Evening star., 1945-04-28
Junction on the EIbe

tIlc uiOSJ teTTlDle war III history, CIlc
Allied armies of the east and west
are at last joined in Germany. Thus,
as Berlin battles suicidally to a
ghastly finish. the whole of Hitler's
"thousand-year" Reich is cut COM
pletely in two and the remnants Of
his once-mighty legions-the legions
that were to conquer Europe and the
world-now are broken into hope
lessly isolated fragments.
In itself, as a military event, this
junction has none of the spectacular
qualities of great battle, but it is
tremendously significant in the sense
that it marks the end of effective
Nazi resistance. In President Tru-
mans words, it signifies that "the
last faint desperate hope of Hitler
and his gangster government has
been extinguish. 4" and that the
hour of final victory in Europe,
though not yet here. draws near.
The junction is Of immense signifi-
canoe. too. because it means that
now, since our British and American
forces are directly merged with the
Red Army. complicated new prob
lens of coordination must be met
to smooth the joint task of liquidat-
ing the last pockets of resistance
and of putting into effect unified
occupation policies.
This momentous development is
the elimination of long years of
Allied travail and of a vast and
heartbreaking expenditure of Allied
blood. 1t is the end-product of an
awesome march of power westward
some 1,400 miles from Stalingrad
and eastward more than 1000 miles
from America-the end-product of
Britain's lone stand in the dark days
after Dunkerque; of Russia's mag
niflcent comeback from the banks of
the Volga: of Montgomery's victory
at Ell Alamein; of the projection of
the might of the United States
across the Atlantic to North Africa;
of the miracle" of American pro-
duction; of our hard-won Allied
triumph over the U-boats; of the
invasion of Sicily and Italy, and
finally of the landings in Normandy.
These are the things that have
made possible the colossal and his
torically unprecedented victory we
are seeing. But things" is not the
proper word for them. They are
better described in human terms
in terms of the courage and stead
fastness of the millions of Allied
troops who have achieved them, in
terms OF the endless lists Of casual
ties, in terms of the armies of brave
men who have laid down their lives
to bring this day about. It is because
OF them, because of their heroism
and sacrifice, that one of the black
est tyrannies ever to aff1ict mankind
has been shattered. It is because of
them that Nazi Germany lies pros
trate and that Britain, Russia, the
United States and all the United
Nations now have the opportunity to
demonstrate. as President Truman
says. that they can collaborate "in
the cause of peace and freedom" as
effectively as they have collaborated
in waging war.
In hailing this historic moment,
the President wisely reminds us that
the mopping-up operations against
the Nazis may yet take considerable
time, that Japan still remains to be
defeated and that there must there
fore be no relaxation on the home
front. We are only halfway to
global victory. and even after we
have gone the whole way, we and
our Allies will face the task of max
ing the peace. And this, as the
President says, we must do together.
just as we are winning the war
together. Otherwise we shall be
breaking faith with all who have
died to make possible such triumphs