HITLER OFFERS: NAZISM OR FIGHT

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23324, 9 May 1941, Page 8

HITLER OFFERS: NAZISM OR FIGHT

AMERICA'S CHOICE

[By JOSEPI BOSTON! March 18. Does National Socialist Germany have aggressive intentions against the United States? Would it ultimately force - the issue with America u it succeeded in mastering Europe _ and Africa without American opposition? One who knows Germany to-day could write a score of qualifications around the answer and a book of! explanations, yet when all that had been said the answer would still and inevitably'be, “Yes.” That "yes” does not mean that the Nazis in Berlin ever originally contemplated a war with America, or even want it to-day. After living and reporting events from inside Germany since the beginning of the war I am convinced that their original plans never contemplated actual war with th2 United States, any more than they originally ' contemplated war with Britain. , The fact is that Herr Hitler never particularly wanted a war with anybody. What he wanted was to achieve absolute control over Europe and Africa and organise relations with America and Asia on German terms. He always took the possibility of one great war into his calculations and prepared for it. But there was always a hope that his aims would he achieved by default of opposition. As a matter o'f fact, Herr Hitler almost achieved that goal. The fact that he got into a war with Britain was to him an unfortunate, unwanted, and dangerous slip in his calculations. The fact that he also has an undeclared war with America on his hands today equally means that something else has gone wrong with his calculations. The world is not accepting the . German dream of dominance as it was supposed to. Conditions Bar Compromise

But inherent in those original plans, and inherent in Nazism itself, is an inevitable ultimate choice for America as there was for Britain, That choice is either to accept Germany as the dominant world power and with it German organisation and exploitation of the world for the comfort and profit of tribal Germanisrti, or resist with force. There can be no compromise with it. . Germans.of all types and classes insisted to me a thousand times during the last year in Berlin that Germany had no quarrel with the United States. I believe that they were perfectly sincere. They had no quarrel with us. as they said, provided we would do as they hoped, expected, and intended. They also said to me that if only the United States would stand aside and let Germany win its war for Europe, the European and American continents could get along together to their mutual benefit. But what they did not understand, and the thing which makes all such protestations meaningless, is the inherent, inevitable conflict between both National Socialism and democracy as forms of government and between German .imperialism and the desire of the other nations of the world to live their .own lives and work out their own individual national problems. For when Nazis say that a Germancontrolled Europe and an American continent led by the United States could trade together they mean that they could trade together on German terms. They mean that if the United States would adopt Nazi ideologies and Nazi methods of doing business all would be well. Which is perfectly true. It would. It would function smoothly to German advantage just so long as the American and Asiatic continents were willing to turn over exactly what Germany wanted in return for whatever happened to be the German surplus of the moment, whether cameras or canaries, quite irrespective of whether there was a desire or any need for what Germany offered in trade. For this kind of trade is inherent id the organisation of German indusr try and also in Nazi mentality. Nazi Germany is basically primitive, tribal Germany with a primitive unawareness of any other nation’s interest and a primitive callous disregard for any interests which conflict with its own. Further, Nazi Germany is a nation organised as a machine more than any other modern nation.

• Nazism is therefore being constantly driven by two things farther down the road of conquest and domination. One is the latent, tribal German urge to conquest and the other is the competitive urge of Germany as an industrial machine. It has both an emotional urge and an industrial competitive urge. It is the background of the forest tribe wedded to the modern machine which makes it the most aggressive and ambitious national force of the age. Peaceful Pledges Given The soothing assurances of “no harm intended" which were employed so successfully in weakening resistance in its early stages and which have been repeated endlessly and monotonously to any American who would listen, have a quality of almost pathetic, wistful sincerity. They are not always calculated and consciously dis-

