Evening star., 1939-08-18
Ribbentrop Is Held
Wrong in Doubling
British Intentions
England Is Found Firmly
Resolved to Resist
New Nozi Move
By WALTER DURANTY.


New Nuzi Move
BY WALTER DURANTY.
PARIS, Aug. 10 (N.A.N.A).-As
things hang in the balance-that
is Europe today.
They said 1t depends on Hitler,
and they add that Foreign Minister
Won Ribbentrop has the Fuehrer's
ear about foreign affairs and is con-
vinced that the English still are
bluffing, as they blufIed-withou
any conspicuous success-11 months
ago.
Now that one has had time to sit
back and estimate what Munich
meant and why, it is clear that the
English were bluffng-and that
Hitler called their bluff. Won Rib
bentrop said that then, and Won
Ribbentrop was right. He also told
his leader last March that England
would do nothing If Germany seized
Prague, Memel and Danzig. He was
right about Prague and Memel and
might-one now sees-have been
right about Danzig, too, II the Ger
mans had done that first. But they
didn't.
And after Prague, which is one Of
the landmarks in modern European
history, British public opinion was
so outraged that, when the German
demand for Danzig was made to Po-
land, the Poles Immediately had
and perhaps knew beforehand that
they would have-British support for
their refusal. That support holds
good today, and one has only to come
to Paris to know how wrong Won
Ribbentrop is in telling his master
if he does tell his master-that Eng
land won't fight for Danzig.
All Depends on Hitler.
At present it still looks-and most
European pundits still say-that it
all depends on Hitler, that his hands
hold the balance between peace and
war. All right-suppose he holds
it-but what can Hitler do? He
must surely know that his lightning
war" has at least less chance than
it would have had last year Of
bringing Britain to its knees. And
what might air bombs do to Char
lottenburg and Berlin and Breslau
and the cities Of the Rhine? Are
the Germans so utterly sure OF their
own internal morale?
But, they" say, Hitler doesn't
know, they say that Won Ribbentrop
tells him different, that Won Rib
bentrop says the British are bluffing
again, and so why not press on to
another bloodless Munich in the
battle, this time, of Danzig. But
Won Ribbentrop said that in March,
and it proved him wrong about
Danzig. And Hitler may think
about that. Therefore-one must
hesitate before saying this-is it not
possible to suppose that the Ger
mans at present are worried? That
they don't know what to do or how
to extricate themselves from their
demand, which was so satisfactory
and successful about the Sudetens,
that Danzig return to the Reich. Or
why is it that the British press
keeps harping on Danzig while to-
day the German press is beginning
to suggest that Danzig is not the
chief point at issue? One might
almost think that Britain, which is
not yet ready for war and certainly
does not want war, is nevertheless
not unwilling to let Germany make
major factor of Danzig.
One may reasonably ask, as q
year ago about Czecho-Slovakia,
how France and Britain can help
Poland. The answer now, as then, is
that directly they cannot do much.
But then Britain could do moth
ing and knew it, and the French
knew it. Whereas now Britain can
do much and knows it, and the
French know it.
Russia May Come Into Game.
Suppose, after all, that the Ger
mans do overrun Poland. Which
isn't quite so sure, but suppose
they can and do. That brings Rus
sia into the game.
1t is hard to understand the
meaning and reasons of the fan
tastically prolonged negotiations be-
tween the French and British and
the Russians. Say each side dis
trusted the other-that's an easy
answer and probably not far wrong.
But there is something more than
that. When the negotiations be-
gan the Franco-British purpose
and the Russians understood it
was to make more or less symbolic
or moral barrier against oppression
to warn Germany that France,
Britain and Russia were opposed in
general to any aggression anywhere.
That was what the Russians Thought
and perhaps what the British
meant-When negotiations began.
So the Russians said, why not?"
and sent, in the middle of April, q
reply to the Franco-British propos-
ais which was tantamount to 100
per cent acceptance. I know that,
and in this case I do not get my
knowledge from any Russian source.
Dao Ava oOlilS 1CdoOll-WllCll L uO
not know-Britain then, in the mid
die Of April, had changed its i'm
perial mind about the whole Euro
pean situation and its attitude
thereto
And suddenly-because the change
was sudden-the Franco British
pact with Russia no longer was
warning sign to Hitler of a some
what platonic nature, but became
a weapon of war. I mean that they
no longer thought how war must be
prevented, but how they should wage
war. Which, of course, is all the
difference between talky-talk and
action.
Russians Surprised. .
This took the Russians aback and
Il