"IF CZECHOSLOVAKIA GOES—"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23157, 1 October 1938, Page 3 (Supplement)

"IF CZECHOSLOVAKIA GOES—"

the oil-fields and wheat-fields of Rumania, which would give her at long last, everything that an army, bent on European domination, needs. She would be invincible." Mr. Heed's experiences have convinced him that all implied by the term tho "iron heel" is as active today in Germany as ever it was. "1 went to Germany without knowledge but with prejudices born of the sinking of the Lusitania, the shooting of Nurse Cavell, the shooting of Belgian civilians at LouVain, the bombardment of Paris, the bombing of London. Seven years later, though an enormous admiration for Germany had taken shape in me, these prejudices had become convictions founded on knowledge. Ruthless Men "There is in Germany a class of ruthless men —and this class has now again mastered the State —that acknowledges only the law of Germany's right to prevail by force of arms. These very men have harnessed tho nation to a mighty fighting machine. You will find the type, drawn to the life, a hundred times in non-Jewish German literature —in Heinrich Mann's 'Dor Untertan,' in Remarque's 'All Quiet,' in Peter Martin Lampel's 'Outlaws,' in Wolfgang Langholf's 'Rubber Truncheon,' and many mom" Speaking of the Stresemann "policy of understanding," the purpose of which was to got Allied troops out of the Rhineland, he says: "Austen Cham-

berlain was Stresemann's opposite number in London, Briand in Paris. He had lunched with Bismark, and, still more important, he had sat among Treitschke's students in Berlin University and had heard him impart hatred of England and the thirst of conquest. Fifty years later the son of a British diplomat I know, heard just the same lesson being taught at German universities. " 'I fear my generation of Germans' Chamberlain wrote from Berlin in 1887. . . . His father, Joseph Chamberlain, in spite of his son's reports from Berlin, strove for years for an AngloGerman agreement in preference to an Anglo-French-Russian group designed to contain Germany, and only abandoned hope of it when, a private understanding having been reached between himself and von Bulow, the German Chancellor let him down in a public speech. Another Chamberlain, Neville, is' trying precisely the same thing today. He has no personal knowledge of Germany. But the memory of his father's experiences in dealing with German leaders and of his brother's experiences in Germany itself, should still be deeply imprinted in his mind." Daily Propaganda Austen Chamberlaui "spoke to tho author in Vienna of his anxiety as to the trend of policy of ihe present German Government, and the effect of its daily propaganda on the people. "His feeling," says Mr. Reed, "was that of all of us who know Germany, a conviction that others must defend them-

CCr YE came to Vienna. To de11—1 scribe that; scene would bo. . A J. tiuio wasted. It speaks for Stself. It belongs to the great ttomebts of history. Whether Hitler outdoes Napoleon and succeeds not only in conquering Europe, but in keeping what he conquers, or whether he fails and ends his days in ignominy, be experienced a triumph that day the like of which history tan rarely show.-.'v. •It 'went to his head, It intoxicated him. f Endless Buffering for Europe was born on this day. ' V/. A "Though his conquest of Austria had been relatively bloodless, • Hitler then tasted blood. His demeanour as he strode on the balcony of the old: Imperial Palace with the delirious multitudes shrieking below hiro, his voice as ho spoke to them—which was that of a man possessed with Some ungovernable Berserk rage—all betokened the man who was coming think himself a God, all-powerful, invincible, all-avenging. It was a fear- / ful scone." ' Against England '.ljfSo writes Mr. Douglas Heed in in- - J Canity Fair." For seven years Mr. ®fied was a British press correspondent Germany, a"d he actually wrote the | Wok in Vienna in 1937,; and at the winning of this year. Long since contycwl that Germany's deliberate purJ*" 8 * in conquest and revenge, partieu- ■ 4 rly against England, he writes with foresight of what is hapVNiing in Europe to-day. **'' l wroto earlier in this book, ' he "that Austria meant, ultimately, Joiu. Contemplate the European • line-Up •Mkiy- ' . ......

