Milford chronicle., 1954-06-18

1 ~ Wv -@AA e44C Way
le hand and Americans on the
policies since the dictator passed
away, signs that the new regime
IS less aggressive, that it is seek
ing peace and settlement of diff
cplties. The American govern
ment and public are more in
lciined to believe that the post
Stain regime is as aggressive
ag before.
The Russians have done much
20 appear conciliatory to West
ern Europeans during the past
year. They have made nurner-
Gus small but effective gestures.
These have had considerable
effect.
Another ingredient in West
lern European neutralism is the
fact that the Communist spear
neaC appears now to be pointed
away from Europe-to South
east Asia. Despite the involve
lment of the British and the
French in Southeast Asia. the
average European does not get
very excited about what seems
so remote. II is the Americans
with their Pearl Harbor and
Korean experience who feel this
threat much more keenly.
It would be a mistake to as
sumo that neutralist moods are
founded primarily in logic.
Emotion is their most important
constituent.
Emotional Picture
And in the. emotional picture
the phenomenon called anti
Americanism is important
Aneurin Bevan in England and
other important Western Euro
peail politicians appeal to it reg
.ularly.
Antl-AmericaniSm in Western
Europe is something which
Americans themselves find diff
cult to understand. In part it
seems to be the not-unnatursl
reaction of proud peoples who
find their relative power in
world affairs is so much less
than it used to be. They resent
this and particularly the United
States with its wealth and
might, with somewhat the same
feelings which an aristocratic
but recently-impovershed rela-
tive might have toward a new
rich uncle from whom he has to
seek material help.
Furthermore, for the first time
in a long while, West Europeans
can permit themselves to ex-
press their anti-American feel
ings. With American assistance,
they now have largely recov-
cred from their economic crisis.
They are, so to speak, feeling
their oats.
Fear Of German Mllitarism
No less emotional is the atti-
tude in France and Britain to
revival of West German eco
nomic power and to American
sponsored plans for using Ger
mans in edo forces. Fear of
German power is deeply in
grained in peoples who have
twice in one generation suffered
from German aggression.
The fear of German militar-
ism in Western Europe is some
thing which tends to make the
Russian menace seem less inn
portant. The Russians know
this and stimulate it.
There are other factors too.
The most important is West Eu-
ropes general feeling about a
war. Most Western Europeans
consider that if there is an
atomic. wal between the United
States and the U.S.S.R., that no
matter who wins il, they will
not be around to see the end.
They believe their beautiful
cities will be destroyed and
their countries made battle
grounds where the titans will
fight it out to the finish-of
Western Europe.
Grasp at Hopes
Anything seems better to
many Western Europeans than
this. II is natural many of them
grasp eagerly at any hope of a
peace settlement between East
and West.
In their state Of mind, West
ern Europeans. sometimes feel
that the American policies of
firmneSs against communism
which are intended to prevent
war, in fact, are actually on the
point of bringing on the ulti-
mate catastrophe.
Neutralism has in it much
wiShful thinking.
It also has in it many elements
similar to the moods which set
the scene for the Munich sur
render to Hitler in 1898.
Like it or not, however, neu-
tralism is a fact. How much
deeper in Western European
psychology it is going to grow
in the coming months and years
cannot be foreseen.
But already the situation
which it has created for us.
diplomacy is very difficult in.
deed.