Evening star., 1941-01-31
Unworthy of Belief

On the basis of the record for truth
and veracity which he has established
during the past six years, 1t is clear
that Adolf Hitler is unworthy of belief
if it is to his advantage to break
pledge, however Solemnly given. In
his meteoric rise to power, promises
have served merely as means to an
end, and we cannot afford to assume
that he has changed in that respect
at this late stage of the game.
Thus, when Hitler says that any
ship, conveyed or not, which engages
in trade with England will be sunk
if possible by German naval forces,
it is only reasonable to suppose that
the promise will be kept because 1t
would be to his advantage to keep it.
But when he couples this assurance
with disclaimer of any interest in
the American continent the prob
abilities are that he is not speaking
truthfully and that he will violate
the latter pledge whenever it serves
his purpose to do so.
The record of pledges made and
broken by Hitler is familiar one, but
it deserves presentation when he
undertakes to reassure the people of
the United States.
In 1884 he said: THE assertion that
the German Reich plans to coerce
the Austrian state is absurd and can
not be substantiated or proved" A
short time later the NaziS invaded
and annexed Austria
On September 26, 1888, Hitler said:
"The Sudetenland is the last ter
ritorial claim which I have to make
in Europe. have assured Mr. Cham
berlain, and emphasize it now, that
when this problem is solved Germany
has no more territorial problems in
Europe" On March Is, 1889, after
he had been given the Sudetenland,
Hitler seized all of Czecho-Slovakia
and on March 81 Memel was annexed.
A little earlier, on January 30, 1887,
Hitler had said: "I do not want to
We look upon Bolshevism as upon an
intolerable danger to the world; we
shall try to keep this danger away
from the German people by every
means at our command. Any treaty
links between Germany and the
present-day Bolshevist Russia would
be without any value whatsoever.
The period of so-called sur
priSeS is now over" On August 81,
1889, Germany signed it's pact with
Russia.
On February 20, 1888, Hitler said:
"The Polish state respects the ma
tional conditions in this country, and
Danzig and Germany respect Polish
rights. Thus it has been possible to
find the way to an understanding
which has succeeded in re-
moving all friction between Germany
and Poland" On September l of the
following year the Germans invaded
and destroyed Poland.
A few weeks before the assault on
Holland last summer there were
newspaper reports of German troop
movements toward the Dutch border.
These reports were Indignantly de-
MED in Berlin with the assertion that
the Reich had no hostile designs
against Holland-a denial that was
issued even as the German invasion
of the Lowlands was underway.
This is a record which speaks for
itself. In the face of such consum-
mate duplicity no American can have
the slightest confidence in Hitler's
assurances that he has no designs
against this continent, and we have
no feasible choice but to adhere to
our established policy of rendering
all necessary aid to Britain, regard
less of any threats which may be
made or Of any assurance which may
be given.