I now that Austria has gone, and you will be able to see what I meant. By the seizure of Austria, Germany hiis vastly increased her military might—her man-power, • money-power, muni-tions-power. Her own Reichsbank, save for the secret war fund kept for the emergency of the Great Parade, was empty of the gold and the foreign exchange needed to buy the foreign raw materials for her night-and-day rearmament. Through the seizure of Austria over £20,000,000 worth of gold and foreign exchange carefully accumulated by the Austria National Bank fell into her hands, a most welcome windfall for Goering and his Four Years Plan. ,• - - - c Seizure of Austria "By the seizure of Austria, Germany came round to the backdoor of Czechoslovakia, whose front-door she already beset.. Look at the map of Europe now. . . . You will regret," says the author, addressing Britain, who ho then believed would not intervene, "that you were not prepared to fight for Czechoslovakia. For Czechoslovakia means, ultimately, you, The Czechoslovak armaments industry is one of the most efficient in Europe, and it will be making arms for Germany. The Czechoslovak aircidft industry is highly efficient. and it will be producing aeroplanes to swell the air-fleets of Getmany, already numerous enough to blacken the sky. The Czechs and Slovaks, unless they are left a nominal independence on a strict promise of good behaviour, will be digg'iig reserve trenches for the German armies in any future major war. /: ; "Germany, will be within grasping distance of the greatest prize -of -all—

Noted Observer Convinced T Deliberate Purpose

"NATION HARNESSED TO A MIGHTY FIGHTING MACHINE"

A Review of Douglas Reed's Remarkable Book, "Insanity Fair"

selves tooth and nail against a new attempt to subject Europe to German military dictation. ... In 1930, five years before the due date, the French and British troops marched out of Khineland. They advanced the date of the new armaments race, probably of the next war, by five years. * "A new chapter had begun, for Germany, for the world—the chapter of German rearmament. After that, if history runs, true to form, comes the chapter of German reconquest, which, at this moment,, is having a rehearsal in miniature, in Spain." What Hitler Said The author had an interview with Hitler, who "spoke bitterly of France, the peace treaty, the League of Nations, as the sources of all original sin. France would squeeze England like an orange; and woe betide England when France turned upon her. "I heard this argument often enough from Nazis in my seven years in Germany," he continues. "13ut I formed the opinion that the real hatred of that warlike Germany which eventually prevailed, is for England, first and foremost. England took the German fleet, England took the richest German colonies, England confiscated German property, England's intervention prevented a lightning German victory in 1914, for without her France would have been rolled \ip like a piece of linoleum. Then England could have been tackled singly, later. "England was the real obstacle to world domination. Any Englishman who can convincingly pass as a Dutchman, an Austrian or what not, can test this statement; lie will hear other things about England than the unrequited love story which so titillates the

palate of the casual English visitor, come to see for himself. "I had seen the Nazis at work all over Germany. 1 believed that if these men ever acquired power in Germany, Europe would see a Greater War. They had told me so and I believed them. Force was their creed and bible. Only by force could Germany get what she wanted in the world." To return to chapters in which the author so clearly anticipates the situation of tho last two weeks, there are other references to tho fate of an unsupported Czechoslovakia, and to the new power its possession would bring to Germany. Incidentally, it should be remarked that Air. Reed believes that Germany covets the resources of the country and has been more concerned in planning to secure them than to "liberate" the Sudeten Germans. Czech Industries "Czechoslovakia was the workshop and gunsmith's shop of tho old AustroHungariau Empire," he writes. "Her industry, save for a regrettable leaning toward the manufacture, of trashy goods, is on the level of the German, her armaments factories "are equal to almost any "in the world. Germany in possession of Czechoslovakia.would nave another great reservoir of. man-poAVer and munition-power, waiting to be. turned into striking power against the real enemy. True, you may say that the Czechoslovaks would be as indigestible to the German as the Germans to the Czechs; but the Czechs worked for and fought for the Germans for long enough, and why should they, not do so again if the outer world deserts them P ' v. x

