Evening star., 1942-09-01
Into the Fourth Year

Into the Fourth Year
Just three years ago today the
monstrous war machine of Hitlers
Third Reich smashed across the from
tiers of Poland. preceded in the skies
by massive flights of airplanes, SOW
ing death and destruction over the
invaded land and disrupting Polish
| military communications.
Thus began a war incomparably
the most widespread and terrible
that mankind has ever known. Be
side it, the conflict of a generation
ago is already outclassed in every
respect save that of duration, and
the portents are that the present
struggle will considerably exceed the
time span OF its grim predecessor.
Nothing can better illustrate the
character OF the holocaust we are
living through than the fact that, as
yet, it has acquired no generally &C
cepted name. This implies that the
wit OF man is thus far unable to coin
the word or phrase which will ade-
quately denote it's full significance.
Last time, both sides agreed on a
term: The World War But we in
stlnctively feel that it is not enough
to dub this conflict Number Two"
The differences in degree and kind
are too glaring. Perhaps the dis
junction may be indicated by terming
our present aff1iction "the War of the
World"
How relatively restricted was the
preceding conflict can be seen when
it is remembered that land fighting
was concentrated almost wholly in
Central Europe and the Near East:
that sea fighting did not spread much
beyond the North Atlantic, while air
warfare was still in its infancy. To-
day, by contrast, every ocean is a
crucial battlefield, while every con-
tinent is directly involved. Further
more, this war is as unique in in
tensity as it is in scope. It's Unsuitable
demands pre-empt all production
everywhere beyond the bare margin
OF subsistence, devouring accumu-
lated wealth, degrading living stand
ards and imposing crushing burdens
OF taxation. Thus, for the first time
IN human history, we are confronted
with a war which is literally both
global and total
Ihls dread visitation has revealed
It's full nature in successive stages.
Ihree years ago today, only Germany
and Poland were fighting, and
though Britain and France promptly
redeemed their treaty obligations to
their Polish ally by declaring war on
the Reich, the next six months saw
the strange lull in Western Europe
which was then short-sightedly nick
named the Phony War" The larger
military conflict began with the Ger
man sweeps into Scandinavia and
across the Low Countries and France.
in the spring of 1910, followed by the
aerial "blitz" of Britain that au-
tumn, wherein Hitler was baked of
his ultimate goal, the destruction of
the British. Meanwhile, Italys entry
on the German side spread the war
to the Mediterranean, Africa and
Near East.
Not until 1941, however, did the
conflict attain its full stature. That
momentous year opened with a Brit
lsh offensive in North Africa. cut
short by the Axis sweep through the
Balkans to Crete. Then, in June.
came a tremendous extension of the
war by the German surprise attack
on the Soviet Union. Early Decem-
Der witnessed an even vaster exten-
sion by the japanese blow at Pearl
Harbor that involved the rest of Asia
and the Pacific. The ever-spreadinp
conflict drew in the last of the CONT
nents when Brazil recently declared
war on Germany and Italy for their
submarine depredations.
Thus, at long last, by process of
remorseless evolution, the conflict
begun locally in Poland has become
the War of the World in the fullest
sense of that tremendous phrase.
Extension has thus reached its logi-
cal maximum. But the wars in
tensity is still being stepped up to
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