Bruening Denies Pravda Charges of Being Hitler Heir; Ex-German Chancellor Will Not Return to Deutschland

Charges by Ilya Ehrenberg in the Pravda, official Moscow newspaper, stating that Heinrich Bruening, professor of Government, was "the Fuehrer of the German Catholics" and had put forth "his candidacy as the heir to Hitler" were termed by Professor Bruening Sunday evening in an interview with the SERVICE NEWS as "utter nonsense--every word--from beginning to end."

Insisting that he had no intention of ever going back to Germany for any political reason, Professor Bruening claimed that this was merely another one of Moscow's periodical outbursts against him and warned that much of the same type of propaganda would come out of Europe after the war.

He commented that he had made an agreement when he first came to this country not to make statements of any kind to a member of the press. Professor Bruening added that he intended to stick to this policy now and not say anything except to deny the whole charge.

Centrist Party Leader

Admitting that there was some reason to tie him up with the Catholics, he would not comment further. He was probably alluding to the fact that while in German political life he had been associated with the Catholic Centrist Party.

Professor Bruening concluded with the statement that often in the past such charges had been leveled against him, but that they had never before been carried by the AP. He recalled that a similar accusation had been made against him last year by Click Magazine.

Called by some "the man who could have saved Europe" and by others merely another German dictator, Professor Bruening has been one of the most controversial figures in modern European politics.

German Chancellor

He held his chancellory of Germany from March 30, 1930, to May 29, 1932, under President Hindenburg, during which time he was known for his financial ability and for his willingness to pass measures even when the Raichstag voted against them. His reforms caused much furor and eventually were the cause of his downfall.

The Germany of those crucial years was a cauldron of unrest both political and social, dominated by mob tensions and violence.

The Nationalist Socialist tide rose, and ill-timed tax measures of the ministry were used by the opposition to secure unfavorable mob opinions. Finally, in May, 1932, Hitler grew so strong that Professor Bruening was forced to resign as Chancellor and to devote himself to teaching.