shone 13.
One of the most tragic features of the present situation with regard to the betrayal of France by the Vichy Government is the facile manner with which apologists for the Petain Government ignore what Hitler has already declared to be his intentions, and fail to perceive—or, if not, refuse to admit,—the subtle methods with which Hitler is seeking to attain his ends. There is in "Mein Hamp!" a significant passage which can be applied to the development of German policy towards France since the signature of the Those nations which lay down their arms, without being absolutely foreed to do so, subsequently prefer to submit to the greatest hhumillations and exactions rather than. try to change their fate by resorting to arms agaln...,.-A shrewd conqueror will always enforce his exactions on the conquered only by stages, as far as that is possible, Then lid may expect that a people who have lost all strength of character—which is always the ease with every nation that voluntarily: sub. mits to the threats of an opponent—will not find in any of these acts of oppression, if one be enforced apart from the other, stificient grounds for taking up arms, Could words better apply to the case of ance than the above extract from the Nazi Bible? She was not absolutely forced to lay down her arms; the opportunity of carrying fon the struggle from the French colonial empire was. recognized by many French:
Since then there has been a series of growing demands upon Vichy. To some of them it is true Marshal Petain has returned uncompromising refusals, but he- is un= fortunate enough to have as advisers men whose ideas of national honour are somewhat different from his own, and, little by Tittle, France is being forced' to throw in her lot with the conqueror. Hitler is working true to the form he set himself. How true that ig may be seen by a quotation from Dr. Rauschning's book "Hitler Speaks," published in. 1939, and, therefore, long before the collapse of France:—
'We need space to make us independent of every possible grouping and alliance. In the Rast we must have mastery as far' as the Caucasus and fran. In the west we need the French coast, We need Flanders and Holland. Above all we need Sweden. We must become a colonial power. We must have a sea power equal to that of Britain....We must rule Burope or fall apart as a nation.
Hitler has got the French coast, pressure is being brought to bear upon Russia to permit! Hitler to send forces to Batum (Caucasus) and thence through, Tran to Iraq. Could tiny thing be more informative as to Hitler's: aims and the methods by which he seeks to attain them? See how clearly the armistice terms afford proof of the correctness of the manner in which Dr. Rauschning reported Hitler's declarations. What then is there to contradict the belief that exaction will follow exaction made upon Vichy until Hitler has
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