AGONY OF POLAND

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24261, 1 April 1940, Page 7

AGONY OF POLAND

UNDER NAZI HEEL WITHERING TYRANNY SUFFERING OF PEOPLE TORTURED AND STARVING (British Official Wireless) (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) RUGBY, Mar. 30. (Received Mar. 31, at 8 p.m.) In his speech Mr Churchill said that all the German outrages upon the sea, so clearly visible, paled before the villainous deeds wrought upon the helpless Czechs arid Austrians, and sank into insignificance before the hideous agony of Poland. “ Here was a community of nearly 35,000,000 people, with all the organisation of modern government and all the traditions of an ancient State, which in a few weeks was dashed out of civilised existence to become an incoherent multitude of tortured and starving men, women and children, ground beneath the • heel of two rival forms of withering and blasting tyranny. The other day, in a well-known British harbour, I inspected the crew of a Polish destroyer. I have rarely seen a finer body of men. I was stirred by their discipline and bearing, yet how tragic their plight! Their ship was afloat, but their country had foundered, but as I looked around upon all the great ships of war which lay at their anchors and at all the preparations .which were being made on every side to carry this war forward at all costs as long as may be necessary, I comforted myself with the thought that when these Polish sailors have finished their work with the British Navy we will take particular care that they once more have a home to go to.

“ Thoughtless, dilletante or purblind worldlings, although the fate of Poland stares them in the face, sometimes ask us what is it that England and France are fighting for. To this I answer, ‘lf we left off fighting, you would soon find out.’ We shall follow this war wherever it leads, but we have no wish to broaden the area of conflict.

“At the outbreak of war we did not know that Italy would not be our enemy, and we could not be sure that Japan would not be our enemy. Many people had hopes that Russia would re-enter the comity of nations and help to shield working folk all over the world from Nazi aggression. But none of these things, bad or good, has happened. We have no quarrel with the Italian and Japanese peoples. We have tried and shall try to live on good terms with them. Ravages of Communism “It is not part of our policy to seek war with Russia. The Soviet Government, in its onslaught upon the heroic Finns, has exposed to the whole world the ravages which Communism makes upon, the _ fibre of any nation which falls victim to that deadly mental and moral disease. This exposure ,of the Russian army and the Russian air force has astonished the world and heartened all States upon Russian offence. But there is no jxeed for Russia to be drawn into this struggle unless, upon the promptings of the obsolete imperialist ambition, she wishes to do so of her own violence and of malice prepense. “ Our affair is with Hitler and Nazi German power. There is the head and forefront of the offending, and it is there and there alone that we seek to strike. All’s quiet on the Western Front, and to-day so far nothing has happened on sea or in the air, but more than 1,000,000 German soldiers are drawn up ready to strike at a few hours’ notice all along the frontiers of Luxembourg, Belgium . and Holland. At any moment these neutral countries may be subjected to an avalanche of steel and fire, and the decision rests in the hands of a haunted, morbid being, who to their eternal shame, the German people, in their bewilderment, have worshipped as a god. That is the situation in Europe to-night, and can anyone wonder that we are determined to bring such a hideous state of alarm and menace to an end as soon as may be. and once and for all.

“ Few there are to-night who, looking back on these last seven months, would doubt that the British and French peoples were right to draw the sword of justice and of retribution. Fewer still there are who would wish to sheath it till its sombre, righteous work is done.”