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THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS , June 25th 1934 Third series of articles written in the Western Mail FEAR OF AN ECONOMIC STORM IN GERMANY --- By GARETH JONES Ten days ago I sat In a German train opposite a Storm Troop leader, and as we sped towards the south I asked him: "What of the future?" He drew himself up, pointed to his black, white and red swastika armband and shouted: "That swastika is going to be the symbol of Socialism as well as of nationalism. The future lies with us people of the Left, and the day will come when we shall sweep away the accursed remnants of the capitalists who are still ruling Germany. The revolution is not yet at an end. The money-makers, the big bankers, the manufacturers who live by crushing the poor have to be mercilessly crushed. And we shall do it!" GOAL STILL DISTANT This Storm Troop leader was typical of many hundreds of thousands of Nazis throughout the country who see that, although Germany has been immersed in a bath of the most thoroughgoing nationalism, the goal of Socialism is as distant as ever. They note that Dr. Schacht is still President of the Reichsbank, that a Right Wing Nationalist- Dr. Schmidt-is still Economic Minister, and that the finances of the land are controlled by a representative of the old ruling class-Count Schwerin von Krosigk. They see that the large department stores of Berlin and the provincial cities, against which they directed their most savage attacks, are still open and underselling the little man in his little shop. They grumble when they hear that their enemy, the aristocratic Prussian landowner, has not lost a single yard of territory and is as firmly entrenched in the Reichswehr as ever. STILL COMMUNISTS Indignant at the capitalist domination in Germany, these Nazis of the Left Wing-or National Bolsheviks, as they are sometimes called-are revolting against the Right Wing. Among them are many men who have about as little sympathy for National Socialism as a Berlin rabbi has; they are men who are purely Communist in their outlook and who have merely joined the Storm Troops for the sake of personal safety and advancement. Rumour has it that many troops are mainly composed of Communists, and a recent joke tells of two former Red Front fighters who met in a street. Each wore a brand new Nazi uniform. "How do you like it in your Storm Troop?" asked one. "Fine," replied the other. "All the men are just people after our heart. There’s only one fellow I don’t like, and he’s the storm troop-leader. As matter of fact, I believe he is a Nazi!" MODERATES FEAR If there is discontent among the left wing Germans there is fear among the moderates. This fear is mainly economic, and during my visit this month I was surprised at the frankness with which people expressed their forebodings of evil days to come. In Berlin I learned that numbers of people were now buying clothes and boots and other goods for two reasons. The first was that they believed the mark would fall and prices soar; the second that Germany might be cut oft economically from the rest of the world, as a result of which it would be difficult to import wool and other raw materials. If this happened, the argument ran, the quality of German goods would decline and consumers would have to be content with the substitute wares of War days. The gravity of the export situation was realised by everybody. How often did I hear in Hamburg the words: "This great port is dead!" Everywhere the drying up of foreign currency resources was accepted as the proof that a grave economic storm was threatening and might break very soon. WHAT HITLER HAS DONE The German crisis is grave, and popular disillusion is considerable. Nevertheless, Hitler has recognized many factors on his side. It is recognized that he has restored order to public life and that he has put an end to the political murders which were a stain on German life. He has in the view of millions of Germans – banished the spectre of Bolshevism. He has, through the German Youth, the Labour Camps, and the storm troops contributed to the health, sturdiness, and discipline of the nation. He has gained the respect of many by his person loyalty to friends. He has abolished the petty differences between Saxons and Bavarians, Württembergers and Prussians. Moreover, even the discontented Germans realise that the only alternatives to Hitlerism are a dictatorship based upon the bayonets of Reichswehr or a civil war. Therefore, in the present German crisis the factors on Hitler’s side should not be under-estimated.
