DEFENCE OF HITLER’S POLICY

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 154, 25 March 1939, Page 9

DEFENCE OF HITLER’S POLICY

German Visitor’s Views PROTECTION OF VITAL INTERESTS Dominion Special Service. CHRISTCHURCH, March 24. Frank comment on the changes made by Herr Hitler in Europe was made in an interview today by Baron von t)ertzeu, general export manager of Auto Union A.G., Chemnitz, Saxony, one or the largest motor-car manufacturing firms in Germany. The baron is of the old German aristocracy, his title having passed through 21 generations. He was one of the two founders of the Auto Union Company and on his present visit to New Zealand he will try to arrange for the distribution of the firm’s cars here. “Ours is a firm with 24,000 employees,” the baron said. “Our factory is iu Saxony, 10 miles from the Czech border—l should say the former Czech border —so you can imagine that I feel much better now,” he said smiling. “Aeroplanes from the other side could reach my factory in five minutes. TV e didn’t like the idea of that because we knew that Russian aeroplanes came over in September.” After a brief description of soine hunting experiences—the baron has shot lions and elephants in Africa, hunted tigers in India and (most recently) caught swordfish at the Bay of Islands—he turned to a discussion on Germany’s foreign policy. “What would England do,” he asked, “if she had in her back a country which was known to be opposed to her? And if aeroplanes in untold numbers from Russia and France could fly into the most densely populated parts of the country in five minutes and destroy most vital industries before even a soldier had stepped over the border? Look at the map,'and at the enormous boundary Germany had to protect against Czechoslovakia. If this were understood there would not be all this talk about the ambition of Germany for world domination. It was nothing but a step to protect the vital interests of my homeland. Cultural Freedom. “Then I say it is out of the question that the German Government or people would try to ’Germanize’ or destroy the cultural or national identity of the Czech people. They will have in future exactly thg same freedom in their own cultural activities as they had l before. Though some of you may find it difiicult to believe, it is a fact that the Czech Government asked the German Government for protection. "Adolf Hitler has offered friendship to England in his different speeches of the last five years more than six times,” the Baron went on, “but these offers have not been fairly represented in the Press. I sincerely hope that the time will come when these two nations —which are more akin than any two others in race, outlook and life —will find their way together toward permanent peace.” In Australia, he added, he had built up an organization for assembling and distributing of one of the cars made by Auto Union, the D.K.W., the smallest of the four types produced by the firm. He had let contracts for the supply of bodies, secured assembly plants for chassis aud had brought out a factory representative from Germany to take over the whole Australian organization.

T am trying to do the same in this country.'’ said the Baron. “I intend to see Ihe authorities. The duty here is the handicap—an enormous handicap tor German cars, being more than 30 times tire duty on English cars. In Australia and all the other Dominions litis difficulty is much less. I would be very very sorry if for this reason it would be impossible to come to an arrangement, for I always maintain that mutual trade is the best guarantee of peace.”