Evening star., 1934-04-08

against his wish. That man. dubbed
the chancellor Of blood and iron, was
far more human and considerate and
had much nobler qualities than what
hostile popular opinion attributes to
him.
Situation Reversed.
Ever since the cession of Alsace-
in these lost provinces a perpetual
nightmare to her future security.
With the growth Of German naticn-
alism and the expansion of Germany S
political and military power, the sit
uation between the two countries was
simply reversed. Instead Of France as
before. it became Germanys turn to
hold the frontier posts much to her
military advantage. From 1870 to
1914, Germany threatened France
with war not less than five times.
This situation has created so much
irritation between the two countries
that no amount of goodwill to attain
an understanding has ever been able
to drown popular hatred and preju-
dice. And with the advent of Hitler
at the helm of the German state, that
hatred and prejudice was reawakened
after a short period of doubtful peace
The historical aspect of the Franco
Germanic feud is by no means easy
to trace. The whole history OF
Europe is so intermingled among its
nations that it is almost impossible
to talk about any dispute between
France and Germany without tracing
the origin Of every war, every con-
test they had in the past to causes
outside their territory. History, unlike
science, is a subject open to contra
diction. Every historical question is
apt to be torn apart once it is ex-
amined on both sides. A policy con-
Sidered good for the interest Of cne
country appecrs as a danger or a
menace to another. A united Ger
many under Wilhelm I and guided by
Bismarck is, no doubt, a bliss for the
pan-Germanists. The old Italian
states marshaled under the banners
of Cavour and Garibaldi, and united
round the throne Of the House of
Savoy, could not fail to rouse patriotic
memories in the heart of every Italian
to the glory that was Rome.
Should Look to East.
Today, We have Mussolini as The
incarnation Of Italian nationalism,
and provided he does not commit the
errors of Napoleon I or Wilhelm II,
his patriotic motives and his policies
are much to his credit. In either
case, France could not look at these
moves without keeping a watchful
eye on her eastern frontiers. The
fantastic French empire created by
Bonaparte. his sway over the whole
area originally united under the
scepter Of Charlemagne over 1000
years before could not help to incite
England's apprehensions for the
safety and welfare of her isles.
If we are to discuss the question
of mutual fear and antagonism be-
tween France and Germany, we find
that the Teutonic nations in the past
had more to fear from the Slavs in
the East than from the French in the
West. Germany had a permanent
enemy in the Slavs, only an acci-
dental enemy in the French. That
section Of Germany known as East
Prussia-now separated by the Polish
corridor-was originally purely Slav
country. Its very name indicates
near Russia" in the slavic language.
It was the Polish duke, Conrad of
Masoria, who in 1926 called the Teu-
tonic knights to his aid to combat
the heather "Prussians." The Teu-
tonic order won, brought German set
tiers to the East and eventually ruled
the land.
BY keeping out Of the picture all
distorted ideas Of sentiment and pref
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