GREAT WILL.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 234, 2 October 1940, Page 8

GREAT WILL.

CZECH PEOPLE. Mr. Churchill's Eloquent Tribute. British Official Wireless. RUGBY, Oct. 1. In a message to the Czechoslovak people, broadcast yesterday, the Prime Minister, Mr. Churchill, said: "To-day is the second anniversary #£ the Munich.Agreement, a date which the world will always remember for the' tragic sacrifice made by the Czechoslovak people in the interest of European peace. . .:;• ~

"The. hopes that this agreement stirred in the hearts of civilised mankind have been frustrated.- Within six months', the solemn pledge given by the unscrupulous men : who control the destiny of Germany was broken, and the , agreement destroyed with a ruthlessnee's ■ Which unmasked the true nature of their reckless ambitions to the whole world. ' : ' '• • A Sham and a Cloak. "The protection which .Hitler forced upon you has been a sham and a cloak for' the incorporation of your once flourishing country in the so-called Greater. Reich. Instead of protection he has" brought you nothing but moral and material devastation, and to-day the followers of that great and tolerant humanitarian, President Masaryk, are being . persecuted with a deliberate cruelty which has few parallels in modern history., •

"In this hour of your martyrdom, I send you this message: The battle which we in-Britain-are lighting to-day is not only our battle; it is also your battle, indeed the battle of all nations who prefer liberty to soulless serfdom. It is the struggleyfor civilised nations for the right to live their own lives in the manner of their own choosing. It represents man's instinctive defiance of tyranny.

"Throughout history no European nation has shown a greater will to survive than yours, and again to-day your people have given countless proofs of their courage in adversity. Here in Britain we have welcomed with pride and gratitude your soldiers and airmen who have come, by daring escapes, to take part with ever-increasing success in that battle for freedom which is also the battle of Czechoslovakia. Czechs on Home Front. "No less sincere is our admiration for those Czechs who, on the home front, are risking death and worse than death in order to foster resistance against the cruel and heartless oppressor. ; "It' is. because we are both fighting for the fundamental decencies of human life that we are determined that neither our struggle nor your struggle shall be in vain. It is for this reaeon that we have refused to recognise any of the brutal conquests of Germany in central Europe and elsewhere; that we have welcomed the Czechoslovak provisional Government in this country; and that the restoration of Czechoslovak liberties is one of our principal war aims.

"With firmness and resolution—twe qualities which our nations share in equal measure—these aims will be achieved. Be of good cheer. The hour of your deliverance will come. The soul of freedom Mf deathless. It cannot and will not perish."