DEMOCRACY v. FASCISM

Grey River Argus, 18 March 1942, Page 7

DEMOCRACY v. FASCISM

There can be no revolution where Fascism wins. The age of old style national war 1 is over. Hitler wages his war not as a national war but as a Fascist civil war for world hegemony, seeking allies within the nations he attacks. Mobilisation of the democratic forces, libertarian, anti-Fascist forces within the Fascist countries, the political disintegration of the Fascist nations —these must be the counter blows of embattled democracy.... The slogan of a war against German people is a dangerous one, for instead of disintegrating the enemy it gives him an opportunity for national consolidation. Hitler eagerly seizes upon the slogan of a war against the German people in order to pose as the champion of the German national cause. This opportunity must be struck out of his hands . . . There can be no doubt that the Third Reich would have collapsed, if placed in a situation similar to that of Britain. Even a strong Fascism cannot muster the tenacity, resolution, and mass heroism of a strong democracy. Yet what democracy has at stake is not mere passive suffering, but victory. The final criterion of strength is the ability to take the offensive, rather than the power to resist. —From “Battle for the World,” by Max Werner.