The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11, 1939. GERMANY AND RUSSIA

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20065, 11 October 1939, Page 4

The Gisborne Herald. WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED “THE TIMES.” GISBORNE, WEDNESDAY, OCT. 11, 1939. GERMANY AND RUSSIA

A communique issued jointly bv Germany and Russia after the invasion of Poland stated that il' the German "peace offensive" failed Russia and Germany would consult each other "on the subject of the necessary measures." Such a consultation seems to be demanded by the present situation, since, although the official British reply to Herr Hitler's speech has been deferred, it has been made quite clear that there is not the slightest possibility of his “peace proposals” being accepted. What, then, are Germany and Russia going to do? What is intended by the obscure phrase, “necessary measures,” in the communique? Under the Russo-German pact it was agreed that Russia was to supply Germany with “all necessary raw materials,” but it has not yet been explained how this is to be done. The German trade mission to Moscow is encountering difficulties in its attempt to implement this part of the treaty, firstly, because Russia is not in a position to supply large quantities of materials, and, secondly, because Germany is not in a position, and is not 'likely to be, to pay for them. The prospects for an exchange of trade would be bad enough in normal times, but under war conditions, with industry concentrated on the production of armaments, it becomes a virtual impossibility. Then there is the question of whether Russia sincerely desires to assist Germany—except, perhaps, for the purpose of seeing her so weakened by war as to become an easy prey for communism. Neither Germany nor Russia can change their political philosophies at a moment’s notice, and whatever might be said or done to meet the exigencies of the present situation, the fact still remains that the aims of the two countries are diametrically opposed. At the Comintern Congress in 1935 it was stated that “the main aim of the Communist Party is to bring about the union of all opposition forces and to overthrow the barbarous Nazi regime.” What reason is there to suppose that that aim has been in any way altered? A year later, M. Litvinov, speaking at a meeting of the League Council, said: “The whole sense of Herr Hitler’s statements and proposals amounts to a campaign against the peoples of the State 1 represent." In the meantime, it is true, M. Litvinov has been removed from office, but the fruth of his statement remains and there is good reason to believe that it still expresses the real opinion of the Soviet. Is it, then, conceivable that Germany and Russia will really co-operate in the prosecution of the war? And what of the German viewpoint? Hitler may have revised his opinion since he wrote “Mein Kampf,” but if so his change of heart has been remarkably sudden. In 1935 he said: “So far as this bolshevism draws Germany into its clutches, we are the deadliest and most fanatical enemies.” Now he suggests that Germany and Russia can define a boundary between bolshevism and Nazism. In the same speech he said that “in no circumstances would Germans fight for Bolshevists. In such a fight our nation simply would not march. Rather than 1 sign such a pact I should hang myself.” Apparently Hitler now draws a distinction between bolshevism and the Soviet Government and dares to hope that Bolshevists will fight for the Nazis. In 1937 Hitler referred to a world which “is kept in a state of decomposition and spiritual uproar by the Jewish Bolsheviks in Moscow,” and only last year he asserted: “With one single country alone we have detested to enter any relationship. That State is Soviet Russia.’ Hitler’s detestation has soon been overcome, and since there has been no apparent change in Russian policy it is to be assumed that the pact he has signed with the Soviet Government is not regarded by him as any more binding than the pledges he gave to Austria and Poland. If further evidence of Hitler’s inconsistency is required it can be found in a speech he made as recently as yesterday. The Nazi ideology, he said, was born in war and will be proved in war. Does he really expect Russia to march with Germany to prove the Nazi ideology, or did he temporarily forget his pact with the Soviet? Before the Reichstag last week, Hitler was talking of peace and insisted that there was no excuse for continuing the war. Yesterday, however, he asserted that Germany would go on with the war until she had achieved her ends and enforced her demands. What are her ends and what are her demands? Has Hitler, only since last week, discovered some new injustices that must be righted, because, if so, here is further proof, if proof be needed, of the utter unreliability of his word. And what has his partner,

the Soviet, to say about the proving of the Nazi ideology, and of continuing the war until Hitler achieves his ends? Because Russia, too, argued that with the “liquidation” of Poland there was nothing left to fight about. The one thing that emerges predominantly from a consideration of these facts is that there is no real alliance between Germany and Russia, but that they are at cross-purposes; and, even if there were a real alliance, it would be ineffective, not only because of the chasm that' divides the two ideologies, but also because of the impossibility of practical co-operation.