Evening Post WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 15, 1939. FERMENT IN GERMANY?

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 118, 15 November 1939, Page 8

Evening Post WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 15, 1939. FERMENT IN GERMANY?

ANSWEBSfTO CORRESPONDENTS. A. C. Barrington.—lt. would not put events'ln correct perspective to quote one man's account of events over 20 years ago. "Not a Yesma'n."—lnquiries are being made. P.P. —The same point has been raised by a

A laconic message today from Copenhagen, usually one of the most reliable sources of inside information about what is happening in Germany, states that Marshal yon Blomberg and-other, well-known Nazis are reported to have been arrested. This may be taken as additional evidence of what the Paris correspondent of the "New York Times" yesterday described, variously^ as "sporadic opposition to the regime," "discontent which neutrals declare is openly discussed in all circles," and "division in the Nazi Party becoming more marked daily," At the same time the correspondent adds:

False hopes of the quick disintegration of >the party and the collapse of Herr Hitler's supreme authority are disCourdged in France, but hesitation ih launching total warfare, the Munich outrage, and neutrals* reports all tend to prove that uncertainty and division have begun to reign where previously Herr Hitler's clean-cut decisions were everybody's law.

The causes of the trouble may be several. Basic opposition to the Nazi regime would naturally come from two widely opposed sources— the popular democratic parties predominant under the Weimar Republ£cand..nbt entirely suppressed by the" Nazis, and the land owners, industrialists, and middle-classes whose! sympathies are with the Monarchy. To the latter category Marshal yon, Blomberg would belong as former head of the Reichswehr, and so also would. Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of

Prussia, favourite of the Monarchists, who is said to have been arrested and shot. There are many indications in the broadcasts of the Freedom League and, perhatps, in the Munich beer-hall affair, that" the democratic movement is reviving.

More important at the moment is the fuhrer's own feeling towards associates and subordinates whom he may presume to have let him down and brought Germany to her present predicament. It has long been known as a marked characteristic of Herr Hitler to. become infuriated when liis plans are thwarted or bungled by those appointed to carry them out. These are the occasions for "purges." The most, conspicuous was that of TRoehm and the left-wing Nazis in 1934. Hitler then feared a coup d'etat; it was said, and struck first. In "February, 1938, on the eve of the march into Austria, there was a similar but bloodless* jpurge. Apparently the Fuhrer found that his leading generals were riot prepared to be instruments of his policy, of which they were highly critical. Tlie result was,> described as "the most '•strihgfent overhaul in the structure of Government since the days of Prince Bismarck." Among those who were retired were Marshal yon Blomberg, Minister of War, and General yon Fritsch, Commander-in-Chief of the army. The latter is said to have met his death quite recently in the ranks in the war against Poland. The most i important change^ however, was that Herr Hitler himself undertook the supreme command of the armed forces.

Among those "promoted" in this "purge" was a man who has since played a leading part in the destinies of Germany, Herr Joachim yon Ribbentrop, formerly Ambassador in London, anil before that well known in Britain as a salesman of chain -

pagne and other wines. He was appointed by Herr Hitler to be Foreign Minister of Nazi Germany in succession to tlie veteran diplomat, Baron yon Neurath. The next twelve months from March, 1938, cover the period of the greatest successes of the Nazi regime in altering bloodlessly the map of Europe. In the rape of Austria, the Munich affair, and the subsequent elimination of Czecho-Slovakia as an independent State, Herr yon Ribjbentrop was the mentor on foreign policy for the Fuhrer. It was he, it is believed, who constantly urged the hesitating Hitler, at moments of indecision, when the risks seemed great, to plunge. At first all to go well and justify his advice. The crowning triumph—on the surface—was the pact with Soviet Russia, but in reality* this has turned out to be the very reverse of a triumph of Hitler's own policy, set forth in "Mem Kampf." Finally, there was the distinct rebuff to Herr yon Ribbentrop in the agreement between Britain, France, and- Turkey, which cuts off Germany from the Levant and bars another traditional 7 outlet. When therefore Herr-von Ribbentrop endeavoured to defend himself in.his [speech at Danzig towards the end of last month, his effort was well entitled by "The Times" as "A Bungler's Apologia," and the man himself by the "Daily Telegraph** as

"The Discredited Oracle." "The Times" summed up the position in

these words:

Ribbentrop's first failure has been followed by a series of blunders which have landed Germany •in the worst diplomatic position she has ever found herself—far worse than that in which, with her allies around her, she stood at the beginning of the last war.

v It is not Herr Hitler?s way to have any mercy on subordinates who fail or who do hot fall in'with his own views,. and the ominous silence in Germany at the moment may indicate that another "purge" is in store. According to a New York cable yesterday "the situation created by the Belgian and Dutch initiatives for peace and the British and French replies is undoubtedly an Allied tactical success, plabing on Germany the responsibility for the future of the Netherlands." The commentator adds that "it is evident thkt the opportune moment to attack either Bel-, gi»m or Holland has passed." Thus the Nazi rulers are left in a quandary well calculated to rouse the Fuhrer to a frenzy. In what direction will his pent-up rage break out?