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THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, July 2nd 1934 --- By GARETH JONES The intricacies of German politics and Hitler’s ruthless revenge against revolters are to most people a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. Who are these Storm Troopers who rise against their leader? What is the Reichswehr? Who is this General Schleicher who suddenly looms out of the mists of the past to flit for one tragic moment across the stage and to returns to an obscurity which will be eternal? The Storm Troopers are the three and a half million army of Hitler’s supporters who were clothed in a brown uniform and were primarily political. They were led by Capt. Roehm until Hitler entered Roehm’s house early on Saturday morning and arrested the startled plotter. Roehm was a military adventurer of low moral standard, but a brilliant organiser. Brownshirts’ Discontent These Storm Troopers (Brownshirts), known also as the "S.A." men (not for their "Sex Appeal," but because S.A. stood for "Storm Department") were composed of the lower middle-class and unemployed supporters of Hitler. Recently there has been a wave of discontent among their ranks because the Socialist era to which they had looked forward has seemed further away than ever, and because the big capitalists, the financiers, the proprietors of the large stores, and the aristocratic landowners are as firmly in the saddle as they were before Hitler came. The Communistically inclined Brownshirts well deserved their nickname of "Beefsteaks") brown outside but red within). Among the leaders of the Brownshirts were thousands of military swash-bucklers who since the War had wandered in search of adventure, had crushed the workers in 1919, had marched upon Berlin in 1920 had volunteered to slaughter Poles in 1921, and had blown up bridges with bombs when the French marched into the Ruhr. These men, it appears, cast longing eyes at the Reichswehr, the regular army of 100,000 men, and, led by Roehm, longed to amalgamate the Brownshirts with that magnificently trained body. If the Brownshirts could be absorbed into a great army, what jobs there would be for these officers! What power there would be for Roehm! But Hitler rejected their plan and took the advice of his War Minister. A worse blow for Roehm was to come, for Hitler was contemplating a reduction of the Brownshirts, the cost of which was causing much nodding of heads at the Treasury. "Will I lose my job? Will I lose my power?" Such are probably the questions which Roehm and his Brownshirt leaders asked themselves. This fear that the Brownshirt Army would be thrown aside led Roehm to ally himself with the other discontented element-namely, the left wing-and probably led him to associate himself with General Schleicher. Ambitions Baulked Why Schleicher? This general was not the reactionary he is sometimes reputed to have been. He was definitely a Left Wing man who during his Chancellorship flirted with the trade unions, had a vision of a "socially ruled" empire, and was preparing to deal a smashing blow at the big landowners when he was cast out of power. Such were probably the three ingredients in the plot which has failed-the baulked ambitions of Storm Troop leaders, the bitter disillusion of the "National Bolsheviks" and the Left Wing intrigue of the "Socialist General." The plotters are dead. Roehm’s place has been taken by a man with whom I lunched a year ago in the train between Berlin and Hanover - Victor Lutze. I have rarely met a man who impressed me so much by his ruthlessness, grim-ness, lack of humour and fanaticism. He told me how he had started. Storm Troop in the Ruhr 10 years earlier and how he had a religious faith the ultimate triumph of Hitler. He had a profound contempt for anything intellectual, a characteristic which was also obvious from the unacademic tone of his language and the naiveté of his ideas. He will certainly help Hitler in the effort to crush the opposition which will one day again raise its head in Germany.
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THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 2nd 1934From GARETH JONES BERLIN, Wednesday. "The President, Field-marshal von Hindenburg is gravely ill. Herr Hitler is on his way to the President’s estate in Neudeck, East Prussia, and we are fearing the worst." The German diplomat who ponderously announced this news to me looked anxious and wan, and wherever men and women heard that all hope for the President’s life had been abandoned there was a glint of fear in their eyes. To them it was the latest of three catastrophes which have shaken Germany within the short space of a month. Out of the blue on June 30 had come the ruthless stamping out of the Roehm revolt, which destroyed not only the bodies of men but the soul of a movement, and which has left rancor in the hearts of thousands of storm troopers. A Crushing Defeat On July 25, the greatest ambition of the National Socialists in foreign affairs to regain the soil of Austria, sacred to them not only for the Germanic race of its countrymen, but for having brought to the world the Leader, Hitler-was dashed to the ground and converted into a crushing defeat which has humiliated them before the world [Assassination of Dolfuss in failed Austrian Putsch]
Now comes the third catastrophe, the fear of the disappearance of the strongest link with the German past and of the most reasonable and restraining force in German politics-Hindenburg. For many Germans it is a terrifying prospect because it will be a break with some of the most glorious days of German history; with the solid bourgeois virtues of pre-War days, and with the old Prussian conceptions of honour, military justice, and duty. Many reflect that Hindenburg was a young lieutenant at the time of the founding of the German Empire in 1871, and feel that with his death there will pass an era which, in spite of its militarism, has had admirable qualities. With Hindenburg’s death there will probably be a renewed struggle for power, more bitter, I believe, than before in the history of National Socialism in Germany. It was due to Hindenburg’s personal influence that many posts in certain Ministries, such as the Foreign Office and the War Ministry, were in the hands of Nationalists-conservative men who have been revolted by the excesses of the revolutionaries in the national Socialist party. It has been largely due to Hindenburg’s influence that many of the Ministers have not been National Socialists, although they have paid lip service to its ideals and to its leaders. With Hindenburg’s passing the fight for these posts will begin. Young Nazis, feeling themselves deprived of power and pay by the continuance of the Conservatives in privileged places, will seek to capture those prizes of authoritative posts which are now withheld from them. Banner of Monarchy The Right Wing will probably make a vigorous fight, and perhaps will win, because they have the Army and the Steel Helmets on their side. They will, perhaps, wave the banner of Monarchy, and will greet the return of the Kaiser or of another of the Hohenzollerns. These are only suppositions and no one can foretell future events here. But of the two elements, revolutionary Nazis seeking power, and the Conservatives, it is probable that the Conservatives will win. Upon the struggle the publication of Hindenburg’s political testament will have a great influence. Mutual Hatred In the struggles between Left and Right the S.S. men (black uniformed elite of the Storm Troopers) will range’ themselves with the Army and the Steel Helmets. These S.S. men have won the enmity of thousands of the Brownshirts, and I believe that the mutual hatred will grow. What of Hindenburg’s successor? It is possible that the great old man has been the last President; that there will not again be a Presidential election, and that Hitler will make himself "Leader." ******
THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 3rd 1934 FRANCE DOES NOT EXPECT WAR AT PRESENT Looking to the Friendship of Italy NAZI-FASCIST HONEYMOON ENDS By GARETH JONES (By Mail) "THE murder of Dollfuss is the most tense moment in European history since the shot rang out at Sarajevo in July 1914. As the night express speeds along on that fateful stretch from Paris to Berlin I reflect upon these words of a French friend of mine. The scene for these reflections is the most suitable in all Europe, for looking out of the window I have watched the wheat stacks of Northern France just as they were in the July days which shook the world. Names of towns and places which once had little paper flags stuck into them in thousands of maps in Britain flashed past as we sped by: "Saint Quentin! Le Cateau! Compiège!" The train has now stopped in a city which, 20 years ago, was destined to enjoy only three or four days of calm before hearing the thud of shell-Liege. TWO DECADES AGO The lights of Liege and the name of the next station-Namur-bring vividly to mind my boyhood impressions of shock and excitement at the events which occurred exactly two decades ago, and I seek to sum up my thoughts in Paris during the last few days of diplomatic activity. By a grim coincidence the streets of Paris have heard again the same whispers of "C’est la guerre!" the same dread of the future has been visible as people have read the news, and the rumblings of the approaching storm have resounded from the same easterly direction as they did in 1914. There is one fundamental difference, however, between the Paris of 1914 and the Paris of 1934. Whereas in 1914 the terror of the near future struck the rulers of France as deeply as the people, to day the people are alarmed, but the soldiers and the politicians are calm. "There will be war," say the waiters and the barbers and the shopkeepers. "There will be no War soon," say the officia1s and the diplomats. And I am convinced that the latter are right. Why will there be no war soon? HITLER’S ISOLATION The French, with their usual logic and reason reply that Hitler is in too weak, a position internationally. He is isolated and has the armed forces of France, Poland, and Czechoslovakia encasing him like a steel strait-jacket. The French rubbing their hands with glee see that Hitler’s foreign policy has been a whirlwind of blunders, retreats, cajoleries, threats, flirtations, embraces and gestures, culminating in catastrophe. They feel malicious pleasure in the discomfiture of the little man with the Austrian accent, whose one dream-to unite his humorous, lackadaisical, and lovable fellow-countrymen with the more disciplined millions of the German Reich - has by the failure of the Vienna coup been converted into a nightmare of the most terrifying order. How can Hitler make war, the French argue, when he is faced by millions of workers crying for bread-by even potatoes going on strike and the wheat stalks refusing to obey Goering’s orders? And their eyes twinkle at the idea that, however much the Nazi Brown-shirts may shout their commands, and however much the Ministry of Propaganda may broadcast inspiring orations, Mother Earth will be as recalcitrant this harvest as any Communist, and refuse to Germany the gifts she is accustomed to bring. If in a moment of argumentative obstinacy one still pursues the question and asks: "Will not Hitler declare war to rally the nation around him?" the intelligent Frenchman will nod his head in negation and say, "knows that a war means the end of his régime. He remembers that war brought Bolshevism to Russia and that it destroyed the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He is fully aware of the strength of Communism in his own country. Thus we French who are in the know are calm." This calmness is re-assuring, but it is only the calmness of the man who fears no storm to-morrow, but dreads an earthquake in a few years’ time. The independence of Belgium, the lights of whose towns I can see from the train window as we leave Liege, has given way as the main cause of war to the independence of another little land - Austria. WOULD FRANCE MARCH Perhaps the violation of the Belgian frontier was a dangerous forerunner of a European war fought for the independence of Austria. Will we ever hear the familiar strain of "Gallant Little Austria?" And if Germany got control of Austria by external force or internal revolution, would France march? Upon this question depends largely the peace of Europe. All countries have been lavish in their declarations to defend the integrity of Austria, but these have sounded very much like the promises of candidates for Parliament. Would France really fight if Austria became united with Germany? I asked that question of many friends in Paris, and their replies reminded me of Bismarck’s statement that the Balkans were not worth the bones of single Pomeranian soldier. "Spill my blood for some hundreds of thousands of Viennese waltzers? Certainly not!" cried one Parisian, almost spilling his coffee with indignation. "We will fight to the death if we are attacked," said another, "but we will not go to war for the independence of Austria, even though it be one of the main columns of our foreign policy." LET MUSSOLINI DO IT! And the third touched the crux of the matter when he said: "Let Mussolini do the business. We’ll stay out." This last remark, I believe, hints at the main reason for the calm of the French Foreign Office. With what delight the French read the vituperative attacks which the Italians are making upon the Nazis! How they chuckle when they repeat aloud an article in the Rome "Messagero," said to be inspired by Mussolini, which states: "You cannot deal twice on terms of moral, equality with someone who has broken with such cynicism the laws of honour!" They see that the spectre of a German-Italian alliance has fleeted away and that the Nazi-Fascist honeymoon has in a short time led to separation after scenes of violence and hate. WILL MELT LIKE SNOW They realise that Italy will be forced to seek the friendship of France and that, hey presto! those quarrels about battleships in the Mediterranean; those sharp words about Italians in Tunisia, and those suspicious glances at troops massing on the Italo-French frontier will all melt like the snow on the Alpes Maritimes. Soft compliments between Rome and Paris will fall deep as the leaves in Vallambrosa. Thus, grave as are the events of Austria, they have their compensations to politically-minded Frenchmen. But these compensations-such as the friendship of Italy-are still not enough, and France will not rest until she has built up a collective system based on armed force which will secure her against war.
******* THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 8th 1934 THE FORCES THAT ARE MENACING HITLER GERMANY ASKING "CAN HE LAST?" The Fear of Hunger Heavy Hand of Tyranny AUSTRIA ACCEPTS VON PAPEN
ALL Germany is asking the question, "Can Hitler Last?" writes Mr. Gareth Jones, the special "Western Mail and South Wales News" correspondent, from Berlin. "Some of the most ancient and powerful forces in the world" are menacing Hitler, including the Fear of hunger; Revolt against tyranny; Opposition of the Roman Catholic Church; Communist and Socialist underground propaganda On Hitler’s side is the Army. This is his trump card, but he can play it only so long as the real power rests with the Army - that is, General von Blomberg, the Minister of Defence. The appointment of Herr von Papen as German Minister to Austria was agreed to at an Austrian Cabinet meeting last night, the Cabinet having received satisfactory assurances from Hitler. GRAIN HARVEST 25 PER CENT. DOWN By GARETH JONES BERLIN, Tuesday. The beating of the drums and the strains of the funeral band around Hindenburg’s grave have died away. Millions of Germans will to day look at their pictures of Hitler, with his fanatical eyes and that strange unbalanced glance, and ask, "Can he last?" The same question will be asked throughout the world by diplomats and politicians, many of whom have recently, in Paris or London, been prophesying Hitler’s downfall before October. Can Hitler last? When he stands as the Leader of Germany, with more power than any other ruler in the world, will the storm-winds which are now howling in Europe send him crashing to the ground or will those forces which are on his side maintain him on his throne of omnipotence? Enemy No. 1 Against him there are fighting some of the most ancient and most powerful forces in the world. His first enemy is the enemy which has damaged so gravely bread. When I looked out of the train on the journey through Prussia I noticed how sparse the crops were. Students of agriculture estimate that Germany’s harvest of grain this year is nearly 25 per cent. less than last year. The potato fields have yielded little, and potatoes are the staple food of masses of the population. Hence the fear that rationing cards will soon be introduced. Prices are soaring, and housewives return from the market with less food in their baskets and no change from the little housekeeping money their husbands can give them Adverse food conditions, therefore, will be Hitler’s first enemy. Spiritual Forces But he has against him, also, forces which derive from the spirit. The intellectuals are voicing their criticisms of the régime’s tyranny. They are in agreement with Von Papen’s plea for liberty of thought and of expression in his Marburg speech. They are ashamed of the excesses of the Nazi régime and of the shame of Germany before the world. But, alas! the German cultured citizens have not the courage and the independence of their counterparts in Britain, and their voices will not carry far. More powerful will be the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church, to which belongs more than one-third of the German population. Revolted by the murder of leading Catholics and priests, and by the betrayal by Hitler of his agreement with Rome, the Catholics will be a force of more than passive resistance against Hitler. The Protestants The Protestants are as antagonised as the Catholics. Their voices are hushed, for no newspaper is allowed to publish the views of the Protestant opposition, but beneath the surface they are fighting for their rights. What of the working class? Among its ranks are the most embittered enemies of Hitler, and the Communists and Socialists are carrying on a courageous underground battle against the régime. In spite of the vigilence of the secret police, many Communist and Socialist newspapers are published or smuggled in across the frontier and passed quietly from hand to hand. When Hitler looks out beyond his own frontier he sees the catastrophic effects of his foreign policy-the hatred of Italy, the murder of Dollfuss, the strengthening of Soviet Russia’s diplomatic position, and the alienation of the sympathies of all civilised peoples because of the barbarities of National-Socialism. Discipline and Unity Such are the forces fighting against Hitler. Powerful as they are, I do not think them strong enough to lead in the near future to Hitler’s downfall. They are scattered, unorganised forces. They are unarmed and nave not the discipline or the spirit of revolution nor the unity to make war on Hitler. All the discipline and the unity and the ruthlessness are on Hitler’s" side, and it is these three characteristics which count in Germany to-day. The Army is now Hitler’s trump card and the oath of a German soldier of the Regular Army is not to be lightly esteemed. General von Blomberg, the real master of his country, finds it in his interest to maintain Hitler as a symbol of unity, and I see no reason why the Army should throw Hitler overboard, for Hitler is now carrying out precisely the Right-Wing policy favoured by the soldiers, the industrialists, and the landowners. As long as Hitler carries out this conservative policy, General von Blomberg will, I believe, do all he can to keep the Army on Hitler’s side. If Hitler tries revolutionary experiments, however, a sharp word of warning that the Army is against him wilt soon make him realise the Army, rather than the real leader of Germany. The Firebrand "In six months’ time," said a German to me, "Hitler may only have 10 per cent.of the power and Blomberg may be the real dictator behind the scenes. But it will be Hitler who will remain as But revolutionary elements are certain to raise their heads again among the Storm Troopers, and Goebbels, the firebrand, may fight for an extreme policy. In such a case I believe that Hitler will purge the Nazi party ruthlessly of Left-Wing elements, and that perhaps will bring about Goebbels’s downfall. A repetition of the June 30 massacre is quite possible if the revolutionaries of the Storm Troopers regard Hitler as a traitor to the Socialistic side of the party programme. With the Army behind him Hitler seems politically strong. Even his economic difficulties have been exaggerated. The coming winter will be terrible, it is true, but reports that the shortage of foreign currency and the inability to import raw materials will bring about an economic collapse are, it seems, false. Germany has imported such large amounts of raw materials this year that she has stocks which can last for many months. "Even if I do not import a single pound’s worth of raw materials my factory can go on working for a long time with the supplies I have stored up," said one industrialist to me. What, then, of the future? It seems that the forces fighting for Hitler are more powerful, more united, and better armed than the forces against Hitler. Unless he falls a victim to the mediæval wave of political assassinations which has swept across Europe, he will probably be the figurehead of a military dictatorship. a symbol of nationalism." That German may be right.
