Evening star., 1940-08-27
Siqrid Undset Warns
America Against
Feeling Too Safe
Great Author, Hopeless,
Intones on EIeey
For Civilization

SAN FRANCISCO. Aug. 27 (N.A.
N.A0.-Sigrid Undset, generally rec
ognized as one of the worlds great
est living authors, sat in San Fran
cisco hotel tday and intoned an elegy
for civilization.
Nobel Prize winner, author of
"Kristin Lavransdatter" and dis
ciple of freedom and tolerance,
Nine. Undset is wanderer on the
face of the earth, homeless, hopeless,
her grief too great for tears.
AS member Of that vast army
of refugees set adrift by Chancellor
Hitler. she arrived here aboard the
steamship President Cleveland from
Japan after travelling half way
around the world to escape Nad
domination of her native Norway.
1t was not that Nine. Undset
was afraid. On Hitler's altar of hate
she had delivered her eldest son.
glad that he should have decided
In the cause of democracy. But in
Nazi Norway her words would have
died stillborn.
Nothing was left to me in Nor
way" she said slowly. 'I had no
liberty OF thought, so came away,
hoping to be of some use elsewhere. >
Precisely what she will do here in
this country. Nine. Undset has no
idea. Il can only tell how it was
in Norway" she said. "I can only
try to warn America against feeling
too safe"
Warns America.
In deep mourning for her 27-year-
old Anders. who fell in action April
27. she closed her blue eyes for a
moment. Then she continued:
THE tragedy of my Norway was
that we were the freest people on
earth. We took our democracy for
granted. We knew there were traitors
abroad. wandering over our country
side, but we thought they were silly.
We poked fun at them, at the
Quislings, at the Wandervogel-the
German student mixers in their
short trousers. They constituted an
alien phenomena that we never con-
sidered seriously. So when the war
came. we were unprepared. And
that is what will happen to America.
only on a larger scale. You will
fight for your democracy only when
forced to do so by invasion and then
it will be too late.
IT do not know what the future
will bring to the world. I can see
no end to this hell. 1t will go on
for long time. Nations are silenced
by terror. Then the children are
all corrupted in the schools. And
when that happens, survival is du-
bious.'
English Too Optimistic.
While travelling from Norway to
Japan over the Trans-Siberian
Nine. Undset first learned
of the capitulation of France.
That was the worst blow of
everything" she said. France al
ways was the brains of Europe. II
she is smashed permanently, I fear
it will be the end of Europe. We
had something: England had some
thing, but France had everything" !"
How, England can survive the
Nazi blitzkrieg, Nine. Undset has no
idea. Next to Norway" she said,
II love England, and I know she
must have help" She sighed deeply.
The English are something like
Norwegians. They are too optimis-
tic. That has been our undoing.
when my eldest son was study
ing engineering in England. he tried
to tell his classmates what was hap
pening in Germany. He tried to
explain how young men tainted
from ecstasy, when they came in
close contract with Hitler. And
everywhere he spoke. the English
thought he was telling indecent
stories. But he was telling the
truth"
Travelling with the 58-year- -old
author is her second son. Hans. 81,
a tall, blond, protective lad. who
guards his mother as though she
were made of porcelain.