Evening star., 1941-06-14
Russo-Germun Tension

|
aims Ambassador to the Soviets, left
Moscow over week ago for a special
| trip to London, rumorS have been
current that Russo German relations
were becoming tense. Each succeed
! ing day has seen these rumors be-
come more precise and better sub
stantiated. There seems to be little
doubt that heavy German troop
concentrations exist all along Rus
siaS western borders, from Finland
to Rumania This is reported to be
the material backing for far-reach-
ing demands made by Hitler upon
Stain, who is thereby confronted
with a characteristically Hitlerian
"or else"
Hitler's demands are said to fall
under two main heads: First, greatly
increased deliveries of grain and oil;
second, the right to transport Ger
man troops and supplies through
Russian territory in order to out
flank the British in Iraq and Iran.
Unless these are granted, Hitler is
repeatedly ready to get both by over
running all of Southern Russia from
the Ukraine to the Caucasus.
This is not the first time that Nazi
Germany and Soviet Russia have
been reported to be on the verge of
break. Yet on each previous occa-
sion the rift, real or imaginary, was
followed by workable understand
ing. That has created widespread
skepticism which causes some OBJ
servers to see in alleged Russo Ger
man tiffS mere diplomatic horsetrad-
ing or even clever play acting by the
willy dictators to fool the rest of the
world and camouf1age their nefarious
designs.
While such skepticism is quite
justified, it is equally possible that,
this time, the crisis may be real
one. That logically follows from the
nature of Nazi-Soviet relations. De-
spite their diverse ideologieS, Hitler
and Stain are equally cynical and
ruthless. Theirs are the ethics of the
wolf pack, each member of which
must forever be on guard against his
fellows, lest they suddenly turn and
rend him. Between such rulers,
genuine confidence and abiding
friendship are impossible, while con-
versely war is always possibility.
Yet even the most ravenous wolves
work together effectively when they
are after common kill. And the
two dictators can glimpse in the
offng the greatest potential loot the
world has ever seen. Already Stain
has prof1ted enormously by his as
sociation with Hitler. At the cost
of one minor war in Finland, he
has regained Russia's western border
lands lost during the revolution, in
habited by upward of 30,000,000
people. And even though no further
westward expansion is possible with
out running afoul of Germany, there
is still much to be won through
agreement with Germany in the Near
and Middle East.
The real issue probably revolves
around how far eastward Hitler
wants to 60. Do his vaulting ambi-
tions now cover virtually the whole
Near East, including perhaps Iran?
If so, Stain can hardly reconcile
himself to such encirclement, even
at the risk of war. On the other
hand, if Hitler's eastward moves are
dictated by temporary wartime needs,
a deal satisfactory to Stain preSum-
ably can be made. Perhaps it al
ready has been made, and current
rumors are mere camouf1sge, as the
harder skeptics suggest.
With such willy and cynical politi-
cal operators as Hitler and Stain,
actions speak louder than words.
Therefore it will be wiser to suspend
Judgment until undeniable facts in
dicate either a new agreement or an
open breach whose consequences
would be incalculable.