"So don't talk about 'fighting for Czechoslovakia.' Tf Chechoslovakia goes,

that means more men and'more munitions to be used against you, more aeroplanes one day over the south-east of England. If Czechoslovakia goes, Hungary, the kingdom without a king, cannot survive as anything more than a docile dependency of Germany. You would bo well oh the way to the reconstruction of that German domination over Central Europe, with its manpower, munition-power, metal-power, food-power and fuel-power,' which enabled Germany to face the last world war. Rule from Vienna "But instead of a dual domination, with the weakness that division brings, it would be a united domination, under the exclusive leadership of the martial Hitlerist Reich, not under the partleadership of the easy-going Habsburg Empire. "Czechoslovakia means, ultimately, you. "Neither Masaryk, nor Benes, nor Hodza thought of complete Czechoslovak independence, when they began their struggle. They detested rule from Vienna, and particularly the promotion of Hungary to a privileged place among the people's ruled by Habsburg. Either central rule for all froni Vienna, or home rule for all, was their cry. If the Kaiser is to be crowned King of Hungary in Budapest why cannot he be crowned King of Bohemia in Prague? Why should Prague be degraded to the status of a provincial town that never sees the Emperor? Why should not Prague have its Parliament? ... "Bear that in mind, and t vou will see that Benes' Czechoslovakia, if it wero deserted by the outer world and too long subjected to intolerable pressure from Germany, would have 110 choice but to make terms with Germany. That would mean a nominal independence in exchange for submission to German aims And that, in the long run. would mean that Czech hands would be forging weapons for Germany in peace and hearing those weapons for Germany in war. "Think back a moment to the beginnings of the European line-up in 1935. Germany left' the League of Nations, left the Disarmament Conference, proclaimed rearmament. France,

with the specific approval of "England, answered. 'That means that you : tear lip treaties and base your policies: on your armed strength. -If you : -don't mean that, come with Us into si"collective pact for mutual resistance against an aggressor. You won't ? Then .we shall look for friends strong enough-to-help " us overbear you if you'attack, us.v We shall sign the mutual , aid~ pact. with Russia.'" •'.• ,-i " v • "Give us four years," said Hitler at Potsdam, in March, 1933* when introducing the Bill giving him authority to do what he . liked without Paf- t liament and without regard for President or Constitution, the 'Bill '.'tjj'at secured the requisite two-thirds'lriajor- ' it.v, under which was inaugurated;? in the opinion of Mr. Reed, a military despotism far more menacing for "the outer world than that- of' the Raistfrij. The four years has not been far exceeded. ""; T r ! ' ' .' ' Prior to this meeting of the Reichstag there was held in the. GalMSon Church of Potsdam, a dedicatory service at which the new regime';-was pledged to "the spirit of Potsdamy" ■*, and the failing Hnidenbucg and. the * triumphant Hitler shook; hands) the tomb of Frederick the Great. "Spirit of Potsdam" ■■ X And what is the "spirit of Potsdam?" "From Potsdam Frederick the Great pounced" 011 Silesia in times"'.of profound peace and partitioning Poland. .* for the first time, had doubled liir irtheritud dominions.' From Potsdam-the Prussian Kings had gone out to. ac-" (40* -o fresh territories: Schleswig-Hol-Mein over the body of Denmark, in - 1864. Hanover, Hesse and other lands/ over the body of Austria in 1866, Alsace-Lorraine over the body ;of France in 1871. The'..very.name' Pots- .' dam stood for the process of expansion > by conquest checked in 191$. . "Then came the handclasp.'. . /The . Armistice was. over. Tho illusion that it was a Peace was dissolved. . . Hitler drove between thick hedges of • Storm Troopers to the Wilhelmstrasse. ; The crowds surged to greet _ him'. The 1 cheering crashed about him like safrtjes l of gunfire. Germany had 'given . four years.'" - ; "Insanity Fair." by.. DotjßtafJSkodr