The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1941-09-09
BY JAY ALLEN


Six months ago / fell into the
clutches of the Gestapo and was
thrown into Jail in occupied
France. ! was put there to stop
me from finding out what /
wanted TO know. But the Joke is
on the Nazis because there, in
the Military Prison at Chalon, /
found out much more than /
could possibly have uncovered
had ! been free to move about
II was in March when l tried
to cross over from what people
quantity called free France
into the occupied zone, and was
picked up by a German customs
guard, stationed along the DEM
creation line between occupied
and unoccupied France. They're
very efficient fellows, those
guards. They use. police dogs, and
they have a nasty habit of plant
ing land mines in the dark in
places where they suspect that
people are slipping through.
In Chalon I mingled and talk
ed freely with the other prison.
ers, thousands Of them, French
men from every class of life, Bel
gians. Hollanders, men from 9TH
er occupied counties, in fact
from most Of occupied Europe.
l heard old French conserva-
tives in my Jail whoop with joy
when the news was struggled in
to us of Mr.. ChurchilIs great
speech the day Hitler attacked
Russia, in which he said that
any enemy of Hitler was Brit
aims friend. French conserva-
tives. Bank of France people,
yet they were glad that Russia
had joined Britain in fighting
Hitlerl
That is the set-up in France
today. II is my considered opin-
that at least ninety-five per
cent of the French people loathe
the Nazis, don't want any part of
Hitler Europe and pray for a
British victory After a year of
occupation, even those who sec
reilly hoped and worked for the
triumph of fascism in Europe
are so disiliusioned and SO en-
Filtered, they don't care who
beats Hitler. as long as he is
beaten.
They are the people who were
the French isolationists, who
were SO friendly to the Nazis
from 1886 on. who tolerated
their advances everywhere. They
were the people who didn't want
to Idle for Danzig". AS it turn
ed out, they didn't want to die
for France, nor even to fight.
They thought that a victory
for German fascism would mean
that in France, they, the French
fascists. would find themselves
at the top of the heap. But the
Germans have brought German
fascism TO France, not French
fascism. Now the great French
industrialists, and the people
who belonged to such groups as
the Croix du Ecu, find them
selves stripped, pillaged, denud-
ed Their factories, newspapers
and homes have been requisi-
toned OF downright confiscated
by the Nazis with French money.
The French pay four hundred
million francs a day to the Ger
mans for what are called occu-
patton costs The Germans spend
about two hundred millions on
the army of occupation. With
the rest they buy everything
raw materials, machine tools,
railway cars, everything.
So they are disillusioned, these
people who did not want to die
for Danzig, nor even for France.
Now they are being asked to die
for Germany and Maxi world.
They are being forced to create
q new world order in which the
Germans will be their masters,
That Is what has Ihappeneelo to
them, these people who siwere,
and sincerely, for France fiStl
don't think there were many
Frenchmen who knowingly CO.
operated in the downfall of their
country. Most of those who be-
lieved in opportunism and mac
ton were sincere patriots and
devoted to what they considered
the best interests Of France. But
the Nazi propaganda agencies
made sure that they had plenty
Of support and that their views
were thoroughly puhlicized. And
what worries these people now
Is that, here in America, we
seem to be falling for the same
sort of propaganda that was re-
sponsible for the Collapse Of