BRITISH PRESS AMAZED

Southland Times, Issue 24113, 30 April 1940, Page 5

BRITISH PRESS AMAZED

Falsehoods Told By Von Ribbentrop

GERMAN ATTEMPT TO BLAME VICTIM

(British Official Wireless) RUGBY, April 28.

The reaction of the Sunday Press to the speech of the German Minister of Propaganda (Herr Joachim von Ribbentrop), in which he accused the Allies of intending to occupy Norway, is one of amazement at the extent and degree to which Herr von Ribbentrop not only departs from the truth, but, with complete abandonment, recites utter falsehoods in his account of the events leading to the German invasion of Norway. The Sunday Times writes: “The neutrals of the world will approach with natural scepticism Herr von Ribbentrop’s fantastic attempts to demonstrate that Germany invaded Norway only in order to forestall a previously prepared invasion by Britain. He says that on April 8 when Britain announced the mining of certain Norwegian waters, British forces were already being transported through the North Sea. The question naturally presents itself why then did they not get to Norway with or before the Germans? The reply is that in the meantime part of the British troop transports were attacked and destroyed by the German Air Force. “The fact is, as announced last week by the British authorities, that from first to last not a single British transport has been successfully attacked. Herr von Ribbentrop has invented the destruction of a non-existent transport because in no other way could he explain their non-existence. ALLIES’ COUNTER-STROKE “Following the invasion of Denmark and Norway on April 9 by German forces, the Allies prepared a counterstroke, but it was nearly a week before they could begin landing men in Norway. They were only able to do so then because early in March they had collected an expeditionary force for Finland. Following one of the shabbiest German traditions, Herr von Ribbentrop tries to impute guilt to his victim, Norway, on the strength of alleged captured documents. This, it will be remembered, was exactly what Germany tried to do against Belgium in the last war. Nobody but her own credulous people and partisans was convinced then or will be now. “In both cases an innocent country has been scrupulously neutral. In both cases Germany profited by its brutality to overrun and snatch, and in both she had the incredible meanness to bring a lying charge against her victims.” In this connection the Swedish radio announced on Sunday morning that the Norwegian News Agency had published a protest against this allegation of Herr von Ribbentrop—that Britain had negotiated with Norway for the acquisition of military bases in Norway. Since the outbreak of war, it is asserted, Norway made every endeavour to observe strict neutrality and when Germany offered to help Norway against alleged aggression from Berlin, King Haakon and his Government and people refused, as acceptance would have been inconsistent with Norway’s neutrality. Norway’s protest states, therefore, that she is not surprised that Germany should now try to find an excuse for her own aggression. NAZI CONTRADICTIONS British observers watch with interest the contradictions in which Nazi propaganda has become involved in its laboured efforts to justify the German attack. One example of many is the affirmation in the preface to the bogus documents published by Herr von Ribbentrop on Saturday that “the Norwegian Government was ready from the beginning not only readily to accept any violation of its neutrality by England, but also to join hands with England.”

If this were true—and, of course, it contains no vestige of truth—how misinformed the Nazi Government must have been about the Government of the country which, in their first explanations of their sudden and treacherous aggression, they represented they were taking “under Germany’s protection to prevent hostile attack.” The Nazi Government was not misinformed.

The first explanations and the new explanations of the Nazi invasion of a neutral neighbour are, in the British view, alike merely calculated compositions of allegation and inference invented to serve the purpose of the hour. It seems that Nazi propaganda, lost in admiration of its own versatility, has now entirely forgotten the importance of consistency. M. Carl Hambro, Speaker of the Norwegian Parliament, in an interview, said: “We have irrefutable proof that the Germans had prepared detailed plans for the invasion of Norway months ago. We would be in a better position today if Britain had had embarkation parties ready and if the Allied Intelligence Service, which was aware of the German preparations, had warned us previously. Our Legation in Berlin had proof of the sailing of the German parties a week before the invasion. The members of the Legation knew for some weeks that German troops were embarking at various German ports, but they did not believe that the troops were intended for Norway. The fact that the Allies did not inform Norway of the Germans’ intentions shows that they regarded Norway as absolutely neutral and as not prepared to' be an ally.” GERMANS EXPLOIT DENMARK RATIONING OF MARGARINE BEGINS (British Official Wireless) RUGBY, April 27. The Danish newspaper Politiken whose issue of April 15 has now reached London, contains matter confirming the expectation that the Nazis would not long wait to exploit the new “protectorate." The rationing of margarine has already begun. A photograph of a ration card appears on the front page of the Politiken. Until May 1 individual persons are entitled to only 250 grammes of margarine or palmin, whose manufacture has ceased meanwhile. Other items significant of the presence of the invaders are warnings to readers, instructions not to kill poultry, and instructions how to recognize the currency used by the German troops. BRITISH RELEASE HERR VON OPEL GIBRALTAR, April 28. The British are releasing Herr Fritz von Opel, the German motor manufacturer, who was removed from the Italian liner Conte di Savoia on April 19 for interrogation. Herr von Opel will be permitted to go to New York.