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THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 14th 1934 "SACRED CRUSADE" TO UNITE AUSTRIA WITH GERMANY" --- Carinthians Talk of Noble Nazi Rising By Gareth Jones KLAGENFURT, Carinthia. " IF you wish to see how strong the Nazis are in Austria," said a politician to me in a Viennese café, "go to Carinthia in the south and walk in the districts where there was bloodshed a few days ago." Some hours later I entered the night Rome express in the south station of Vienna, which is now guarded by soldiers with bayonets fixed, and was soon speeding towards the valleys and mountains of south Austria. When dawn came after I had spent a sleepless night on hard third-class benches, I looked out to see dark blue mountains rising out of whitish mists, rows of vine upon slopes facing the sun and ancient castles standing like Carreg Cennen on abrupt cliffs overlooking the river. Towns whose names were familiar to me because severe fighting had taken place there after the murder of Dollfuss looked tranquil in the morning sun, as if never a shot had ever disturbed their peace. I saw Saint Veit, into which within the past fortnight 500 Nazis marched, occupied the Town hall, hoisted the swastika flag, and tore down from the church the banners of mourning for Dollfuss. They had held the town until next morning, when they were bombarded by artillery and had to escape, leaving behind them between 40 and 50 dead. In the morning grey we passed the town which, by a curious coincidence, bears the name of the Welsh castle Saint Donat. Not long ago brother had shot against brother in its old-fashioned streets. AN IMPORTANT QUESTION At half past five in the morning I left the train and descended in the capital of Carinthia, Klagenfurt. "How strong are the Nazis in this province?" I asked myself. It is an important question for the Government of Austria and for the future of Europe, because if the Nazis are really strong they may overthrow the present Government, which stands for the independence of Austria, and unite their country with Germany, with grave consequences for the world’s peace. To try to answer this question I made for the countryside, and by 10 o’clock I was swinging along a road lined by vast sunflowers nine feet high, near fields sprinkled blue with cornflowers and purple with vetch, and beneath lofty mountains, the tops of which were hidden in clouds. I passed the grayish-brown River Drave, which rushes into Yugoslavia, joins the Danube, and then enters the Black Sea. Through a stretch of pine trees and firs I walked and came out into the open again, where maize and sunflowers grew. An old peasant was working by the roadside. "Ay, what a time we have had here," he moaned. "On this very road by my house the Nazis came. Their shots whizzed past our house, and we just stayed inside, terrified to move. They marched from that village over there towards the station." PRISONS FULL OF NAZIS "And are there many Nazis here?" I asked. "Many Nazis, indeed!" he grunted. "They’re nearly all Nazis, but now the prisons are full of them. Why, there’s one village I know just near where there are only three men left. All the others have been taken or have fled across the border into Yugoslavia. Fools, I call them, to rise when the harvest is on. What are politicians, anyway, compared with the harvest? If they’d only give us back our Emperor Franz Joseph again we’d all be happy," A quarter of a mile further on the village began. Everywhere were notices printed in large black letters: Declaration of Martial Law, From July 26 all houses must be closed at eight o’clock. The soldiers and police have been instructed to make immediate use of their rifles, when necessary. I made my way past old-fashioned houses, painted yellow, pink, and light green, with red flowers in masses in each windowsill, until I came to the house of the Mayor. Here, I thought, I will find a man bitterly opposed to the Nazis, a man who will treat them as rebels. My astonishment was great when I was taken into a room where the Mayor, a tall but bent man who looked like a gentleman farmer, was. talking with the old headmaster of the village school. When I heard the remark, "The Nazis who rose here were not rebels or terrorists. It was a noble rising of the people," I was bewildered. Here was the chief representative of authority supporting the rebels. SPIRIT NOT CRUSHED "Ninety per cent. of the young people are Nazis here," said the Mayor. "Ninety-nine per cent." interrupted the headmaster, "if they could vote. I wish you could talk with my son, but he is