POLISH-CZECH DECISION

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 42, 13 November 1940, Page 8

POLISH-CZECH DECISION

Closer Association BASIS FOR POST-WAR ORDER

(British Ollieial Wireless.!

RUGBY, November 1 I

An important joint declaration by the .Polish Government and the provisional Government of Czechoslovakia. which has been published in London, announces the determination of the two Governments to enter into a political and economic association which they envisage jls providing an example and basis tor a new post-war order m Cential Europe open to other countries m that region and affording a guarantee of stability.

Official quarters in London have hailed the conclusion of this agreement with the warmest satisfaction, and it can be said that His Majesty s Government regards it as a happj augury of a better state of affairs in the liberated" Europe. At the same time it is emphasized that the agreement is spontaneous and owes nothing to any other Government. Diplomatic circles here applaud the spirit in which representatives of two States which have learnt a cruel lesson in common and. whose peoples now suffer common martyrdom have brushed aside all obstacles raised up by past misunderstanding or errors in order to make n bold and imaginative stroke toward building a happier and better future for their two countries and the whole of Central Europe. Text of Declaration. Tlie text of the declaration is as follows "Imbued with inflexible faith that tlie heroic struggle now being waged bv Britain, together with her Allies, against German tyranny will end in the final defeat of the forces of evil and destruction, and animated by the profound conviction that the iutuie order of the world must be based on co-operation by till the elements which recognize the principles of freedom and justice as constituting the moral foundation of all our common civilization, the two Governments consider it imperative to declare solemnly even now that Poland and Czechoslovakia, closing once and for all tlie period of great recriminations and disputes, and taking into consideration the community of their fundamental interest, are determined ott tlie conclusion of this war to enter as independent sovereign States into closer political and economic association which would become the basis of a new order in Central Europe, and a guarantee of its stability. “Moreover, botli Governments express the hope that in this co-opera-tion, which is based on respect for the freedom of nations, the principles of democracy and tlie dignity of man, they will also be joined by other countries in that part of the European Continent. "Tlie two Governments arc resolved already and now co-operate closely for (lie defence of their common interests and for the preparation of the future association of the twj countries. Nazi Hypocrisy.

"The two Governments stigmatize tlie cynical farce which the leaders of Nazi Germany are endeavouring to stage by proclaiming themselves builders of a new European order. The hypocrisy of these assertions is most clearly revealed in the light of German endeavours aiming at tlie destruction of our two ancient nations which have contributed their important share to the common treasure of human civilization. “Tlie violence and cruelty to which our two nations are being subjected, tlie expulsions of tlie native population from large areas of its secular homelands, the banishing of hundreds of thousands of men and women to the interior of Germany for forced labour, mass execution, and deportations to concentration camps, tlie plundering of public and private property, tlie extermination of the intellectual class and of al) manifestation of cultural life, the spoliation of treasures of science and art, and the persecution of all religious beliefs are unparalleled in nil human history. They offer a striking example of the spirit and methods of the Germanic new order. “The two Governments address this burning appeal to all free peoples immune from the German terror that, in measure of their strength, they should help the nations allied in the struggle for the freedom of all nations and tlie deliverance of the world from its present monstrous nightmare.”