Evening star., 1939-04-28

pire, with Vienna as the capital Of
the German Reich of that period.
This German Reich was finally
broken up In the course of gradual
dissolution by Napoleon the Corsican,
but continued to exist as German
federation and not so long ago
fought and suffered in the greatest
war of all time as an entity which
was an expression of the national
feelings Of the people, even If it was
no longer one united state. myself
am q child Of this Ostmark.
Holy Duty to Take Austria.
Not only was the German Reich
destroyed and Austria split up into
its component parts by the criminals
of Versailles, but Germans also were
forbidden to acknowledge that COM
munity which they had confessed for
more than a thousand years. I have
always regarded elimination of this
state of affairs as the highest and
most holy task of my life. I have
never failed to proclaim this deter
mination. And I have always been
resolved to realize these ideas which
haunted me day and night.
I should have sinned against my
call by Providence had I failed in
my own endeavor to lead my native
country and my German people of
Ostmark back to the Reich and thus
to the community Of German people
In doing so, moreover, have
wiped out the most disgraceful side
of the Treaty of Versailles. have
once more established the right of
self determination and done away
with democratic oppression of seven
and half million Germans.
I removed the ban which pre-
vented them from voting on their
own fate, and carried out this vote
before the whole world. The result
was not only what I expected, but
also precisely what had been an
ticipated by the Versailles demo-
cratic oppressors of the peoples. For
why else did they stop plebiscite on
the question of anschluss?
Explanation Of CzechO- -SlOvakia.
2. When in the course of the mi
grations of peoples, the Germanic
tribes began, for reasons inexplicable
to us. to migrate out of the territory
which is today Bohemia and Mo-
ravia. a foreign Slav people made
its way into this territory and made
place for itself between the re-
naming Germans. Since that time
the living space of this Slav people
has been inclosed in the form OF
horseshoe by Germans.
From an economic point of view
independent existence Is, in the long
run, impossible for these countries
except on a basis OF relationship
with the German nation and Ger
man economy. But apart from this,
nearly four million Germans lived in
this territory of Bohemia and Mo-
ravia. The policy of national an
initiation which set in, particularly
after the treaty of Versailles under
pressure of the Czech majority, COM
bined, too, with economic conditions
and rising tide of distress. led to
emigration Of these German ele-
ments so that Germans left in terri
tory were reduced to approximately
3,7OO, 900.
The population of the fringe of
territory is uniformly German, but
there are also large German lin
gulstic enclaves in the interior. The
Czech nation is. in its origins, for
eign to us but In the thousand years
In which the two peoples have lived
side by side. Czech culture has, in
the main. been formed and nodded
by German influences. Czech econ
omy owes its existence to the fact of
having been part of the great Ger
man economic system. The cap
ital OF this country was for a time
German imperial city and it con-
tains the oldest German university
Numerous cathedrals. town halls
and palaces of nobility and citizen
class, bear witness to the influence
OF German culture.
Czech Nation Not Entitled to Exist.
The Czech people itself has in the
course Of centuries alternated be-
tween close and more distant con-
facts with the German people Every
close contact resulted in period in
which both the German and the
Czech nations flourished, every
estrangement was calamitous in its
consequences.
| We are familiar with the merits
and values of the German people,
but the Czech nation, with the sum
total of its skill and ability, its in
| dustry, its diligence. its love of its
native soil and Of its own national
heritage, also deserves our respect.
There were, in actual fact, periods
in which this mutual respect for the
qualities of the other nation was a
matter of course.
The democratic peacemakers of
Versailles can take credit for having
assigned to this Czech people the
special role of satellite state capable
of being used against Germany. For
this purpose they arbitrarily adju-
dicated foreign national property to
the Czech state which was utterly
incapable Of survival on the strength
| Of the Czech national unit alone
that is, they did violence to other
nationalities in order to give a Arm
basis to a state which was to in
corporate latent threat to the Ger
man nation in Central Europe. For
this state, in which the so-called
predominant element was actually
in the minority, could be main
tanned only by means of brutal as
sault on national units which formed
9 major part Of the population.
Czech State Bolsheviks' Road.
This assault was possible only in
so far as protection and assistance
was granted by European democ-
racies. This assistance could nat
urally be expected only on condition
that this state was prepared Loyalty
to take over and play the role
which it had been assigned at birth,
but the purpose Of this role was
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