Evening star., 1943-11-25


world. The war David Lawrence.
has certainly been brought home
to the German people. Having ac-
complished this, 1t would not be
surprising If, on the other hand,
third world war happens just the
same.
The belief that a people can be
conquered permanently and that
they never will rise to challenge
their conquerors is fallacious. The
German people who read the terms
Of surrender in 1918 knew they were
beaten. Their fleet was completely
destroyed, partly by the British
Navy and partly by the scuttling in
Scapa Flow. The army was reduced
to 5000 and an international dis
armament commission was ap-
pointed to see that Germany stayed
dlsarmed. 1t is doubtful whether
either the American or British
people would have approved the
maintenance of an army of occupa-
ton in Germany for decade fol-
lowing the war. And yet within Is
years after the World War the
German militarists were back again
at the job of preparing for war and
there was ample time for the British
and the French to meet that threat
before it got too much momentum
or strength. 1t wasn't done. The
answer is not to be found in the
fact that American armies didn't
march into Berlin to drive home
the lesson of defeat.
Must View Decades Ahead.
Berlin is being bombed as no city
has been bombed before. Germany
will be beaten in this war as in the
World War and the present genera
ton Of German citizens will know
1t full well. What the peace-loving
peoples OF the next few decades
have to worry about is whether the
peace will be kept by member ma
tions Of collective group or
whether each nation will 60 its own
way and refuse to contribute physi-
cal might to the maintenance of
peace. Likewise the world powers
will have to decide whether they will
bring about conditions conducive to
peace-an opportunity for economic
sustenance or whether the con-
quered peoples are to be kept in
abject slavery and poverty.
There Is a school Of thought in
Britain which is talking loudly about
exterminating the German people
as too warlike. This is the kind
of talk that stiffens resistance and
makes noncombatants feel they
must stick till the bitter end. 1t
means a prolongation Of the war
and the needless sacrifice of life on
both sides.
German cities are getting taste
of the punishment the Nazis meted
out to the towns and cities of other
nations-a punishment that goes to
the German people because they
acquiesce in and tolerate Hitlerism.
But this does not mean that the
capacity for revenge on the part of
the Germans will be completely ex-
tinguished on the day Of the sur
render. On the contrary, spirit of
hate and revenge may be built up
which will keep Europe and the rest
of the world in an armed state for
many years, bringing increased
economic burdens that sap the
vitality of the conquerors.
Leaders Need Vision.
A spirit of fair play toward the
conquered is Christian concept
which will be unpleasant for many
to accept because the emotions of
the war will prevent the application
Of that kind of common sense to the
postwar world unless the leadership
of the Allied Nations is far -visioned
and statesmanlike. 1t is a super
fetal judgment which assumes that
peoples stay conquered II they are
not given a chance for economic life.
The sullenness and revenge that can
be bred by such a mistaken concept
OF what to do about the conquered
Is easy enough to belittle now, but
there must inevitably arise out of
the Allied side courageous spokes-
men who will find ways and means
to speak the voice of reason directly
to the German people and cause
them to overthrow Hitler and
shorten the war.
To call all Germans Nazis and to
ask for the determination of the
German people is to give the Nazis
high command the very propaganda
they need for desperate resistance.
Nobody can be happy about the
raids heaped on the German people.
but these raids are inflicted only
because the Nazi high command has
willed it so. The German people
must be given some good reason for
revolution against Hitler and his
fellow criminals.
Maybe Prime Minister Churchill
President Roosevelt and Marshal
Stain in their scheduled meeting
abroad will write such an appeal to
the German people. 1t is a desir-
able step in our psychological war,
and could conceivably bring an early
surrender of German arms.
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