NAZI INFAMY REVEALED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23545, 4 January 1940, Page 6

NAZI INFAMY REVEALED

After the events of the past two years, it might have been thought that Nazi Germany had plumbed the depths of infamy in her conduct of international affairs. Austria, Czecho-Slovakia, Poland—all have fallen victims to the rapacity of Hitler, but now conies the threat of intervention on the side of Russia in the hitter's brutal onslaught on Finland. The statement has been made that if British soldiers appear on Finnish soil or if Allied shipments of munitions to Finland reach decisive proportions, the armed force of Germany may be used to bring about the destruction of a small and peaceful nation. World opinion, which has been moved to heights of admiration by the heroic resistance of the Finns against the Soviet armies, must recoil in disgust from this fresh evidence of Nazi degradation. It is possible, of course, that Hitler may be inarching to orders from the Kremlin. All the weaknesses of the Red Army have been revealed in the Finnish campaign and even at this stage it seems clear that Stalin has over-reached himself. This morning's news of spectacular Finnish victories against Russian troops is of more than passing significance and lends colour to the belief that Stalin may be requesting, if not demanding, German aid. The fact that Hitler is apparently prepared to aid and abet Russian aggression is not surprising, but for all that it reveals the latest international partnership in its true colours. It is doubtful, however, if German intervention can be really effective. Germany has her own hands full and all the threats in the world will not prevent liberty-loving nations From giving tangible expression to their sympathy for the courageous Finnish people.