The issue of “protecting the rule of law” in Poland reminds the author of “The German Dream of Empire” of “the case of so-called religious dissidents, which was a convenient propaganda pretext for open interference in the affairs of the Republic of Poland”. In turn, “Adolf Hitler carried out black propaganda against Poland, raising the issue of Poland’s alleged persecution of the German national minority. So the persecution of religious dissidents (i.e. minorities), then national minorities, and now discrimination against LGBT communities… The motive is still the same.”
Similarly, the Prussian king Frederick II the Great sowed anti-Russian sentiments in Poland and anti-Polish sentiments in Russia, while offering assistance in the confrontation with the latter nation. The same is happening now since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. We see that the methods of the German elites have not changed for centuries.
It is incredible how similar the process of unification of Europe by Germany was to the process of unification of Germany by Prussia in the 19th century. Dr Magdalena Ziętek-Wielomska points out a surprising number of similarities between the two processes, emphasizing that “Germany in Europe to a large extent actually plays the role that Prussia had in unified Germany.”
The Prussian model of the state
Ziętek-Wielomska notes that the Prussian model of state and economy is the foundation of the construction of the European Union. Prussia imposed a bureaucratic model of economy on conquered German states, just as Germany later began to impose the same model on the entire European Union. This has nothing to do with self-government or Anglo-Saxon liberalism and consists of “comprehensive state interference in social and economic life”: setting prices, interfering in the labor market, defining the directions of trade, customs and tax protectionism, public health service, sanitary control, social welfare, etc. A whole system of prohibitions, orders and limits appeared. In addition, there were subsidies, privileges and tax reliefs for companies. The European Union does exactly the same and it has the same effect: the dependence of business on the state. At the same time, the European Union “contrary to propaganda, is increasingly regressing in economic development”. The Prussians were also not interested in the well-being of their residents, but in increasing fiscal revenues. The purpose of the state was not to increase the wealth of the people, but to strive to increase power.
Prussia brought about the unification of Germany with the help of the Customs Union. Even now, the common EU market is primarily a customs union, within which there are no customs borders and money from external customs duties is collected in a common treasury. Just as roads are built now with co-financing of EU subsidies, in the 19th century Prussia co-financed the construction of roads in other German states as an incentive for them to join the unifying state entity. As Ziętek-Wielomska writes, “the aim of the Union was to create an economic internal market and to unify financial and economic norms and rules between the member states. Basically, the idea was to ensure that trade between members was not subject to fees and other restrictions. Unification consisted in adopting Prussian solutions”, consisting in top-down organization of the economy and society by the state. As a result, other German states became increasingly dependent on Prussia. The European Union does exactly the same: all member states must adopt regulations, which are primarily prompted by interest groups acting in the interests of Germany.
Dr. Magdalena Ziętek-Wielomska predicted the future actions of the EU. In the discussed book, which was published in 2022, she wrote that “there is no doubt that in the coming months and years, German efforts will be entirely focused on deepening European integration, primarily in the field of defense, as well as on striving to abolish the unanimity rule in the European Council.” She added that taking over foreign policy is also an important issue. Already at the end of 2023, four German and one Belgian MEPs proposed changes to the EU treaties, subsequently adopted in a vote by the European Parliament, the aim of which is to deepen European integration. Among the postulates were, among others, the abolition of the unanimity rule in votes in the Council of the European Union in 65 areas, including in the area of foreign policy, security and defense. Moreover, security policy, border protection and civil defense would be transferred from the competences of the member states and become competences shared with Brussels. It is obvious that a European army would be a tool in the hands of Germany as the strongest country in the Union. Then leaving the Union would not be possible, because the European army would be used against a rebelling member state, just as the Soviet Army was used in Czechoslovakia.
German rules of the game
In 1914, Germany planned to unite the countries of the region, which were ostensibly to have equal rights, but in practice were to be under effective German management. The same goal was behind the creation of a vassalized Polish state by Germany in 1916 – as an agricultural and demographic base for the German economy, and at the same time a market for German industry. Germany was to develop industrially, Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, was to be an agricultural area exporting food and cheap labor to Germany and importing industrial goods from Germany. Hitler planned and implemented the same using military methods. And within the European Union, it was ultimately achieved using peaceful methods.
Dr. Ziętek-Wielomska puts forward another thesis in her book, that when the Americans were creating the European Union, “Germany knew very well that ultimately it would be them who would simply take control of these (EU – TC) institutions and manage them in their own interests, just as Prussia managed the Customs Union, which formally also limited their sovereignty”. The author explains that “if, therefore, within the Prussian EU, the well-organized Germany and the poorly organized Poland, which is additionally subjected to the processes of denationalization and mental vassalization of people performing elite functions, have to fight for their interests, then it is known in advance what the result of this “competition” will be”. (…) the Germans did not invest a lot of money in the project of “European integration” to have to compete honestly with others”. That is why the EU policy consists in creating such rules of the game that privilege the Germans.
Germany invents and implements norms and standards within the European Union in order to eliminate competing companies that are unable to adapt to them or at least generate costs that will limit their competitiveness: “those who have the appropriate resources and organizational skills have an influence on the shape of European policy (…) – just like in Prussia and unified Germany. This model assumes the need to organize pressure groups in order to represent specific interests and influence the shape of legislation. Above all, Germany has such organizations, often with a tradition of over 100 years.” In this way, using their own economic and organizational advantage, German companies conquer the European market.
Artificially deprived of “destructive” competition by means of EU plans, strategies and regulations, after taking over the intra-EU market, German companies will be able to compete with non-EU companies and ready for economic conquest of the world. Because Germany’s ultimate goal is to pursue a great power policy. Just as Prussia wanted France to cooperate with other German states only through Prussia, so now Germany is striving for China to cooperate with other EU member states only through them. Where do our politicians see the Polish raison d’état here?
Magdalena Ziętek-Wielomska, The German Dream of Empire, Pro Vita Bona Research Institute Foundation, Warsaw 2022.
Thomas the Confectioner
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