THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1940 ANOTHER NAZI ATROCITY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23769, 24 September 1940, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1940 ANOTHER NAZI ATROCITY

In the war of 1914-18 the German men-at-arms earned for themselves the name "baby-killers." The ugly term fitted their undoubted propensity for wholesale slaughter of civilians, including little children, whenever opportunity offered. It is one of the things fully confirmed by subsequent research, conducted by dispassionate neutrals. This war had not been in progress very long before the same propensity was exhibited ; indeed, it was a feature of German methods from the beginning. Therefore no surprise is occasioned by the news of a German deed at sea that will rank with the worst ever committed in any war. Its main details have been plainly told. A British passenger ship bound for Canada has been sunk without warning by a German submarine, and the very heavy death-roll includes 89 children, of whom 83 were travelling under the British Government's evacuation scheme; the total loss of. life, young and old, was nearly 300. But for the skill and seamanship of the vessel's crew and for the assistance of a British warship, there would have been no survivors —the vessel was torpedoed at night, while a storm was raging. Little imagination is required to fill out the tragic story, one of the most harrowing in the annals of oceangoing passenger services.

It is hardly conceivable that outside Germany anybody can be untouched by the hapless fate of these children and the awful manner of its infliction, but if it should excite anywhere the heartless comment that such happenings are to be expected in war there is at hand a pertinent answer. At the Washington Conference of 1921-22 the question of the use of submarines in warfare was raised by the British Empire delegation, and in the course of discussion a general wish was expressed to reduce by agreement their inhumane employment. This wish took effect in the appointment of a subcommittee to draft regulations to achieve the desired end, particularly in the protection of the lives of neutrals and non-combatants. The fruit of this sub-committee's work was seen in Article 22 of the London Naval Treaty, 1930:

The following are accepted as established rules of international law: (1) In their action with regard to merchant ships, submarines must conform to the rules of international law to -which surface vessels are subject. (2) In particular, except in the case of persistent refusal to stop on being duly summoned, or of active resistance to visit or search, a warship, whether surface vessel or submarine, may not sink or render incapable of navigation a merchant vessel without having first placed passengers, crew and slup s papers in a place of safety. For this purpose the ship's boats are not regarded as a place of safety, unless the safety of the passengers and crew is assured, in the existing sea and weather conditions, by the proximity or land, or the presence of another vessel which is in a position to take them on b °The High Contracting Parties invite all other Powers to express their assent to the above rules.

The parties to the treaty _ yere Britain, the British Dominions, India, the United States, lance, Italy and Japan. Germany's assent was not subsequently given, but in the course of the first year of this ■war Hitler made much of his express determination to observe the rules of international law.

On the British side the rules of 1930 have been treated as binding. Germany, in connection with the sinking of the Athenia at the outset of the war, scorned the suggestion that so lawless an act, particularly contravening these rules, was committed by her: she went the impudent length of saying that it was a British offence, committed with ulterior motives under Mr. Churchill's instructions as First Lord of the Admiralty. This Nazi profession of concern for the observance of international law as it applies to submarines was palpably insincere, but its unequivocal putting on record implied a high standard of naval conduct—which has never been forthcoming. Mussolini, for his part, announced when Italy entered the war that she would abide by international law in all respects, and doubtless he had Hitler's warrant for making the declaration. Yet nothing is more evident than the Nazi resolve to win this war by foul means rather than fair, and it would be absurd to look for anj r other policy. Once again is signally proved how thoroughly addicted to "evil things" Hitler is, and how imperative, for the good of the world, is the duty of fighting him and liis until complete victory is won.