A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 68, 13 December 1939, Page 8

A BACKGROUND OF THE WAR

Challenge To Stalin LEAGUE OF NATIONS APPEAL The proposal of the Assembly of the League of Nations to Russia and 1* inland for an immediate cessation of hostilities and negotiations under the auspices of the assembly, is calculated to provide one of the greatest tests in. recent times of the sincerity of a nation’s spoken policy. In the past M. Stalin has declared for peace. What will he say now?

In his address to the 18th congress of the Communist Party in Moscow in March of this year, M. Stalin said that Russia had joined the League of Nations a few years ago, although she regarded it as weak and unsatisfactory. But she had hoped that it would be possible through the League to “unmask aggressor States” and so use the League as an instrument of peace.

Today the League Assembly is, in effect, asking M. Stalin to prove the sincerity of these words, and to express it in appropriate action which would bring some grain of comfort to the nations of the world in the present crisis, and possibly make a substantial contribution to a solution of the conflict between the Allies and Germany. Task Of Communism

M. Stalin’s address to the Congress of the Communist Party occupied two and a half hours. The following is an extract from it: —

“The tasks of the Communist party in the sphere of foreign policy are to continue the policy of peace and to strengthen the international bonds of friendship with the working people of all countries who are interested in peace and friendship among nations.” The four points in Russia’s foreign policy were described by M. Stalin in these words: —

(1) We want peace and wish to strengthen our trade ties with all countries which display a similar attitude and do not seek to infringe on our interests; (2) We seek peaceful, neighbourly relations with countries on our borders ; (3) We support those peoples who have become the victims of aggressions in their light for independence; (4) We fear no threats of aggressors and are ready to answer with a double counterblow any attempt to violate our frontiers. i M. Stalin also criticized the non‘Communist world outside Russia in vigorous language, referring in hard terms to the Governments of Britain and France and their policy of needlessly giving way to the “Fascist dictators.” “Hitler Speaks”

This morning’s cable message referring to the revelations in the book “Hitler Speaks,” which has been published in London, mentions that the author had previously written, a book entitled “Germany’s Revolution of Destruction.” Copies of the latter work have been in Wellington for some months. It was published early this year, the author being Herr Hermann Rauschning, former Nazi President of tbe Danzig Senate. “Germany’s Revolution of Destruction” is chiefly interesting today because of its forecasts of the RussoGerman. partnership. ' Writing in the late autumn of 1938 Herr Rauschning said: — A German-Russian alliance means simply the confluence of two streams which run toward the same sea, the sea of world revolution. ... It will be no ordinary coalition between two Powers for normal practical P ur ’ poses. Germany and Russia, if they come together, will radically transform tbe world. That alliance is Hitler’s great coming stroke. Herr Rauschning did not believe, however, that Germany would be successfully led by Hitler. “For us Germans,” he said, “the issue is plain and simple. Everyone who is still capable of thinking for himself” (these words were written for German readers) “must know that National Socialism is leading us to self-destruction. The revolutionary character of its foreign policy must inevitably lead to campaigns which .will exhaust tbe nation.” Germany’s Veterans

A recent article in the Nazi “National Zeitung” (Goering’s newspaper) under the title “Thanks to the Old Hands,” explains why so many German veterans of the Great War were in the front line during the Polish campaign. It argues that, in spite of the unique training of the German soldier of today, the veteran alone had the essential experience. He alone knew “what taking cover means and how caution and foresight are often more important in the field than headlong assault.” The soldiers of the new Reichswehr were therefore able to learn the tricks of the trendies from the veterans, who in turn learnt from their juniors the latest refinements of modern training. Hence the “astonishingly small losses” in the Polish campaignThe article was intended to silence the voices raised in protest against the sending into battle of those who had already survived one war. Britain’s Timber Supplies

Concern at the prospect of a substantial slump in Britain's imports from Russia because of the difficulties of safe convoy recently occasioned a correspondent in an English newspaper to suggest tlit 1 intensification of reafforestation. “Ordinarily.” he wrote, "we import from 130,000,000 to £50,000,000 worth of timber annually from Russia, ami with Hie difficulties of safe convoy it has already been necessary to draw up plans for foiling our own woodlands on an unprecedented scale.” A few days later the German wireless broadcast’ a statement on Britain’s grave shortage of timber supplies. apparently basing its remarks on this very letter Later again the retort courteous was supplied by the editor of the English jieriodiciil “Timber and Plywood,” who pointed out that Britain took from Russia approximately 10 per cent, of her total imports of raw timber. “Instead of the £30,000,000 to £50,000,000 mentioned,” he wrote, "I cite Ute following figures from the Board of Trade returns: Year ending December 31, 1936, total import £43,516,879, from Russia, £5.874,379; year ending December 31. 1937, total import £61,772,285. from Russia £6,9.81.631: year ending December 31. 193.8. total import £42.900.021, from Russia £ 1.12.8,7-18; eight mouths ending August 31, 1939, total import £27,(’>90,265, from Russia £113,350.”