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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation
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for Brussels. Luns, however, was sufficiently
impressed by my report to intervene personally a short time later with his
German colleague, Scheel.
The Dutch press reported on my television
interview, and the Belgian press followed suit. La Libre Belgique
headlined: "Will There Be an Achenbach Affair?" Its three-column story ended:
"Opponents of Achenbach's candidacy find it inconceivable for him to have a
seat on the executive level and play a major role in economic, political, and
social decisions. To accept Achenbach is equivalent to seating Abetz on the
European Committee of the EEC. We definitely share this point of view and hope
the Belgian government will react as it should to his candidacy."
Serge
had left for Brussels on the same morning to meet EEC officials who wanted to
learn more about our report. Arno went with him, for my mother-in-law had no
time to take care of him. Of course that had to be the day he had a terrible
toothache, and Serge had to interrupt his interviews to rub the boy's gums with
honey syrup.
I reached Brussels early in the afternoon and set Serge
free. He sat himself down at a photocopier and began reproducing copies of our
reports. Arno and I went to the Belgian Prime Minister's. Prime Minister
Eykens, after reading our report, told Der Spiegel: "This is an
unfortunate business."
While I was talking with the Prime Minister's
chief of staff, his office staff took care of Arno. I shall never forget the
look on their faces when they said: "If you have to put up with him all day
long, we don't envy you."
That same evening Serge, Arno, and I left for
Bonn.
In addition to my approach to the German government about
Achenbach, I was also supposed to fly to the United States as one of the
journalists who were accompanying Brandt on his first official trans Atlantic
visit. Rüdiger von Wechmar, deputy to government spokesman Conrad Ahlers,
had succeeded in getting me invited. But two days before I was supposed to
leave I got a telegram cancelling [sic] my trip. The right-wing press thought
that it would be extremely discourteous to Kiesinger and cause an inquiry in
the Bundestag if the woman who had slapped Kiesinger were to accompany the new
Chancellor in an official capacity. Another reason, according to the telegram,
was: "The CIA and the U.S. State Department cannot allow Beate Klarsfeld into
the
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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation |
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