Evening star., 1939-07-30
fTUentu-FirSt OF q Series)
. TOM AND HARLE DAMMANN,

BY TOM AND HARLE DAMMANN.
WARSAW. Poland.-One day a
high ranking general of the Polish
Army happened upon number of
soldiers who were beating up one
Of their companions.
"Why are these men beating up
that poor fellow" the general asked
a corporal
We'll, SIR the corporal saluted
"the men say he is spreading de-
featist propaganda"
And what sort of things Is he
saying?" the general asked.
why. he's saying there isn't going
to be any war"
This is an example of Slav fatal
ism which is at the base Of present
day Polish psychology. 1t is only
natural, in the light of Poland's his
tory that instead of any question
of IF there is a war" there is the
definite belief that war is cer-
tainty. For centuries Poland was
the battle-ground of Europe and for
$50 years preceding the Great War
it was the subject of partitioning
and subjugation by it's three power
full neighbors, the German, Austrian
and Russian empires. Polish peo-
pie were forced to struggle so long
for anything they wanted that fight
ing has become as much of their
life as eating and sleeping.
With the allied victory, Poland re-
gained much of her original nation
hood. However, she was quickly put
to the test of maintaining it by the
Bolshevik War of 1920. With the
end of that war she realized that
sooner or later she must come to
blows with the other powerful neigh
bors (the Austrian empire was dead
Poland had proved herself against
the new RUSSIA there remained
only Germany. So the Slav fatalism
took on a target-evidenced by yet
another story.
Indication of the Spirit.
We were drinking beer with a
Polish friend in a small village in
the Polish Corridor.
I'll be glad to get my hands on
those Germans when the war
starts" he said. smashing his fist
on the table. We waited for the
explanations.
You know in the days before the
war our schools were run by Ger
mans. Well, one time one of those
German teachers boxed me on the
ear and deafened me for three
Weeks. swore then that some day
I should get my revenge. I have
never forgotten"
These two tales are unexaggerated
indications of the spirit of Poland
as she stands in battle array on
Adolph Hitler's eastern front. They
disclose one reason why the Polish
Army is classed as the fourth or
fifth in Europe-depending upon
whether one considers it better or
inferior to the Italian Army-why
some experts go further, saying that
in war 1t will prove superior to the
highly mechanical. uper-organized
German forces. There are other
reasons, too.
Not only does this nation boast
the youngest citizens in Europe
10 per cent Of its total population is
under the age of 40, due to the raw
ages of war and pestilence-but
it has the highest birth rate. Where
as the normal class in France in
creases only 250,00O annually, a
similar class here, even in lean
years, produces 100000.
The Army.
Legally, every young man is re-
quired to perform minimum of 19
months military service. Although
the command has the facilities to
train two entire classes together, 1t
is limited by budget requirements
and has found it economic to train
only half class at time. Since
the standing army is composed of
two classes, it consists of 100000
carefully selected men-the cream
of each. Parenthetically, the young
men who are not selected for regular
army service receive semi-military
training in other branches of war
preparedness, industry and agricul-
ture.
But even before Pdles enter the
army they are carefully weeded out
by nature itself. Three quarters of
the population is composed of peas
ants, who by reason of their lives
are already hardened by fatigue and