A HISTORY LESSON

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 May 1940, Page 6

A HISTORY LESSON

NOT HITLER—NAPOLEON. A dictator came to power in his adopted country through a great revolution. He had delighted to call himself “corporal.” Now he withdrew into majestic seclusion. His companions, ruthless men who had gathered round him as he marched upward, blossomed out in splendid uniforms. But he trusted none of his subordinates. The dictator carried out vast projects; he transformed the law; he constructed a network of splendid roads and rebuilt his own capital; he set his scientists to inventing substitute materials; he signed pacts and tore them up; he built up a powerful army and reshaped the map of Europe by a series of swift aggressions. When the Spanish Government annoyed him he changed it by military intervention, giving the excuse that Spain was falling into anarchy. He practised political assassination in a foreign land. He ruled his own land through efficient secret police. He roused the alarm of Britain. Yet when Britain went to war he continued eloquently to protest his desire for peace. In a final interview with the British Ambassador the dictator burst out: “The British want war. If they are the first to draw the sword, I shall be the last to lay it down.. They shall be responsible to all Europe!”

Then the dictator met the Russian ruler, who said: “I shall be your second against Britain.” “In that case,” replied the dictator, “everything can be arranged.” Russia wanted Finland —and took it. But the dictator and the Russians were uneasy allies. The dictator wanted to reach the Black Sea and the Russians stood against him. At last all nations of Europe rose against him. The Allies told the dictator’s country that they wished her no ill. that they fought against him alone. In one last fight an end was put to the dictator's power. His name? Oh, no, not Hitler . . . Napoleon!