“SINK ALL NEUTRAL SHIPS”

Waikato Times, Volume 126, Issue 21041, 17 February 1940, Page 6

“SINK ALL NEUTRAL SHIPS”

"My orders are to sink all neutral ships.” That admission by the commander of the German submarine that sank the Dutch liner Burgerdijk seems to be a fairly accurate summary of the German campaign at sea. Some discretion is apparently being exercised, however, in that the victims of torpedoes are mostly the ships of the smaller neutral States. Germany does not in the meantime wish to incur the wrath of the large nations such as the United States, Japan and Italy, by sinking their ships on sight. Hence the ships of those countries that fall victims to the Nazis are mostly those that strike mines. No more astonishing state of international affairs has ever existed than that in which it is possible for Germar* submarines to prey on neutral ships in spite of absolute proof in many cases that they are in no way assisting the Allies. The strength of the fear of the German threat is indicated by the docility with which the small States are resigning themselves to the position. This, of course, suits the German purpose, and no matter how illegal or outrageous the practice may be, Germany may be depended upon to exploit it to the full extent. The Scandinavian States and Holland and Belgium realise what the alternative may be, and it is understandable that they should shrink from making the awful decision that would involve them in war. Most of them are so dangerously open to German attack. There is still little sign of that concerted action which might well cause Germany to alter her tactics. To individual protests the Nazis simply reply by even more dastardly outrages against the country which complains. The tragedy is that all the small neutral States cannot speak with one united voice and act accordingly. Germany is cunningly trying to divert attention from her own guilt by rousing feeling against British methods of contraband search, and to some

extent she is succeeding. America has been encouraged to speak strongly against the British practice of taking neutral ships into Allied ports for search—an action which Germany declares renders the neutral vessels liable to attack. It is with this excuse that Germany is apparently attempting to justify the barbarous sinking of the Dutch liner Burgerdijk.