in prison. He has been found innocent of bloodshed and yet he is still there without trial." "If I cannot talk with your son, I should like to talk with some young people," I said. "Young people!" The Mayor laughed ironically. "They’re all in prison because they are Nazis. But I’ll tell you what the young people want and what they will fight for again - union with Germany. We are determined to have it. "The murder of Dollfuss, much as we deplore it, has not crushed the: spirit of our young men. There will be more revolts, more fighting, more bloodshed, for Austria will not have rest until we have joined with our German brothers to the north." WHY REVOLT FAILED At this point I asked an indiscreet question: "If the Nazis are so strong as you state, why did the rising fail so miserably?" "Machine guns!" snapped out the Mayor. "They sent in troops and Heimwehr men from outside, but one day they will not be able to crush the Nazis so easily." The Mayor revealed to me the desires of the peasants, who are nearly all in favour of the union (Anschluss) with Germany. They know that prices for agricultural products and for timber are higher in Germany than in Italy. Their suffering has been so great in Austria that they look upon distant Germany as a kind of paradise where all peasants prosper. Propaganda has been smuggled in across the frontiers and the peasants are ready to believe all the stories of happiness and wealth which they read of in Germany. When I left the Mayor and the schoolmaster they said, "Tell the world that Austria wants to be united with Germany and does not want to be the prisoner of Italy." ONE NATION I made my way to the village inn to enjoy in the open-air that famous Austrian dish "Wiener Schnitzel" and the coffee which is delicious in even the most remote valleys. At the next table sat two Viennese boys about 11 years of age. We talked of aeroplanes and skyscrapers, of kings, emperors, and of soldiers. "What do you think of the Germans?" I asked. One of them replied boldly: "The Germans and the Austrians have the same tongue and are one nation!" A few moments later the waitress came. "Hitler is one of the greatest men that ever lived. Only he can save Austria! she said. As I was sipping my coffee a fair-haired young man came to me and said: "The Mayor sent me to you. I am almost the only young man in this village who is not in prison, because I was away when the rising took place. I tell you that we young men will never be crushed. We will fight to the death for union with Germany. "I have been in Styria, in the Tyrol, and here in Carinthia, and the same spirit is inspiring the young men today as inspired William Tell in Switzerland and Adreas Hofer, our hero from the Tyrol. The machine-guns of the present dictatorship will not keep us down." THE FANATIC His serious blue eyes revealed the earnestness, the intolerance, and the courage of the fanatic. But Europe today is full of such fanatics, In spite of his views, would not the strength of Roman Catholicism keep the Government in power? I reflected. Surely a régime supported by the Pope, such as the present Austrian régime, would be upheld by a pious Roman Catholic people like the’ Austrians? I asked him these questions. His reply was one I had been surprised to hear from a number of people in Austria: "I am a Roman Catholic, but, like thousands of those of my faith, I hate the way the Vatican is carrying out the policy of Italy. "The Vatican has lost everywhere during the past few years - in Russia, in Spain, in Germany, and elsewhere, and now it wants to maintain power in at least one Roman Catholic State, and that is Austria. The Vatican is Italian in spirit and Italian in its foreign aims." Nothing he believe-not even the Church - could keep Germany and Austria apart for ever, and there were hundreds of thousands of men like himself who would die to bring about the union. REFLECTIONS As I had said good-bye to him, wondering as we parted whether he would be killed in another Nazi rising or whether he would, indeed, play a part in a Nazi Austria, I reflected on the conversations I had had. I talked to more peasants and workers. Everywhere I found that in this part of Austria the desire for union with Germany had become a kind of sacred crusade, and that even the murder of Dollfuss had not discredited National-Socialism for long. And as the evening haze fell over the mountains I asked myself: "If Austria becomes united with Germany, will not the Italians march into this very region, and will that not lead to a European War?" That question I shall seek to answer in my next article.
****** THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 15th 1934. WHERE WAR MAY COME FROM Austro-Yugoslavian-Italian Frontier SITUATION SIMILAR TO THAT OF 1914 By GARETH JONES KLAGENFURT (By Air Mail). I HAVE just motored across the Italian border and it is packed with troops." An excited motorcyclist shouted this to the clerks on the other side of the counter at the travel agency in this Austro-Yugoslavian frontier town, where I was buying my ticket to Italy. "I was stopped by soldiers every few minutes," he exclaimed. "I saw tanks and big guns and regiments with armoured cars. There are thousands of men there." "Will they march if there is trouble?" I asked, joining in the conversation. "March! They’re ready to march at any moment. It’s no bluff he replied. The head of the travel agency, a calm, elderly man, broke in and said slowly: "Then Carinthia will be seat of war and Klagenfurt will be the battleground. For the Yugoslavs will send their troops here. If the Italians march it means another European war." I inquired where the Yugoslavs would be likely to enter Austria should the Italians march, and being told that this was the strategic point came here by train. And I sit in Yugoslav territory. Soldiers from Serbia in grey uniforms are washing themselves in the stream nearby. A few yards away is a railway on which 20 years ago thousands of Austrian troops were being transported to crush the Serbs. The high mountains, which form the border on Yugoslavia and Austria, except at low-lying point, stand to the south, and I am talking to the Austrian frontier guard, the Yugoslav Customs official, and an Austrian Nazi. "At Their Mercy" This peaceful frontier is the very point where Yugoslav (Serbs, Croats and Slovenes) soldiers might pour into Austria if the Italian troops crossed the border. "But why should you Yugoslavs wish to march into Austria?" I asked the Yugoslav Customs official. "You have a map there," he says, "let me show you. If Austria decides to join Germany, then Italy will send in troops to prevent it. They will cross by the pass near Tarvis and will take the military road, known as the Packroad which passes through Carinthia and Styria and unites the Italians with their allies, the Hungarians. "Along that route the Italians will march through Villach, Klagenfurt, and Graz. What then? If they do that, we Yugoslavs are at their mercy. We shall be cut off from the North of Europe, cut off from Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Poland, and we shall be like a nut in the nutcracker of our enemy, Italy. That we shall never allow. That is why there are several regiments stationed now within two or three miles of where you are sitting." Thus if the Italians occupy Austria these quiet meadows filled with flowers and the pinewoods around will echo to the tramp of soldiers’ feet, and those Yugoslav soldiers who are now singing their folk-songs a few yards away will be loading their rifles in real warfare. Hatred of Italy What will the Austrians do? I do not think that they will remain quiet. Although the present Government relies upon the friendship and help of Italy and is closely bound with Mussolini, there is among the population bitter hatred of Italy and a fear Italian domination. They remember that Italy was their ally in 1914 yet came into the war against them. They know that in the South Tyrol Italians are mishandling their fellow Austrians. The consequences of the Italians entering Austria might, therefore, be grave. It is not certain that the Yugoslavs would enter Austria. It is possible that their internal troubles, the severe dictatorship and the rumblings of discontent among the Croats would keep their troops away from Austria. It is possible that the French would use pressure upon their ally, the Yugoslavs, to prevent them from marching into Carinthia. Nevertheless, most people on this border believe they would march. In some respects the situation is similar to that of 1914 in that the independence of a small country is the issue, and the crisis is in the same region. If Austria succeeds in maintaining her independence, however, no crisis will arise and the Italian troops will remain at home. What of Italy? I shall cross the Austro-Italian frontier at the strategic point of Tarvis and shall report on my findings.
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THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 16th 1934 ITALY’S BIG GUNS POINT TOWARDS AUSTRIA Hatred of Germany Bordering on Hysteria --- By GARETH JONES TRIESTE, Italy. Flashes of lightning streak across the Adriatic. Vague outlines of sailing craft glide through the darkness of the bay, while to the north a searchlight reveals every few seconds the red, white, and green funnel of a giant Italian liner. Here where I sit, in the principal square, rival orchestras clash with each other to allure the hundreds of Italians who stroll towards the quays. Such is Trieste, the port which makes Italy the Mistress of the Adriatic. It is here that I wish to sum up my threefold impressions since my arrival in Italy from the Austrian province of Carinthia. My first impression is troops, troops, troops. As soon as the train had crossed the pass from Austria and had arrived at the frontier station of Tarvis (a name which may well be important in the future, for Tarvis and the Brenner Pass are the two main entries from Italy into Austria) I saw in the pine forests for miles along the railway track hundreds upon hundreds of camouflaged tents of curious square shape like bathing tents painted grey, green, a dirty orange, and a smudged red. The smoke of many camp fires hovered over the woods and Italian soldiers looked up at the passing express and waved. In fields numerous powerful military lorries stood, as it ready at any moment to plunge into the foreign land a few miles away, while big guns waited near, pointing towards Austria. From village inns the men in their green-grey uniforms would come out in laughing groups of three or four and watch the workers who were rapidly constructing a new road leading directly to the frontier. As the train descended the valley was bordered by fortresses which showed signs of activity. About two hours later we were in the plain, and the region filled with troops lay to the east, an idyllic range of mountains shining in the evening sun. HATRED OF GERMANY A dark, excitable Italian - an important Fascist of the district - entered my compartment, and when I talked with him I gathered vividly my second impression of Italy to-day, an impression of a way of hatred of Germany which borders on hysteria, and which is leading to a revolution in Italian foreign policy. What gestures