Evening star., 1938-10-09
The Nazi Octopus.

If any American in a spirit of delusive
optimism imagined that Adolf Hitler's
power and territorial ambitions would be
satiated by the absorption of one-fifth
of Czechoslovakia events are promptly
disposing of such Misrepresentation. 1t
Is true that the Fuehrer, in his speech at
Berlin on September 26, Illuminated that
acquisition of the Sudetenland would
appease his desires in Europe Before
Messrs. Chamberlain and Daladier left
Munich on September 80 they were made
aware of Hitler's expectation that Ger
many's long cherished demand for resto-
ration of her colonial empire would be
next on the Nazi wish list.
The week-end's news discloses in a
variety of directions that the Reich's
non-European claims are already pretty
well formulated and likely soon will be
pressed with vigor. Prime Minister
Chamberlain has left for a vacation in
Scotland Ito ponder the Associated
Press correspondents in London report,
"the next Nazi challenge to British
iplomacy-demands for return of former
German colonies" From remote former
German Southwest Africa it is sinful
taneously announced that the admins
traitor of that territory, which is governed
by the Union Of South Africa, the British
dominion which holds the mandate; has
hecr hy
ously German-dominated to institute a
plebiscite to determine whether the
region, embracing 1,127,0O0 square miles,
or about six times the size of the Reich,
shall be restored to Germany or remain
under British rule. OF its 10000 residents
of European ancestry, 5000 are German
nationals and 5000 are Germans who
became naturalized South Africans.
This significant move in Africa by no
means exhausts the grabbing plans of
the Nazi octopus. Among the anxieties
which will perturb Mr. Chamberlain in
the highlands is not only aggravated
unrest and civil war in Palestine, but
the circumstantial report that the next
pound of flesh which Hitler will demand
Is the remuneration Of Britains mandate
In Palestine, and particularly her pro-
lection OF that country as a Jewish
National Home. The report springs from
the presence in London of the foreign
minister of Iraq, Palestine's militant
Arab neighbor. He is said to seek, among
other things, that the ideal of a Jewish
state, as conceived by the Balfour Decla-
ration, be abandoned, along with all So
called political Zionism' The Iraq
proposal would also halt the immigration
of Jewish refugees into the Holy Land
and stabilize the population around its
present figures of 100000 Arabs and
400, 600 Jews. The British mandate would
be surrendered and Palestine converted
into an independent state, militarily
and economically allied to Britain, as
1raq and Egypt are.
This projected sacrifice of the one
remaining haven open to oppressed Jewry
is transparently of German-Italian in
spiration, if not official origin 1t syn
chronizes with Mussolini's new edicts
against Jews in Italy, which have Just
evoked protest from the United States.
The scheme comedies, too, with the
evidences which accompanied Hitler's
march into Czechoslovakia that Ger
many's anti-Semitic practices are
promptly to be imported into Bohemia.
There have already been ugly manifesta-
tions Of them in Carlsbad and elsewhere.
And perhaps Gaping the climax of
all these symptoms of Hitlers drive
across Europe to the Near East and
toward revived colonial empire is the
agreement just concluded at Ankara by
German Economics Minister Funk.
whereby Germany is to loan Turkey
150O00,000 marks for armament and in
dustrial development!
If things like these do not rouse the
non-NaZi world to the true inwarciness
of current events in Europe, it is difficult
to imagine what could OF Hitler it can
at least be said that he is not backward
about coming forward He is signaling
all concened-or who ought to be con-
cerned-that, in the homely American,
Vernacular, they amt seen nothin' vet"