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 Rumsfeld Disowned By German Relatives

By Tony Paterson
(Filed: 09/02/2003)


The American defense chief Donald Rumsfeld has been disowned by his
anti-war relatives in north Germany, reports Tony Paterson


The Rumsfelds of Weyhe-Sudweyhe, an unremarkable red-brick suburb of
Bremen, were once proud of their long-lost cousin, America's secretary of
state for defence - but no longer.

Like many Germans, they are appalled by Donald Rumsfeld's hawkish attitude
to military action against Saddam Hussein. About 18,000 anti-war
demonstrators marched through Munich yesterday to protest at his presence
at an international security conference - chanting slogans such as "No
room for Rumsfeld!"

"We think it is dreadful that Donald Rumsfeld is out there pushing for a
war against Iraq," Karin Cecere (nee Rumsfeld), 59, said from her two-up,
two-down home last week. "We are embarrassed to be related to him," she
told The Telegraph.

Margarete Rumsfeld, her 85-year-old mother, was equally dismissive: "We
don't have much to do with him anymore. Nowadays he's just the American
defence secretary to us, but for God's sake, he'd better not start a war,"
she added.

They used to feel differently. Twenty-five years ago, the German Rumsfelds
were thrilled to welcome Mr Rumsfeld - then the United States ambassador
to Nato stationed in Brussels - into their extended family.

Like many Americans keen to trace their European antecedents, Mr Rumsfeld
had made contact with the Weyhe-Sudweyhe Rumsfelds, a branch of the family
with whom his near relations had lost touch since his
great-great-grandfather, Heinrich, emigrated to America during the 19th
century.

Mr Rumsfeld paid three visits to Dietrich Rumsfeld, a bricklayer, and his
wife Margarete in their small artisan's cottage. On the last occasion,
they greeted him with chicken soup and roast pork for lunch "It was a
really pleasant family gathering, almost like a wedding," said Mrs Cecere
last week. "Mr Rumsfeld seemed a genuinely nice man. It is such a shame
about his war ambitions."

She had grown up, she said, during the Second World War and her instincts
were to search for a solution to the deadlock with Saddam that did not
involve military action. "I was born in the war and saw its aftermath, and
my mother went through it," she said. "There must be a peaceful way of
solving the Iraq problem."

This change of heart over their Rumsfeld cousin reflects the mood in
Germany. More than 60 per cent of Germans oppose a war and the US defence
secretary has become a hate figure for the country's peace movement.

His desire to topple Saddam by force is at odds with the Social
Democrat-led government of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, which is directly
opposed to war in Iraq.

Even before his arrival in Germany yesterday, Mr Rumsfeld had faced fierce
criticism from senior German government officials for describing France
and Germany as "old Europe".

Last week he caused further outrage when he told the House Armed Services
Committee in Washington that Germany, like "Libya and Cuba", had indicated
that it "did not want to help in any way" the international efforts to
tackle Iraq.

The German government attempted to play down the criticism. "Mr Rumsfeld
is like he is. I can say no more," said Joschka Fischer, the foreign
minister. Other senior politicians were more explicit. "Rumsfeld has
flipped out - his behaviour is impossible," said Klaus Kinkel, a Free
Democrat and former foreign minister.

Some Germans have misgivings, however, that their country's hard line
against war with Iraq may backfire - especially if, as widely predicted,
France drops its own objections at the last minute and joins in military
action.

Angela Merkel, the leader of the Christian Democrats, yesterday became the
first opposition figure to call for Germany to become involved. "If it is
impossible to solve the situation peacefully then Germany has to take part
in a military operation," she said, accusing Mr Schröder's government of
"spreading ill-will and confusion" in Nato.

In Munich Mr Rumsfeld sought to dispel the furore over his own comments by
claiming that he had intended the phrase "old Europe" as a term of
affection, like that of "old friends".

He admitted that he was sometimes inclined to be blunt - but blamed it on
his German roots. "My family originates from northern Germany. People
there are well known for their direct and clear manner of speaking."

His explanation did not impress most Germans - least of all his cousins in
Weyhe-Sudweyhe. Mrs Cecere said: "We're all in favour of plain-speaking
but our relation goes just too far."

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