A vehement attempt is being made by Doctor Goebbels and the Nazi propagandists (August 19) to persuade the German people that England is trying to encircle them, Many countries on the Continent are inevitably encircled by geography. They have neighbours round them every side, or on three sides, and it is very difficult to see what can be done about it. France is encircled by Moly, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain. Jugoslayia is encircled by Italy, Bulgaria and the German Reich, Poland is encircled by Germany, Russia and the Baltic States. Switzer-Jand is girt about on all side by her neigh-cours, and has no access to the sea. Germany is less encircled by her neighbours than any of these countries, She has not only the whole of the Baltic coast free, but access to the Mediterranean, It is not possible for dwellers in a Continent to avoid having neighbours, unless they destroy or annex them all. Even dwellers on an island are encircled by sea. and if anything goes wrong with their naval power, they can be starved to death. Therefore everybody is in the same difficulty about having neighbours, and of being surrounded by something. The question arises whether tone cannot have good relations with one's neighbours, so that a spirit of mutual con-Adence and good will grows up on all frontiers. It would be very easy for Germany to do this because, as every German knows, no one is going to try to attack or invade the Reich. It is only when the neighbours become alarmed lest any one of them may be himself attacked by Germany, that they begin to take counsel together and' organize themselves for mutual defence. They thus convert a geographical fact into a military and political fact- But that is not their fault. That is the inevitable consequence of their all being afraid of Germany, Look at these countries one by one, and see how they are all dwelling in deep fear of Nazi Germany, Even across the Baltic, the Swedes, Norwegians and the Finns are apprehensive that something will happen to Denmark, Holland and Belgium are all a prey to the most gloomy forebodings. The Danes have, few defences and many fears. The Dutch are manning their dykes. The Belgians are on the watch, night and day. Along the whole line of the French frontier from the sea to the Alps, hundreds of thousands of men are standing on guard upon the ramparts and fortifications of their native land. In Switzerland every man has already had his rifle and ammunition served out to him, and all the bridges and mountain roads are mined, with people standing by ready to blow them up. So much for the north and west.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.