ANTI-GERMAN FEELING

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21208, 3 September 1940, Page 2

ANTI-GERMAN FEELING

SOUTH AMERICANS STIRRED ITALIANS ALSO UNPOPULAR Popular feeling against Germany and Italy, reports the Christian Science Monitor, has increased somewhat since the fall of Paris—the cultural Mecca of all Latin Americans. No single incident of the European war has affected southern citizens so much. Pro-French demonstrations were reported from many parts and there were renewed protests against the totalitarian allies. Five thousand Columbian students marched through the streets of Bogota, the capital city, singing the “ Marseillaise.” Voices were raised loud against European dictators and showers of brick descended on German and Italian offices and stores. An emergency police service was organised to cope with the demonstration, and later guards were accorded the threatened business quarters. A group of politicians, bankers, and traders drew up a declaration of protest against the German invasion, while the newspaper El Tiempo called for “ a new crusade to reconquer Paris for humanity, on the style of the old crusades to rescue Jerusalem.” Many young Colombians have registered at the French Legation as military volunteers. Stores Daubed With Paint In Guayaquil, Ecuador, German and Italian stores were smeared overnight with blotches of crimson paint. The Italian Consulate was similarly treated. Ladders were used so that the signs should be high and durable. The authorities intervened to prevent an anti-totalitarian meeting. The demonstrations were even more serious in La Paz, Bolivia, where early morning groups surrounded the German and Italian legations, which were stoned. Windows were broken and considerable damage was inflicted before the arrival of strong police guards. Italian grocers, bakers and butchers in Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile, reported a boycott movement against them. One grocery store in Los Leones, a Santiago suburb, lost 60 customers the day after Premier Mussolini’s war declaration. Chileans as well as foreigners are participating in the boycott. Italian Opinion Divided Argentine authorities, especially those of Buenos Aires, where there is a large Italian population, took security precautions immediately on war declaration. No information so far has been disclosed as to the measures adopted. The first case of sabotage attributed to local Fascists was that of bombs exploded on the British steamer Gascony. In Montevideo, across the Plate River, damage to a British railway station was believed to have been caused by similar elements.

Not all local Italians agree with Rome policy. A manifesto issued by the Comite Italia Libre, representative of large sections of Italian residents in Buenos Aires, recalled the “ stabbed in the back ” phrase of President Roosevelt. It declared: “ Our souls are torn by the infamy with which the author of these crimes—the murder of Matteotti and the war on France and England—stains the fair name of Italy. We trust these words will bring light to those of our unfortunate brothers who are being forced to go to war.

“ Soldiers of Italy: Our country’s enemy is not in Paris, not in London. The only, the real enemy of Italy is m Rome.”