Evening star., 1939-10-25
Ribbentrop the Reckless

Ribbentrop the Reckless
Only on the ground that Joachim
Won Ribbentrop is dyed-in-the-wool
disciple of Machiavellianism is it
possible to understand the utterly
reckless, not to say downright men,
dacious, statements uttered by Hit
ler's foreign minister at Danzig yes
terday.
The assertion that "the Chamber
lain government insisted on having
this completely senseless war" is
characteristic of the whole diatribe
of the man who said to the last that
Britain would never fight to make
good her guarantee to Poland. On
the same level of veracity is Ribben-
trop's bluster that "the war in the
truest sense of the word was forced
upon Germany" It Is doubtful If in
the history of international relations
more irresponsible words ever fell
from the lips of responsible states
man.
Let US look at the record The Ger
man people were told by Hitler that
they we're at war on the eastern front
because Poland had rejected his offer
and resorted to force What are the
facts? They are set forth in docu-
mented form in the British War Blue
Book, just published in this country.
The so-called "offer" was made to the
Polish government on the evening of
August 81, two hours before the
German governments announcement
that it had been rejected" So far
from having been rejected, there had
been no time even to consider it.
Germany previously demanded
that Polish representative be sent
to Berlin within twenty-four hours
to conclude an agreement. At that
time Hitler's sixteen points, subse-
quently put forward, had not even
been communicated to Poland. War
saws envoy was expected to arrive
within a fixed time to sign an agree
ment which he had not even seen.
That was not negotiation 1t was
dictation. To such methods no self
respecting and powerful state could
assent. Negotiations on free and
equal basis, as Mr.. Chamberlain later
pointed out, might we'll have settled
the matters in dispute.
~, Copf tho So1y of
ain and France declared war on Ger
many, the British Prime Minister
broadcast talk to the German peo-
pie, which, even today, is crushing
rebuttal of Ribbentrop's charge that
the European war is of British origin.
"You may ask" Mr.. Chamberlain
said to the Germans over the air,
'why Great Britain is concerned. We
are concerned because we gave our
word of honor to defend Poland
against aggression. Why did we feel
it necessary to pledge ourselves to
defend this eastern power when our
interests lie in the west, and when
your Fuehrer has said he has no in
terest to the west? The answer is
and I regret to have to say it-that
nobody in Great Britain any longer
places any trust in your Fuehrers
word"
Mr.. Chamberlain continued: "The
Fuehrer gave his word that he would
respect the Locarno treaty; he broke
it. He gave his word that he neither
wished nor intended to annex Aus
tria; he broke it. He declared that
he would not incorporate the Czechs
in the Reich; he did so. He gave his
word after Munich that he had no
further territorial demands in Eu-
rope; he broke it. He gave his word
that he wanted no Polish provinces;
he broke it. He has sworn to you for
years that he was the mortal enemy
of Bolshevism; he is now its ally.
Can you Germans wonder that his
word is, for us, not worth the paper
It is written on?
"The German-Soviet pact was a
cynical volte-face designed to shat
ter the peace front against aggres-
sion. This gamble failed. The peace
front stands firm. Your Fuehrer is
now sacrificing you, the German peo-
pie, to the still more monstrous gam
bic Of a war to extricate himself from
the impossible position into which he
has led himself and YOU"
So much for Ribbentrop's claim
that Britain willed this war. AS to
his rodomontade that Germany is
now steeled to wage the fight to the
bitter finish and until the security
of the Reich is assjred for all time,
that is normal and even noble SEN
timent for a Nazi chieftain to pro-
claim at this hour of his country's
travail. But it cannot alter the iron
fact that Germany faces in 1899
and faces in state of far inferior
preparedness-the same overwhelm-
Ing preponderance of enemy strength
which the second Reich faced twen-
ty-five years ago.
Now, as then, it is a question of
attrtton and endurance-of un-