that have been
lost in the last fifty years were lost only because of war.
The fault rests with those who wanted war and prepared for
it: German imperialists.
Question: Wasn&t the Second World War an attempt to regain
the regions lost to Germany as a result of the Treaty of Versailles?
Answer: No. This war of conquest was an effort of German
imperialists to reverse the defeat and its consequences of World
As the Potsdam Conference demonstrated, the conquest of Poland
and other areas in Eastern and Southeastern of Europe and the
extermination of these peoples was the primary goal of German
Fascist politics in its insatiable drive for world domination.
These destroyers of Germany who have gained the upper hand
in the West are eager to play the role of lackeys of Anglo-American
imperialists in the hopes of catching a few crumbs that fall
from the table of their masters.
Question: They did not tell that to the people?
Answer: That naturally could not be told to the people
then or now. They always find new lies with which to deceive
the people. One such lie was Nazi propaganda?s claim that Germans
living in Poland were being &freed.& Another lie is
the propaganda by Anglo-American warmongers for a revision in
the Oder-Nei&e Line.
Question: When and where was the Oder-Nei&e Line
determined?
Answer: The Oder-Nei&e Line was determined at
the Yalta Conference in February 1944 and the Potsdam conference
in August 1945.
Question: Who signed the treaties?
Answer: President Roosevelt signed the Yalta Agreement for the
government of the United States, Prime Minister Churchill for England,
the Chairman of the Ministerial Council Stalin for the USSR. Truman signed
the Potsdam Agreement for the USA, Attlee for England, Stalin for the
Soviet Union. The French government added its official approval later.
Question: Why was the Oder-Nei&e Line fixed as the
German-Polish border?
Answer: According to the Yalta and Potsdam Declarations,
the Oder-Nei&e Line was drawn to make a new German attack
impossible and to give the Polish people a secure western border.
Question: Did the Polish people have reason to be concerned
about their security?
Answer: As the history of the last one hundred years
teaches, yes. Prussia and later Imperial Germany were hardly
peaceful neighbors, but rather ones intent on conquest. The Polish
people were not the only ones constantly threatened by Imperialist
Germany. The Russian people were as well. The broad fruitful
plains of the Ukraine and the rich mineral resources of the Urals
were long coveted by the German cannon kings and Junkers. The
path to these areas always went through Poland. The policy of
Prussia and Imperial Germany therefore always aimed the division,
denationalization and exclusion of Poland. That was true before
Bismarck, during his era, during the Weimar Republic, and above
all under Hitler.
Although the fascist war of conquest was broken by the heroic
resistance of the Soviet people, today?s Anglo-American warmongers
and their obedient &German& politicians once again
want to &move East.&
Question: Did the Allies agree with Poland?s need for security?
Answer: Naturally. That is why they, too, were in favor of the
Oder-Nei&e line during the war.
The English Undersecretary of State Cadogan, today a member of the UN
Security Council, wrote on 2 November 1944 to the former minister of the
Polish government Romer:
The British government is of the opinion that Poland must
have the right to extend its territory to the Oder Line, including
the Stettin harbor.
Then President Roosevelt wrote to Minister President Mikolajczyk
of the Polish government in exile:
With regard to the future Polish border, the American government
would have no objection if by agreement of the Polish, Soviet
and British governments Poland gained land at the expense of
Churchill told the English House of Commons on 15 December
The Poles have the right to extend their borders to the west
at the expense of Germany... The Germans in the region must be
removed to areas to the West and North. As far as we can see,
expulsion is the most satisfying and permanent solution.
Question: Why were the Germans expelled?
Answer: The German population was expelled from the former eastern territories
because they to a great degree had joined Hitler?s war of conquest. The
existence of German minorities in foreign states was always the occasion
of National Socialist propaganda aimed at &freeing the brothers to
the east.& To end this once and for all, a radical, hard but consistent
policy of removing all Germans from the eastern territories was carried
Question: Was not the incitement of the Germans in Poland
the result of the Nazis? Had not the Germans and Poles lived
peacefully together before that?
Answer: One cannot speak of friendly relations between
Germans and Poles either earlier or at the end of the war. After
the &victory& over Poland, the majority of Polish families
was moved to the Generalgouvernement and replaced by Germans.
