Evening star., 1940-05-22
Allies Fighting Worlds Battle
Against Hitler, Eve Curie Says
If They Lose Through Lack Of Planes,
U.S.. Will Stand Alone, She Warns

spring that the enemy has chosen
for the big battle.
What do we think about? What
do we feel?
Above all, each of us feels how
tremendous is the responsibility Of
our country. of France, a country
smaller in size than Texas.
Many nations. nearly the whole
world. are revolted by the Nazi
regime, by the German military
machine of conquest. which per-
manently prevents us from living in
peace. All these nations do not even
dare to face what would happen,
what their future would be, if this
military machine was definitely VIC
torious, if the Nazi regime imposed
its complete domination.
Proud Of Responsibility.
All these nations have already
condemned the oppressors In their
heart. But among all these nations,
France. England and Belgium are
the ones that are going to do the
actual job. to do the fighting. Ours
is an overwhelming and perfectly
magnificent responsibility, indeed.
OF this responsibility we are proud.
And because we carry the weight
Of this terrific responsibility we
have no time, no strength to be
wasted on emotions. We are calm,
nearly cold about what is happening
now.
The men of France. who have been
teased for eight months about their
uneventful war knew perfectly we'll
that the big clash was near. The
women knew 1t. too. French men
and women have been instinctively
preparing their nerves for this mo-
nent.
If you looked today at the people
walking in the streets of Paris, going
to their ordinary daily work, taking
taxis or subways or sitting in the
restaurants, you could not easily
read their thoughts in their stubborn
eyes. There is general economy of
gestures and words. Laconic sen.
fences exchanged between friends.
Laconic, modest headlines in the
press. Laconic letters from the
front.
A few minutes ago my French
maid showed me a postcard from
her son, who is fighting with the
French tanks: Resisting well. Love-"
Dressed in Lovely Trees.
The French are showing nothing
OF this single torment which lives
IN each of them and includes all
the other torments: This war must
De Won-won by US. In how much
time, with what weapons, at what
cost OF lives, of blood, of work, of
suffering, are we going to win this
warp"
Resisting we'll" There is Moth
ing more to be said. There is so
much confidence, and anxiety, and
eHort, and hope in these two words,
written In the middle of an i'm
mense battle by a little French
soldier of "a.
1t may be that many of you who
happen to know France are now
thinking with sorrow of all the
beauties of our country, which can
De destroyed tomorrow. There is
the grace of our towns, OF our VIII
lagos. There is Rheims, and Char
tres, and every little Christian
church all over the country. There
is Paris, which the spring puts at
its best Paris, which is today so
completely beautiful, all dressed up
IN lovely trees and flowers and, at
night, delightfully."- dark in the in
cognito of the blackouts, glimmer-
ing softly under the stars of the skv
IKE hidden gem. I know that
| many Americans are thinking with
anxiety, with friendship about these
things of beauty.
Ready for Sacrifice.
But there again, we In France
have passed that stage of emotion.
To win this war, to save ourselves
and to save you, the French are
ready to sacrifice Paris, Chartres,
Rheims and everything else. They
are prepared to rebuild, after the
victory, their houses, their cathe-
drals and their farms, to replant
their forests once more. All the
| sacrifices, including torture and
death, have already been made i'm
plicitly by every Frenchman, by
every Frenchwoman.
A few days from now events may
move less quickly: the headlines in
the American papers may become a
little smaller, the news may be less
terrifying, moving or exciting. Per-
haps our soldiers will at last get a
few hours of sleep before having
to fight again.
That will be the time for all the
people of the whole world who have
not done so yet to put aside indig-
nation, emotion, hypocrisy, noble
thoughts and wishful thinking and
| very coldly. vs1y calmly face the