Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-08-21
N and EDGAR ANsEL MowRER.

/ his agents in France, Friedrich
Sieburg, the author; Otto Abetz,
'pro-French" consuls like Nolde,
many others, had worked" the
French leaders. When necessary
they were assisted by beautiful
women: The Baroness Won Einem
the Princess Won Hohenlohe and
others of lesser brilliance. They got
in" with certain Of those leading
French women who, at the moment
Of defeat, exercised such devastat-
ing influence on certain French
statesmen. They went everywhere,
saw everybody, came to know every
thing. dipped into French politics
through scandalously venal French
newspapers. To the weak and the
cynical they preached defeatism;
to the unsuccessful, hatred OF the
Jew; to all the possibility of living
on good terms with Germany, If
only France would break relations
with the Bolsheviks and money
minded" Britons, cease meddling
in Central and Eastern Europe and
propitiate the Italians by the gift
of some "unimportant" French
territories.
For years this sort Of thing went
on more or less in broad daylight.
During the appeasement period the
Germans were actually aided by
certain members Of the British En-
bassy in Paris. Not until two months
before the outbreak of the war did
anyone dare to take action against
the numerous German agents-and
then the vacillating Daladier talked
big and did little.
A hesitant offlcer class brought
about sure defeat for the army: The
army's defeat frightened the army
leaders lest the soldiers seek scape-
goats among the generals. And a
majority Of cynical and cowardly
politicians rushed their country into
one of the most contemplate sur
renders on record. Just as Adolf
Hitler had said they would.
Some Englishmen Duped.
What of Hitler's fifth column
in Great Britain? Short of the
supreme test. 1t is impossible to say
for sure. What Is evident is that
during the appeasement period. the
Germans spun a web of friendship
for Nazi Germany among the more
gullable or dissatisfied members of
the ruling class.
1t is obviously a triumph in so
proud a country as Britain to have
created even so weak a satellite part
as the British Union of Fascists.
Organizations like the Link, the
Anglo German Fellowship, the
Christian Fellowship, duped any
number Of highly placed English
men.
Female members Of British society
were induced to look kindly upon
Hitler's aims by the flattering at
tention OF handsome young German
aristocrats. British visitors to Ger.
many never lacked congenial guides.
The fact that the British police
found 1t necessary to arrest q men,
Der of Parliament, Capt. Ramsay, on
the charge of having transmitted to
the German Legation at Dublin
reasonable information given him
by Tyler Kent. cipher clerk at the
American Embassy In London, would
seem to show that some Of the many
finely spun threads from Berlin to
London still remain. One hears hints
Of a persistent "pro-Germanism" in
the London City.
But it must be stated emphatically
that the vast majority of the Brit
ish, unlike the French, underwent
radical change of heart after it be-
came apparent that Hitler had
duped Chamberlain at Munich, all
though there were still appeasers
ready to try to bride the Nazis to
be good with Hudson-Wohlthat
plan for economic concessions to
Germany. Moreover. with British
patriotism at the white heat Of