The Timaru Herald FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1945. After The War Is Won

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVII, Issue 23186, 27 April 1945, Page 4

The Timaru Herald FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1945. After The War Is Won

JHERE were challenging and thought-provoking observations in the Anzac Day address given in Timaru by Brigadier L. M. Inglis. It is desirable that people should be persuaded to understand that the end of hostilities will not mean an end to the problems and anxieties associated with the war. There can be no relaxation of effort in the imi mediate post-war years; the same amount of effort will be needed as that required to win the war, but it will be expended in different ways. Brigadier Inglis rightly said that the problem ahead did not begin or end with Germany and Japan. He mentioned some of these specific problems: Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Greece, Italy, the Balkans and Poland. And there are others he did not mention. Implicit in each is a challenge to the ingenuity, wisdom and right feeling of all men of good will. There is also the further fact that any problem ignored or remaining unsolved for any reason must become a danger spot, a breeding place for future conflicts which may be beyond the power of any security organisation to control. Unsolved problems will be looked at in varying ways by the Great Powers. These perils to the unity upon which the peaceful hopes of mankind rest must, to the greatest possible extent, be removed. The first task for the victorious Allies in Europe will be that of organising relief in the countries ravaged by war. The maintenance of armies in the field is difficult enough, but that task is small in comparison with the tremendous obligation of saving millions of people throughout Europe from starvation. In those countries which have already been liberated the distribution of Allied relief has been unsatisfactory to the extent that the natural expectations of the freed peoples have not yet been met. There are reasons why this should be so. The Allies have millions of troops fighting in the West and they must be supplied, for the defeat of Germany is the first priority. Nevertheless, it is not a simple matter to convince hungry people that the situation will improve when victory is won. Hungry people desire one thing only: to have their hunger relieved. In France and Italy the people have been disappointed with the relief they have had and for a time the people of other countries are likely to share their experience. By the time the Germans have finished with Holland it is probable that the Allies will have the valiant Dutch people on their hands as an almost total liability. Land which has been lost by flooding will be incapable of production for a long period, and even if Germany has to surrender some of her productive land to the Dutch, that will only be a long-term solution of a problem which must press for rapid solution. Then Germany herself presents a problem. In the end the Allies will probably be more regardful of the German civilian population than the Nazis have been. At this stage it is impossible to measure the dimensions of the social problem created by the stern requirements of war. The destruction of large German cities must leave millions of people, women and children and the aged homeless and destitute. They will not be left to die; if they were, Germany would be the breeding ground of disease which would sweep through Europe bringing about wholesale extermination of population in all countries. All these tasks are properly within the orbit of the UNRRA organisation, but it is questionable whether UNNRA will be able to take the tremendous strain. The only solution is that the food-producing countries will have to contribute all they can to the relief of those people who have nothing. Mankind is resourceful, but it will take time before Europe can be restocked and able to grow its own food again. Unless this relief problem can be solved there will be large and dangerous areas in which there may be mounting resentment against the victors. This question is one which concerns New Zealand as a food-producing country. The political problems of Europe are already complicated, and are likely to become more so, but they take second place to the fundamental one of maintaining life in the stricken countries.