As the war went on, millions of Poles were brought to Germany
as forced laborers and were treated as people of second class.
They either could not ride the streetcar, or were restricted
to certain cars. Signs at the entrances to most shops, theaters
and restaurants forbade them to enter. Several million Poles
were killed in the notorious concentration camps at Maidanek,
Auschwitz, etc.
To keep all that from happening again, the Polish people demanded
the Oder-Nei&e Line and the expulsion of all Germans.
Question: But is not the expulsion hard for the German
Answer: The expulsion of millions of people is certainly hard
for us Germans. However, one cannot make the German anti-Fascists who
fought against Fascist barbarism responsible for it. It is the fault of
the war criminals.
The Tagesspiegel granted this fact when it wrote
on 25 November 1945 that the expulsion of the refugees was consequence
of Hitler, &since one cannot break all the laws of humanity
twice within twenty years and go unpunished.&
Question: But the Potsdam Conference agreed that the final
decision should be made at a peace conference. Since there is
still no peace treaty, is not the border as yet not fixed?
Answer: No, it is final, for Paragraph 13 of the Potsdam
Agreement says:
The three governments. . . recognize that the German populations remaining
. . . in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary must be removed to Germany.
Even the most eager troublemaker cannot deny that the expulsions
were assisted by the four occupying powers.
Question: So what will the peace treaty have to say about the Oder-Nei&e
Answer: The peace treaty will give legal status to
what has been in practice the result of the Potsdam Agreement.
Such a serious policy as the expulsion of millions of people
could only be decided and implemented when one assumes that these
areas would belong to Poland permanently.
Question: But are not there now English and American statesmen
who no longer favor the Oder-Nei&e Line?
Answer: They no longer favor many things that they
agreed to at Potsdam (e.g., the creation of a unified Germany,
the withdrawal of the occupying powers, the establishment of
a united government, the signing of a peace treaty, etc.).
Question: Why have they changed positions?
Answer: Because their thinking has proven false. The imperialists
in Washington and London wanted a Poland that was controlled
by big landowners, industrialists, and generals. They assumed
that such a Poland would be in constant conflict with both the
Soviet Union and a democratic Germany and would assist the Anglo-Americans
with their Eastern policies.
Question: That means that things have changed in Poland?
Answer: Yes. As in other countries in East and Southeastern
Europe, a powerful transformation has occurred. The landlords
and industrialists are no longer in charge, but rather the workers
and farmers. This people?s democracy has become a nation with
friendly relations to its neighbors, in particular the Soviet
Union, to which it owes its liberation and resurrection.
Question: Why do the English and American imperialists favor a &revision&
of the Oder-Nei&e Line?
Answer: The Anglo-American warmongers are not really interested
in a revision of the eastern border, nor in the German or Polish peoples.
If instead of the socialist Bierut the reactionary Micolajczyk was at
the head of the Polish government, the warmongers would not care if the
German eastern border was the Spree.
Question: What do they really want, then?
Answer: They want confusion and hatred between both
peoples. Their aim is to drive Germany, the trouble spot of Europe,
to war against Poland and the Soviet Union.
Question: Which interests determine the policies of the
Anglo-American imperialists?
Answer: Our fate is of no interest to the armaments industries
and generals in London and Washington. They want war to increase their
profits. The German youth are to be the cannon fodder, as Mr. Cannon,
the chairman of the Finance Committee of the American House of Representatives
We must arm the soldiers of other nations. Let them send their
youth to death so that we do not need to send ours.
Question: Are not some German politicians also of this
Answer: Yes, there are some. But just who are these
&German& politicians? They are monopoly capitalists
whose property was seized in the German Democratic Republic,
along with their cronies in West Germany. They are the Junkers
who lost their land and moved to West Germany. They believe that
they can regain their estates through a new war. They are the
war criminals and militarists who dream of new deeds of &heroism&
and the lackeys of the Anglo-Americans, like Adenauer, Bl&cher,
Kaiser, Schumacher, etc. The broad masses of the German population
do not want a new war, but rather want to live in peace with other
nations and in peace gain clothing, housing, and food.
Question: Can we Germans grow enough food without the eastern territories?
Answer: Yes, we can. History shows that a nation?s
ability to feed itself is less a question of its size than of
the political conditions and advances in technology.
