Evening star., 1945-01-07


be made by any of their members, since
the declaration signed on January 1,
1912, was SUFFICIENT to cover the war
needs, there have been private treaties
between France and Russia and CZecho.
slovakia and Russia which have con.
siderably disturbed the other members.
Russia has signed an armistice with
Germany's satellites in the Balkans and
is expected to sign similar armistice
with Hungary in the near future. This
is being done officially in the name Of
Great Britain and the United States.
but as matter of fact we and the
British have little to say about what
Is being done in the Balkans Russia
Is the paramount power in that area
and intends to remain so.
The question of Poland is even worse
than all the others from the diplomatic
point Of view. Not only have the Poles
been fighting for their independence,
but since they have lost their country
Polish armies have been fighting on all
the fronts in Europe About 10000
Polish soldiers, formed in regular d.
visions, are fighting on the side of the
British and American forces in Italy
and France.
A strong Polish underground has
fought, on orders from the Polish gov
ernment in exile, on the side Of the
Russians at Lwow and in Volhynia. The
British and American governments con-
tinue to recognize this Polish govern
ment in exile, despite severe pressure
from Moscow. No one tries to minimize
the cleavage between the various men,
bers Of the United Nations because Of
the Polish problem"
The Nazi propagandists were greatly
assisted in their job of keeping their
people together by two other factors
the declaration that nothing but uncon-
ditional surrender would be accepted
and the Morgenthau plan which
leaked" out at Washington at the worst
possible stage of the war.
Foch Stand Firm.
No defeated nation should be given
any choice but unconditional surrender.
But these logical military terms must
be imposed on the defeated armies when
they are no longer in position to fight.
Marshal Foch Allied supreme COM
mander in the World War, imposed
these terms on the Germans when they
asked for armistice terms in 1918. He
gave them six hours in which to accept
or bear the consequences of an all
out Allied offensive.
Marshal Foch was in less favorable
position then, because the Germans did
| not have to worry about the eastern
| front. Several months earlier the Rus
sions had signed the treaty Of Brest-
Litovsk. Yet the German people had
enough Of war and forced their mill
| tary men to give up.
President Roosevelt, as commander
In chief of the United States forces, an
bounced his terms long before the Ger
mans, the Italians and the japanese
were ready to collapse military. The
Italians accepted Strange as it may
seem, our position today in freed
Italy" is that of tolerated" visitor.
The Italians have government of their
own and are looking either toward
the east to Moscow for their political
independence or toward the west to
London for the maintenance of a po-
| litical staus quo. We are in between
and are washing our hands of political
| matters and have assumed the position
| of an unwanted umpire who Is being
kicked by both players and spectators.
Aided German Propaganda.
The German propaganda machine has
| taken advantage of this theme" and
has told its people that the life Of no
| German would be safe under the ruth
less" terms of the Allies. They are told
that if they give up the fight they will
become the slaves of the conquerors.
| The leak concerning the Morgenthau
| plan came at good psychological mo-
mentor the Nazi propagandists. It
fully confirmed their statements that
| the Allies intend to treat Germany as
the Romans treated Carthage.
The speech of Prime Minister Churchill
last month in which he favored transfer
of millions of Germans from East
| Prussia, Silesia and Pomerania in order
| to yield their homes to the Poles from
| behind the Curzon Line has further
strengthened Herr Goebbel's propaganda
and verified his statements.
The German reaction to the various
diplomatic actions of the Allies has been
| felt for some time on the western front
where the dispatches speak regularly
about the fanaticism of the German
soldiers. And this fanaticism is being
noted not only among the old, battle
| tried troops but also among the newer
| military organizations which include
youngsters not over II years of age
| and men over 49,
Not Supermen.
The Germans are not supermen or
| invincible warriors. This has been
| proved in Russia, Italy, Africa and
Normandy. After six years of fighting
there is no question that their morale
could have been broken had they seen
that by overthrowing their government
and making peace with the Allies they
could have survived as defeated but
not enslaved nation. They are now
fighting with the despair OF a cornered
wild animal who never ceases to claw
and bite until he is killed.
And how long or costly the battle
will be before the actual kill" nobody
ventures to predict. In January, 1914,
we were full Of logical optimism that
the war would be over before the end
Of the year. The political situation had
been patched up sufficiently 70 enable
the United Nations structure to last for
several months-until the end of hos
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