I C. HARSCH] , honest. Many a German, younger Nazis who have notj»»3f quired the cynicism of their jTajpgg sees no reason why this should nSt» so. This very innocence of the Brow tation has disarmed and decsiS many a well-intentioneA Americas it previously deceive* Vjany Poles, Norwegians./yetherlawrS} Frenchmen, and Engiisnmen. ; But the protestations of Geraan “harmlessness” were always a* jS? low -when naively sincere as when*! liberately deceptive. What has'. pened to every conquered cqmAST Europe provides a clear and iheVj&S blueprint of what would Germany could extend its director trol- over the British Empire and Dm! ject its indirect influence throurtL the world. And at least Nazism’s leaders if ao * the rank and file, have discovered hj the process that what they Want aaS what they are fighting for can only h> achieved, and can only survive’ completely Nazified world. It probabw came as a surprise to mahy 'of tha that they could not have even a (V, man-organised Continent of Europe s! long as Britain continued What they had not counted om-wastS fact that resistance anywhere nwtf the sphere of their armies keeps aS! tal and moral resistance aliva Their failure to pacify Comhh4j Europe is in direct ratio jjf]-. tain’s prospects of survival. Prepared for Conflict; And they know to-day that them thing would be true even if [Britain were invaded and occupied sp jong a any resistance to Nazism exists any. where in the world. If Britain went down the German military > victory would still be just as hollow and in. conclusive and the enjoyment of vie. Tory would still be just as unattainable so long as America resisted. Some Nazi leaders have ■ sefen this from the beginning and have plained and laid their preparations for the ultimate clash with the United: State which they foresaw. As evidence note the Bund in the United States, the ef. fort to influence the last election, the ceaseless attempt to buy or intrigue a place in the American-press, propj. ganda and political activity, in latia America. Even when they didn’t admit it to themselves their action! showed a sub-conscious appreciatioM the fact that there could be'no ultimate peace between themselves ahd 1 democratic outside world. In hls speech of December 10 Herr Hitler himself recognised this inevitable conflict be. tween a Nazi and a democratic ami capitalist world. Here are some o( the words he used in contrasting the two: — “We can never be reconciled with this world.” “One of these two worlds must breai asunder.” “These are two worlds, arid I believe one of these worlds must end up.” Pressure for Decision Behind this frank and realistic recognition by the German Fuehrer 0! the nature of the world issue pfepan* tions have been under way for wra time in high party quarters for facing it out with the United States/- Ths strategy of the last year has .been to retard the tempo of American aid to Britain by every device of propaganda and diplomatic manoeuvre possible. The hope still exists in. Berlki. lkl it can conquer England before Anieriv can aid becomes effective. If thifflh be accomplished Russia .would iwt* sumably, as they plan it, capitulate completely, abandon economio;wocnstination, and admit Germany. lute control of its economic. and mineral produdtiotL leave absolute massfSw* Europe, including its entire facUM for ship and aeroplane construep The hope then would bs to still .wS( the United States along until such feo as Germany was fully prepared write it down over economic and polflittl influence in Latin America, The German plan, as alwaySpaw on the theory of keeping its cwoton separated so that they can »» lowed one by: one. This may notwrit,, as they well know. If it doesn’t jhtf have plans for that contingency!**)I have seen a report which was« posed to have come straight rnfflyM Brown House in Munich. l believe it was authentic. But-,*?®# it wasn’t it was at least indicw|® the authentic line of headquarters of the Nazi Party; - It dealt, among other thirigjuMh the possibility that England conquered, but the British gpWfr ment attempting to carry 'inyWsm from Ottawa with the and American aid. It proposeqpgW to employ deliberate and prpgiipd starvation of the population British Isles as the means of ,f®W Ottawa and Washington to abaMmn* sistance. This may sound fjatw* and incredible to Christian-thmpj: people. It would also be a vioutk® of international rules of warfareww™ Germans constantly invoke wheri it “ in their interest. But it is no ©M fantastic than what is already Mjw done in conquered countries. The German desire is to avoid right war with the United long as that is in the German imewß How long it will remain to mg y* l ' man interest depends on strictly up tary considerations.