Wairararapa Times-Age THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 1939. MUNICH—AND AFTER.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 March 1939, Page 6

Wairararapa Times-Age THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 1939. MUNICH—AND AFTER.

,'T’IIE policy of Nazi Germany is either the destruction or the '' ' discomfiture of the democratic governments of Western Europe. The tragedy of the independent Czech' Republic, forsaken by friends and allies, is the outstanding lesson lor the democracies of the world. That they must now as free people resist' to the utmost, the enroachment of Nazism on their liberties must be very patent to them. The “policy of appeasement,” which the British Government, drawing in its train France, has valiantly pursued, can no longer be followed. Herr Hitler has taunted London and Paris, and has certainly been, successful in lowering Britain and France in the eyes of the smaller democracies of the world. Britain has stood idly by and taken the insults heaped upon her. Britain’s attempts at a peaceful solution of such problems as have cropped up have resulted in dismal failure, and have not abated the world wide preparation for war on a scale unprecedented in history. ft has been argued that Britain’s unpreparedness for war made it impossible for Mr Chamberlain to take any other 'course than that which he,did in his dealings with Herr Hitler. But was Britain any better prepared in August, 1914? In the House of Commons just before he left again for Munich, Air Chamberlain stated that Herr Hitler “repeated to me with great earnestness that this (the Sudeten area) was his last territorial ambition in Europe, and that he had no wish to have in the Reich people of other races than German.’’

Il was again stated in Parliament by Mr. Chamberlain, a few weeks before Christmas, that he was convinced that Herr Hitler meant what he said when he signed the Munich agreement, and 'in the letter he wrote to the British Prime Minister he described the direct cession of Sudetenland as “a (prick and smooth achievement of the final settlement.’’ The Nazi deceits to seize more Czech land than even Herr Hitler’s Goflesberg demands claimed are now known the, world over, and even Herr Hiller himself has now admitted a “policy of chicanery.”

It may be held by some that the destruction o! Czechoslovakia is no affairs of ours, and that Central Europe is far away from New Zealand. - That may be true enough, but what is certainly our affair is that the peace of the world and the preservation of democracy from obliteration, lies in the hands of a man whose word is valueless and who will stop al nothing in his ruthless campaign to dominate the world. Herr Hitler has freely proclaimed that he will not rest until lie secures Ihe return of Germany’s lost colonies from Britain. He can only obtain them by might ;' by right we hold them and we may require to fight to retain them. In the events in Europe today New Zealand is as much concerned as Britain herself because she is directly associated with those lost German colonies. The cost of Munich to the rest of the world is still undetermined, but tile loss of the Czech Army which would have helped France and Britain in that general war of aggression which Germany si ill threatens, will require to be made up by those two countries who left Czecho-Slovakia Io her bale. And this eosl will be a verv heavy nine in more wavs Ilian one.

The cables today provide further evidence of the ruthless policy of Germany and the utterly worthless character of Herr Hitler’s word. It is officially announced in Kaunas (capital of Lithuania) that the Lilhuaniaii Government has surrendered Memel to Germany following an ultimatum delivered on Tuesday by the German Foreign Minister. Herr von Ribbentrop, to the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, 31. I’rbzys. It will be remembered that in September last, when Mr Neville Chamberlain visited Berchtesgaden he was informed by Herr Hitler that so long as the Memel Statute was observed by the Lithuanian Government he would be glad to leave Memel as it was. The events recorded in the. cable news today show how utterly unreliable is any statement made by Herr Hitler. Memel is that territory on the Baltic Sea between East Prussia and Lit liimni.-i. Formerly German, it -was handed over to the Council of Ambassadors by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, and subsequently became Lithuanian in 1923, subject to certain regulations regarding the right of Poland to use the port. The area is 1095 square miles and the population of the territory abon-t 140,000. 'rhe'seaport is at the mouth of the Dange, 90 miles from Konigsberg. The loss to Lithuania of Memel is a severe one because of the fact that eighty per cent, of the seaborne trade of (he State passes through the port of Memel upon which during the past-few years Lithuania has spent large sums of money in development work.