Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 1936 HITLER’S OLIVE BRANCH

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18954, 3 March 1936, Page 4

Poverty Bay Herald PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE, TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 1936 HITLER’S OLIVE BRANCH

A now angle. is presented to the already complex European sit nation by Herr Hitler's appeal to France foi friendship with Germany and, while it is 1 ilcelv to be received with a wide measure of scepticism, it is sincerely to be hoped that the gesture will not be rejected without Germany being given ample opportunity to supplement the Chancellor’s words with appropriate deeds. There are many of Hen Hitler’s words which the rest of the world will unreservedly echo, and, in particular, his statement that it is obviously to the French and German advantage that there should be peace will be whole-heartedly endorsed. It is true that a clash on the battlefields would ruin both countries, true that eternal Franco-German hereditary enmity is absurd, and true that there is no present reason for conflict. But it is even more true that there is the gravest possible reason for concern at recent developments and undeniable that this position is largely, if not mainly, due to the net ion of Germany herself. It is not necessary to recapitulate the tragic, events of 1914, the withdrawal of Germany from the League of Nations, her repudiation of the Treaty of Versailles, and the beilicose utterances of her lenders, or to recall the aims of Herr Hitler himself, as outlined in his book “Mein Ktimpf,” to realise that French suspicions are not without foundation. More eloquent than all these things is the deliberate and continued German concentration of the energies of the whole nation in preparation for war, and until a halt is called in this programme peace negotiations must inevitably fail. The German rearmament is the chief cause of Europe’s present-day anixety. It is directly responsible for the French feeling of insecurity and (lie consequent necessity for her to expend vast sums on the fortification of her frontiers; it is one of the two reasons for the building up of vast defensive forces in Kussia; it is the primary cause of the unrest throughout the Balkan States; and it is a contributory factor in the costly British defence plans to bo submitted fc ro Parliament this week. Until the toot cause of this atmosphere of suspicion and distrust is removed prospects of a settled pence must remain remote, and the removal of it lies in the hands of Germany herself —the one European country which has nothing to fear and has never been threatened. but which, by her own threats, fosters fear and alarm among her neighbours. It is significant of German methods that the- very development of which Horr Hitler now complains is the direct outcome of the policy lie has vigorously espoused. There are undoubtedly strong objections to the pact between Franco and Russia, but no one can logically contend that it is other than 'the purely defensive alliance which it purports to lie and that it was promoted solely a.s a means of curbing possible German aggression—a fear which _ does not originate in the imagination but which was born of repented declarations of German policy and by the admitted stops taken to make the carrying out of I hat. policy possible, Tf it is true that Gormany nourishes expansionist ambitions it cannot be denied that her plans have received a series of checks in recent months, Primarily, of

course, there is the firm stand taken bv the League of Nations in the ItaloAbyssinian dispute, a stand that, is widely interpreted as a precedent, to be followed in the event of aggression by Germany. Of equal impressiveness are the British rearmament proposals which are admittedly designed as much as a contribution towards the principle of collective security ns for purely Empire defence purposes. These two factors alone would give Germany ground for serious thought, and when to them is added the prospect of a pact between her two most powerful neighbours, one on either frontier, it is conceivable that she would realise the futility of whatever dreams of expansion she may have had. Is this, then, the, real reason for Herr Hitler’s appenl for friendship with France? Has the Chancellor been so convinced of the determinn,ion of the oilier Powers of Europe to preserve the pence, or at least to present a united front to an aggressor, iliat he has been forced to realise that discretion is ’lie better part of valour, and that voluntary capitulation nnd-eo-operation are infinitely to be preferred io gradual encirclement and, ultimately, enforced surrender? This is the explanation that will be given in many quarters to Herr Hitler’s change of front, probably it is the correct one. but the reason for his np--1,0:11 for friendship is of far less consequence than the results of it, and Prance and the other European Powers would be. doing loss than their duty to the world and the cause of peace if they unceremoniously reject--0,1 it. In the unsettled state of Europe to-day, no overtures of peace, whatever their origin, however much they might bo suspected of ulteiioi motives, should be ignored. Germany has held out the olive branch and it should be grasped with both hands .-ind nn attempt made to use it as a basis for a new and lasting understanding, not only between France and Germany, but -between all nations. Germany Ims taken the initiative thus far and it- now remains to be seen whether she is prepared to give tangible evidence of her good faith by returning to the League of Nations and discontinuing her vast rearmament programme that, has so perturbed the rest of the world during recent years. I f she will follow this course, then, to paraphase Herr Hitler’s words, she can end the German peril which the children of Europe from generation to generation are learning to fear.