The Press THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1939. POSTSCRIPT TO MUNICH

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22661, 16 March 1939, Page 10

The Press THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1939. POSTSCRIPT TO MUNICH

For the events which have taken place in Europe in the last 24 hours there is no parallel in history. Without an attempt to defend itself, without so much as a protest from those who were its friends and allies, a State of 30,000,000 inhabitants has disappeared from the map. The territorial settlement reached at Munich, which four Great Powers solemnly pledged themselves to uphold, by force of arms if necessary, has collapsed at a word from Berlin. Events have moved with paralysing swiftness. At the very moment when Mr Chamberlain was indignantly describing a suggestion by the leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons that Great Britain had disinterested herself in the affairs of Czechoslovakia as “ altogether unwarranted,” German troops were advancing into Czech territory, and the Czech Prime Minister was agreeing in despair to “place the fate of the Czech people and land “trustingly in the hands of the Fiihrer.” To assess the consequences of what has happened is at the moment impossible, since the situation is still fluid; but two things can be said with certainty. The first is that Germany now dominates Europe as no nation has dominated it since France at the time of the Napoleonic conquest. The second is that if Herr Hitler’s immediate ambitions are restrained at all, they will be restrained, not by Great Britain and France, but by pressure from the other end of the axis. It is common knowledge that, after Munich, Signor Mussolini and Count Ciano pressed for much greater territorial concessions to Hungary at the expense of Slovakia and Ruthenia than were actually made. At the moment, Hungarian troops are in occupation of the frontier regions of both provinces; and there is the possibility of a tense situation between Germany on the one hand and Hungary and Italy on the other. Poland has not yet declared herself. After Munich, she demanded a common frontier with Hungary; and in view of her large and restive Ukrainian minority she can hardly remain indifferent to the future of Ruthenia. It is perhaps unnecessary at this time to discuss the validity of the British and French guarantees of Czechoslovakia’s integrity, since the French Government has already announced —and could hardly do otherwise—that the situation does not call for French action. But it is relevant, as bearing on future relations between Germany and the rest of the world, to recall that Herr Hitler told Mr Chamberlain at Godesberg and repeated publicly a few days later that “ after “ the Sudeten German question is regulated we “ have no further territorial claims to make “in Europe.” Germany, he said, guaranteed the inviolability of the territory of all her neighbours; and he added: “ This is no mere phrase. “ It is our holy will.” After what has happened, the policy of the British Government, and of every government interested in the maintenance of peace and freedom, must undergo a fundamental change. It is no reproach to Mr Chamberlain to say that finish has been written to his effort to show that friendly relations are possible between Great Britain and Germany.