Evening star., 1948-02-26
Tyrunny on the March

pUI tltC AAA6t eA@SAoAo~-
ally democratic people of Czechoslovakia
today must be as sorrowful and bitter as
any since the time of the Nazi occupation
and the crime of Lidice. Their period OF
postwar freedom has been bleakly short
lived. With the terrors of Hitlerism still
fresh In their minds, what they are
threatened with now is another tyranny
quite as bad, if not worse-a Communist
tyranny bent on robbing them of all liberty
and independence and making them vas
sails of the Krenlin.
The coup that has brought this about
has nothing unique in it, 1t Is drearily
familiar It is the same, in its essentials,
as the thing that has made Poland, Hun
gary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and
Albania mere Soviet puppets. Like their
conspiratorial comrades in those lands, the
Czech Communists, having first inf1ltrated
into the army and won control of the
police, labor unions and propaganda agen-
cies, have simply chosen the ripe moment
to take over the government and set up
a dictatorship designed to work hand in
glove with the Kremlin. Representing only
a minority with dwindling support, they
could come to power in no other way. Ger
tainly, they could not have passed the test
of a free, honest genuinely democratic
election.
1t is scarcely to be doubted, moreover,
that in staging their coup the Czech Com
munists have followed signals called from
Moscow The systematic organization
behind their action the deployment of
police and the Tightening and enlargement
of border patrols to prevent escapes all
indicate careful beforehand planning, with
thorough coaching from the Kremlin home
Office. Despite his very great prestige and
his devotion to freedom, the ailing Presi-
dent Benes could hardly have overcome
these measures or the ruthless personal
pressure exerted against him by Premier
Gottwald and his coconspirators. Not even
Hitler could have committed more effec-
tive political murder.
So Czechoslovakia, now on it's way to
Soviet vassalage, apparently has nothing
to look forward to but the same sort of
thing as has happened in all the satellite
countries in Eastern Europe. Unless past
examples are poor guide, the iron cur
tain will become more iron than ever
there; the nom Communist political oppo-
sition will be liquidated; certain Czech
patriots will be sentenced to life imprison-
ment or death on false charges of treason;
oppression and terrorism will mount; and
finally. in the name of the new democ-
racy," police state will be firmly estab-
lished, and woe to any one daring to
oppose it.
The free outside world needs to do some
thing more about this than just express
indignation and disgust. What is happen
ing differs little from Hitler's bloodless
march of conquest before the war. Only
the marcher is new, not the marching
With Czechoslovakia in the hands of the
Kremlin- serving Communists the Soviet
Union is in the process of rounding out a
vast empire of political, economic and mill
tary satellites and the shadow of its
dominance now falls across the entire
continent, clear to the English Channel.
The thing Is menace to democracy
everywhere.
As never before, therefore, Western
Europe should feel urgently impelled to
achieve as much union as possible as fast
as possible, and our own country should
be prepared to back 1t up. Given that, plus
prompt and adequate application of the
Marshall Plan, plus military readiness in
line with the dangers of the hour, the Red
tide can be checked. In any event, hand
wringing will accomplish nothing, nor will
mere diplomatic protests. The time is
here for affirmative action. The Czech
coup is a portent of worse to come If the
free world does too little too late.