FOR WORLD PEACE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 December 1938, Page 6

FOR WORLD PEACE

STATE OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA SACRIFICED bloodless but cruel war. FAITH OF PEOPLE MORTALLY WOUNDED. A somewhat pathetic letter has been received by the New Zealand Y.M.C.A. from the National General Secretary and chairman of the. Y.M.C.A. in Czechoslovakia, relating to recent events in that country. The letter, written in October, states: — Dear Friends, —In these difficult days in which our nation stands without help, forsaken and betrayed by political friends, we, the workers of the Czechoslovak Y.M.C.A., turn to you in the firm trust that we shall find understanding and support in you, in the communion of Jesus Christ, which we hold in common in the Young Men’s Christian Associations throughout the world. Our country, a not unimportant democratic and free state in Central Europe, especially with regard to religious liberty, has been sacrificed in the interest of maintaining world peace This was done under very cruel conditions. The British Premier himself rejected the Godesberg demands of Chancellor Hitler as unwise. Nevertheless the Munich Conference accepted a good part of these demands and the final decision of the Great Powers, represented in the International Commission at Berlin, accepted almost all of them, and to a great extent even made them more to our disadvantage. The principle of selfdetermination for the Sudeten Germans was given as a basis for this solution. The/new boundary lines of Czechoslovakia show, however that the national principle retreated before economic and strategic interests. The census of 1910 was taken as a basis, instead of the census in 1920 or 1930 in the free republic of Czechoslovakia. And it was in 1910 that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was at the peak of its might and the Czechs were under the greatest oppression. We have documents showing that at that time the'census was carried out on the basis of the language which was used officially and not according to nationality. Although the Munich “diktat” promised a plebiscite for mixed areas, the Berlin Commission decided that there would be no plebiscite. By this decision our repub;ic was mortally crippled and disconnected in many places. It we now wish to visit our Y.M.C A’s in Slovakia the railway passes through two pieces of foreign territory, and we do not have direct connection even with Brno, because the railway near Svitavy has been cut intentionally without an ethnographical basis, perhaps to symbolise the tearing apart of our State. Even purely Czech cities and villages have been annexed to Germany. In this way more than 800,000 Czechs are thus included in the German Reich. Not only our country, but also the Y.M.C.A. and our churches, received a terrible blow and confronting this unjust and disproportionate “diktat” we are confronted with terrific problems in order to continue in our work. We are losing our buildings and all pos.-.ib’lities of further work in Reichenberg, Liberec and Zncjmo, Zain, tnd most probably we may also lose the building and Association in Lucenec, Slovakie, to Hungary. We are further being deprived of ten youth church associations. The Church of .he Czech Brethren is alone losing 12 communities and several branches, and all this in purely Czech districts.

If our work was formerly hindered by great financial difficulties, the situation in the future will be even worse and almost unsurmountable in our greatly impoverished country. But i here will not be only these economical difficulties which will interfere in our activities. We fear that by the utter capitulation of the western democracies the spiritual foundations of our work are endangered. We led the young people entrusted to us, and influenced the Czechoslovak public, in lhe spirit and faith of international solidarity, in the solidarity whose firmest foundation is the Christian faith. We especially spread understanding for the cultural ideals of the western democracies, for the spiritual foundations of civilisations such as Great Britain and the United States of North America and wherever these exist. This faith of our people was mortally wounded. Politically and economically Czechoslovakia passed into lhe orbit of the Third Reich which will no doubt also seek to have control over its cultural and spiritual life.

On top of all this misfortune we have to think of our Christian duties, help the several hundred thousand refugees who were deprived of their homes and property, through this "bloodless,” but nevertheless cruel war. This work is done in collaboration with other organisations, but our financial strength and means are very small.

The information spread abroad about our offences is not correct. Czechoslovakia, under the leadership of its two first presidents, Masaryk and Benes, endeavoured in an increased measure to abolish any injustice that occurred incidently and to make the joint life of the Germans and Czechs happy on the basis of right and justice. In this respect our conscience is pure. But we made mistakes, as people and feel clearly that it is the storm of the Lord’s anger for our sins which is imposed upon us. However, even under the new con- ( itions we shall remain true to our faith and the principles on which the Y.M.C.A. is founded. But our struggle will be useless if we, together with c.ur whole nation, do not find understanding in all of you who still can freely continue the task of developing the work of the Y.M.C.A. We trust that this understanding will first of all be manifested by Y.M.C.A. workers throughout the world. We beg y.?u to stand by us in these difficult hours and remain, sincerely yours. Dr M. Kotak. General Secretary; Dr A. Luki, Chairman.