Evening star., 1944-06-04

There is an increasing realization
among Americas political men,
especially in Congress, that a mill
tary victory for the Allies in Europe
will prove easier than the organiza-
tion of peace after the victory has
been won.
ALI the blueprints for postwar
Europe-the Far East has not yet
come into the picture except very
tentatively-are pure laboratory
work. They look good when ex-
amined specifically. Their main
drawback Is that they are based on
an agreement among the big three,
with little consideration for the
hundreds of millions of voiceless
people who are either under Nazi
domination or in Nazidom itself.
We do not know what Europe
thinks. Its aspirations and desires
are beclouded by interested propa-
ganda or by the stringent activities
Of the Gestapo. But there is no
question that the peoples of the
continent, who have suffered unbe-
lievable hardships for the last five
years and are on the verge of wit
Messing even greater destruction
and loss of life, will demand that
the victors respect their wishes and
desires. To say that the peoples
from the English Channel to the
Russian borders are pro this and
pro that would be to follow an
ostrich policy.
Role May Be Political.
There is not a single country in
Europe-with the exception of the
few remaining neutrals in Central
and Northern Europe-which does
not have its underground move
ment The underground cannot be
easily defined. In some countries,
such as Poland and France, and to
a lesser extent in Belgium and Hol-
land, the movement may try to help
the invasion armies But if we are
to judge the situation from the off,
the-record and frank statements
made by some underground mem
bers who have come to this country,
the movement is likely to play a
much greater role in the political
affairs of Europe than in the
military developments.
The men and the women who
belong to it are people who have
suffered intensely. They are the
homeless who do not know where to
turn because their homes and prop
erty have been destroyed. If the
underground in France is so bitter
against the existing government. it
is not because they hate Marshal
Petain and admire Gen. De Gaulle,
as we are being led to believe. 1t is
because the Nazi stooges who have
important government positions still
enjoy full meals and excellent wines
In their homes, or in the few privi-
legged restaurants in Paris, while the
rank and file of the people are
forced to live on the most meager
diet ever known in France.
To say that the underground in
the other countries with govern
ments in exile are impatiently
awaiting the return of their leaders
would again be an exaggeration.
The exiled monarchs and heads of
state have undergone much moral
suffering, but have been far better
of than their own people whom
they left behind. This is in no way
a criticism of the decisions of the
invaded countries governments to
seek refuge from the enemy. But,
after four or five years of absence,
the Nazi propaganda has been able
to instill shrewdly into the minds of
the people the picture that their
leaders were living in the laps of
luxury in England or Canada, with
occasional junkets to Washington
1t is hard to imagine that this sort
OF propaganda has not had its effect
Elements Disconnected.
| The European underground, which
originated as a move to pin prick
the conquerors, has changed its
physiognomy. 1t is now formed of all
the discontented elements which are
undergoing unbelievable hardships
and which are determined to have
their say, politically or otherwise
after the official "cease-f1 fire" signal
has been sounded.
OF course, the patterns of the
movements are different. In West