There were 6 million unemployed in Germany in 1932 who lived in misery.
There are already 2 million unemployed in West Germany today, where the
old destroyers of Germany are back in power. The German Democratic Republic,
on the other hand, has a labor shortage. The United States has around
5 million unemployed, the Soviet Union has long has a shortage of workers.
As a result of the changes which since 1945 have affected every aspect
of life in the German Democratic Republic, the provision of the population
with food and manufactured goods of every sort has improved.
Question: How can we produce even more?
Answer: On the one hand by the manufacture of high
quality industrial goods, which will allow us to import more
food and raw materials. On the other hand, we must improve our
methods in farming by using the most modern scientific methods.
We aim to do this in the Two Year Plan and in the Economic Plan
1950 by improving the quality of peacetime harvests.
Peaceful work and friendship with all nations is the way to
improve a people, not war and the conquest of foreign lands.
Question: Would we not have sufficient food if we had not lost the
eastern territories?
Answer: Naturally not. Let us stick to the facts here.
About 65 million people live in Germany today, west of the Oder-Nei&e
Line. The actual loss of food production in comparison with the
present population of Germany is about 10 to 12%. If we still
had this at our disposal, we could increase rations by 10 to
12%. That would mean, for example, an increase of the bread ration
from 400 to 440 grams a day, 11 grams of fat a day instead of
10, 28 grams of meat instead of 25.
Question: But aren&t the Poles incapable of settling the
areas and farming them?
Answer: This argument is also false, and demonstrates
German feelings of superiority. In the areas Germans have left,
several million Poles have already settled.
It is true that in 1945/46 and 1947 some areas were still unsettled,
but that was also true in Germany. The reason was the war, not the incapacity
of the Poles. They had to clear about 83,241 square miles of mines. A
total of 5,890,000 mines were cleared. And homes were destroyed and there
were shortages of livestock, machines and equipment, not to mention floods,
etc. Despite these difficulties, the Poles have done remarkable things
in the past five years. Otherwise it would not have been possible to steadily
increase trade between the German Democratic Republic and Poland. We are
importing growing amounts of food and raw materials, e.g. black coal.
Question: There is probably no possibility of the refugees
returning to their old homes?
Answer: Those who listened to the warmongers have made
this impossible. The Polish people have not forgotten the role
of the Germans before and during the Second World War. The destruction
of Poland was prepared by the nationalistic incitement of the
German-speaking population and by their organization in the fascist
people?s German movement. The Henlein movement had a similar
role in Czechoslovakia.
Question: Didn&t the people?s German movement take an interest
only in the cultural needs of the German minority?
Answer: That was only the cover beneath which hatred
against the Polish people was promoted before and during the
war. Many members of the movement were agents, saboteurs and
traitors for the German Fascists. It is therefore understandable
why Poland and other lands in the East no longer want Germans
in their countries.
Question: What will become of the refugees?
Answer: The refugees are just as German as the rest
of us and must have the same rights and duties. This principle
is firmly established in the German Democratic Republic. Jobs
in the state and administrative apparatuses are as open to them
as anyone else. Their sons and daughters have the same opportunity
to study and colleges and universities, thanks to educational
reform. These and other measures in the German Democratic Republic
prevent the refugees from becoming an army of rootless homeless
Question: Those are obvious steps. Is it any different
in West Germany?
Answer: It is not that obvious. These measures were
possible in the German Democratic Republic only because of our
process of thorough democratization. In the West zones everything
is different. There the refugees are seen as a burden and their
incorporation into society is hindered. There is a danger that
a large part of the refugees will fall prey to a second kind
of political adventurism and be used for purposes that are not
their own. The refugees in the West German states will receive
real help only when the same economic and political changes that
have happened in the German Democratic Republic happen there.
Question: What will happen if we Germans believe Anglo-American propaganda
about the Oder-Nei&e Line?
1. Germans will be diverted from opposition to the deceitful
seizure of territories in the West and the theft of the Ruhr.
2. The refugees who let themselves be incited against the
Poles will not fight for better living conditions in the West.
3. Germany will become the toy of imperialist powers and be
driven into a new war. The past and present show what such a
war would mean for Germany. A third world war would be the end
of Germany.
