Evening star., 1942-04-17
Hitler Enthrones
Another QuisIine
Sees Elevation of LovoI
As Completing
Nozi Experiment
By Blair BolleS.

brings TO close a German experiment
in oppressive craftsmanship as cunning
as anything cunning Adolf has framed
The French settlement OF 1910 divided all
Gaul into two parts, The French people
and the French government were turned
into SchiZophrenes. Half of France was
ruled In fact by Germany. The other
half was governed in fiction by a French
regime. The popular French loathing for
the German was balanced by the pop
ular French liking for Marshal Petain.
The people oppressed by the Germans
hoped for protection in a government
which In its turn was most subtly op-
pressed by the Germans. Half of France
hoped that it was free even when 1t
knew very well 1t was not free.
Anti-Axis governments which dealt
with Petain from the point of view that
he was helpless German tool ran the
danger of outraging those many French
men and women who still regarded
Petain as a great French hero. BY
making 1t impossible for all France to
realize that the country had lost its in
dependence, Hitler made 1t impossible
for France to concentrate its antipathies
on the Germans. The time has come
now when France knows who its enemies
are: Hitler In Berlin and Laval In Vichy.
The French love for Petain Is matched
by the loathing for Laval. If we Amer
leans have lost the useless friendship of
weak government, we have gained the
valuable friendship of a strong people.
Only later day will let us know why
1t was that Hitler chose the middle of
April to destroy the madhouse govern
ment he had established in July two
years ago How was it Petain could be
so easily overturned7 The past two
months have indicated that so far as
Petain was concerned, the United States
had greater authority in Vichy than Ger
many did. This is scarcely pleasing
prospect for German conqueror at war
with the United States.
Only later day, too. will let us know
the world consequences of the elevation
of Laval. What the change permits us
TO do at this moment is to inquire into
the various systems Hitler has used for
governing the different parts of Europe.
From the North Cape to the Gulf of
Lyon, from the North Sea to the Black,
the countries which only three years ago
were honest republics and kingdoms now
are misruled by host of despots in the
Axis interest-generals, policemen and
puppets.
Occupied France itself Is subdivided
into several administrative regions. The
military governor of Paris is Gen. Won
Stulpenhagel. The military governor of
the provinces north of the Somme Is Gen.
Won Falkenhausen, whose Jurisdiction
also includes the wffole of Belgium. The
provinces of Alsace and Lorraine have
been submitted to an intensive German
lzation which obviously is aimed at the
annexation Of those territories to the
German Reich. This step cannot be
taken, under the terms OF the armistice
of Compiegne, without Vichy acquies-
cence, but the Germans have been pre-
pairing against the future by evacuating
all the speaking inhabitants of
Alsace and Lorraine and all the German
speaking inhabitants who, after the
World War, became naturalized French
citizens. The schools of Alsace and Lor-
raine now teach only German.
The Italians occupy a few acres of
France-half the town of Mention, be-
tween Monaco and the French Italian
border. The relations of Vichy and Ber-
lin have been wholly regularized, with
Paris designated as the meeting place of
the agents of both capitals. Fernand de
Brinon is the Vichy Ambassador to Paris.
Otto Abetz is the NaA Ambassador
to Paris.
Northern France and Belgium are sub
ject to military governor because they
are considered likely points at which the
Allies might strike il they should invade
the European continent. Luxembourg,
contrariwise Is governed by a civil
gauleiter, Gustav Simon, as is the Meth
erlands, whose Reichskommisar is Seyss-
Inquart. The military representative of
Germany in the Netherlands Is in con-
troll only of the German troops of occu-
patton. The Netherlands government is
primarily a civil rather than q military
question.
The Germans intrust the administra-
tive supervision of Denmark to their
minister plenipotentiary in Copenhagen,
Cecil Won Renthe-Fink. The admins
tration of Norway is nominally in the
hands of Premier Vidkun Quisling, the
| president of the Fascist Nasjonal Sam
| hngs party but Riechskommisar Josef
| Terboven sits in a special office in the
Parliament buildings in Oslo and guides
| Quisling along the proper path of CO.
! operation. There Is a small Fascist
group in Denmark, but the Germans are
said to distrust its leader, Clausen.
In Poland the Germans sought a
Quisling-like puppet but they could not
find him. Last August they offered the
| job Of premier to the Lwow professor,
Casimir Bartel, who had been three
times Premier of Poland during the
! days OF the republic. Bartel refused.
| On August 81 he was shot. Now DR..
Hans Frank, formerly German judge,
is governor general of the Central and
Eastern provinces of Poland, and Arthur
G. ReiSer, former president of the DAN
zig Senate, is gauleiter for the Western
Polish provinces which have been in
corporated into the German Reich
| Poznan, Gdynia and Silesia.
| Heinrich LohSe is the kommiSsar for
| the three Baltic countries EStonia IIith-