Question: The Oder-Nei&e Line has brought only controversy.
How can one call it a border of peace?
Answer: The controversy comes from those with no conscious
and who have no interest in peace. As a result, Poland has made
the question of recognition or nonrecognition of the Oder-Nei&e
line a question of war or peace. Only a recognition and acceptance
of the Yalta and Potsdam agreements will allow friendly relations
between the two peoples. Therefore we say with justice that the
Oder-Nei&e Line is a border of peace.
Question: That?s what the SED says, anyway?
Answer: No, that is not true. It is the view of all
peace-loving, truly patriotic thinking and acting Germans. The
anti-Fascist Democratic Block agreed on 19 August 1949 to oppose:
All elements that attempt to use the new border between Poland
and Germany to incite the people and begin a new war.
The government declaration by Minister President Comrade Grotewohl
The Oder-Nei&e Line is a border of peace for us that
enables friendly relations with the Polish people. It is criminal
even to think of plunging the exhausted German people into yet
another catastrophic war.
Foreign Minister Georg Deringer spoke to the party congress
of the CDU in Leipzig for the recognition of the Oder-Nei&e
peace border. The delegates accepted this proposal unanimously.
Question: Who gives the German government the right to
accept such decisions?
Answer: It comes from the responsibility the government
of the German Democratic Republic has to the German people. Germany
needs peace to overcome the Fascist war of conquest and to build
new homes, new factories, new farms to produce the goods we need.
We also need genuine friendship with other peoples, a friendship
that will help us along a new path. We have such friendship with
the Soviet Union, with Poland, and the other people?s democracies.
The government of the German Democratic Republic has the right
because it wants to secure peace and friendship.
Question: You accept the loss of the eastern territories. Why all
the noise about the Ruhr?
Answer: Just as we say a clear yes to the Oder-Nei&e
Line, we resolutely oppose any change in Germany?s western border.
Question: Why?
Answer: The borders were drawn (as Churchill rightly
said in 1944) to maintain peace. The Oder-Nei&e line is
therefore a border of peace.
The separation of the Saar and the theft of the Ruhr, on the
other hand, would strengthen the military capacity of the Anglo-American
imperialists in the heart of Europe.
One border is a border of peace, the other makes easier the
preparation of a new war.
Question: But isn&t separation still separation?
Answer: No. The border in the East was established
by the Potsdam Conference. No international agreement proposed
a change in Germany?s western border. We support the implementation
of all points of the Potsdam decisions.
But that is only one side. The other side is that there are
losses which are bearable and losses that are deadly for a people.
The losses in the East, despite all the accompanying difficulties,
are bearable for our people. The losses in the West would be
fatal. That too is shown by history. The German imperialists
were able to build an enormous military machine, despite the
loss of Silesia after the First World War. That would never have
been possible without the Ruhr
Question: What does the battle for the national existence
of our people have to do with the Polish people?
Answer: A great deal. The Polish people along with all other peoples
of East and Southeast Europe and peace-loving people everywhere, as anyone
can see, support our struggle for national self reliance and independence.
The Polish government has repeatedly stated its support for the rapid
conclusion of a peace treaty with Germany and the withdrawal of foreign
troops. It recognized the German Democratic Republic immediately and exchanged
ambassadors. The Polish people — despite all the troubles it has
had from the German people — is ready for friendly relations.
Question: What do we have to gain from friendly relations
with Poland?
Answer: Friendly relations with Poland are good for
both peoples.
1. At the economic level, it brings with it unhindered trade.
Poland is already our second leading trade partner. We import
many raw materials and foodstuffs from there. A border between
a Poland that is building socialism and a democratic Germany
is not an economic disadvantage for either country.
2. The deepening of cultural relations increases understanding
of the nature of both peoples and builds mutual respect.
3. Politically, it strengthens the forces of peace and is
a decisive blow against the Anglo-American warmongers and their
German lackeys.
To the degree that we make our people free of Revanchist sentiments
and prepare the way for democracy and peace, we will earn the
friendship of the Polish people and contribute to the strengthening
of peace in Europe.&
[Page copyright (C) 1998 by Randall Bytwerk. No unauthorized reproduction. My e-mail address is available on the .]
GDR Propaganda
the German Propaganda Home Page.