of passion! How vehemently his eyes flashed at the very mention of Germany! Like a Machine-gun spitting out fire he exclaimed: "Germany! The Germans are savages. Hitler is a barbarian. Mussolini will never forgive him, because he has broken all his promises. The murder of Dollfuss has ended for ever and ever my friendship, we had for the Germans." I described to him the Italian troops I had seen on the frontier. His face gleamed with pride. "They will march, too," he declared, "the very moment Austria becomes Nazi and joins with Germany. We have 40,000 soldiers ready. The way they were mobilised was wonderful. The men were working everywhere at the harvest, but Mussolini had only to give the word, and, presto! in a couple of hours they were travelling full speed towards Tarvis!" WAR FEARS SCORNED Fears of a future European war which might arise out of a union of Austria with Germany and out of the entry of Italian troops into Austria troubled me again. Would not Germany send troops or aeroplanes into Austria to stop the Italians? Would not the Yugoslavs do the same? Surely the Italian policy would be the height of criminal madness, precipitating a European war? I expressed my doubts to the Fascist. With that omniscience which characterises Nazis, Bolsheviks, and Fascists, he dismissed my objections with scorn. "European war!" he laughed. "We’ll just walk in, that’s all. The Germans will not prevent us; they are too weak. We could crush them. They have a hostile France on one side and a hostile Poland at their back." "But the Yugoslavs?" I rejoined. "They are too weak and uncivilised. France will settle with them, and our way into Austria will be clear." This optimism is certainly dangerous on the Italian side, but it is perhaps warranted by the new friendship between the Italians and the French. "France must be our ally," declared the Fascist. "It would settle everything to have an alliance with France. She is a great nation, she is powerful; our differences could be easily settled. We would then not need to quarrel about our navies in the Mediterranean; but France should give us land in Africa to colonise." M. Barthou, the French Foreign Minister, is coming to see Mussolini in September and I have the impression that the result of their talks will be a cementing of Italo-French, friendship and another blow at Hitler. TRIESTE THE CLUE At this point of our conversation the brilliant lights along the Trieste shore appeared and we were approaching what was once the great port of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the link between Central Europe and the East. After the War Trieste became Italian and now it plays a vital part in Italian policy. My final impression is that Trieste is a clue to Italy’s policy of maintaining the Independence of Austria. The Italians fear that if Austria joins with Germany the Germans will cast longing eyes at the port of Trieste, in the same way as the Russians coveted Constantinople before the War. An independent little Austria is no danger to Trieste. Therefore, the Italians by recent agreement have allowed Austria a free harbour in Trieste, where the Austrians pay no customs duties and have extra-territorial rights. Italy’s fight for the independence of Austria is, therefore, Italy’s fight for Trieste. And because Trieste means Italy’s spearhead for expansion throughout Africa there are, for example, four Italian lines from Trieste which sail round Africa - and because Trieste means Italy’s mastery of the Adriatic, Mussolini is not likely, without a grim struggle, to allow Austria to join with Germany.
******* THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 17th 1934
War That May Rend Italy CONTROL OF THE CHILDREN --- By GARETH JONES TRIESTE, Italy. The traveller who approaches Trieste from the north looks out on one side upon the deep blue, crystal clear Adriatic, and on the other upon a rocky region, where a few scattered shrubs grow and where scarcely a drop of running water is to be seen. In this almost pathless district, the Austro-Hungarian and Italian armies battled against each other for two years over such positions as Gorizia, Montfalcone, Monte san Michele, Doberdo, and Timavo (the river whose praises, Virgil sang). Today only the War cemeteries remain as a memorial to the strife of nearly 20 years ago. But a new war is brewing in this region, a war which may spread throughout Italy. It is not a war for trenches or hills or towns, but for the souls of the Italian children, a war between the Roman Catholic Church and the Fascist State. I have good authority for stating that there may soon be a break between the Vatican and Mussolini. On the horizon there is a fierce struggle between Church and State. In this war, a few shots have already been fired in Trieste, where the fight between Church and State is twofold. In other parts of Italy the bone of contention is one only sway over the child; but here a second cause of strife enters that is of particular interest to Wales, namely, the language question. CRUSHING LANGUAGE The region around Trieste, which borders on Yugoslavia, is to Italy what Wales is to Britain. There live in the countryside here about 1,000,000 Slovenes, who speak a Slav language and to whom Italian is foreign. The Italians are doing all they can to crush the Slovene language. The Bishop of Trieste is combating the Italianising influence. He believes that all peoples have a right to worship in their own language, and he is fighting for the Slovene minority. He has, however, been forbidden to publish a Prayer Book in the Slovene language. Imagine the revolt which would spread through Wales if Welsh Prayer Books were abolished! Priests have already been imprisoned here for upholding the Slovene language. PRIESTS ACCUSE FASCISTS Roman Catholics are exceedingly bitter because the Slovene language is being persecuted. But throughout Italy the Church is beginning to revolt against Fascist domination over the minds of the children. In private priests are accusing the Fascists of breaking the Concordat, the agreement reached between the Pope and Mussolini. They are regretting that the Vatican is not bolder in upholding the rights of Roman Catholics. They are beginning to demand a new Concordat. "What is the use of Mussolini standing up for the rights of Catholics in Austria if he tramples upon them in Italy?" they ask. PARADES INSTEAD OF MASS The Fascists are accused of purposely alienating children from the church by making them parade at the very hours when they should be at Mass. There is also among priests a fear that Mussolini is not properly informed about the religious situation in the country; that the local Fascist authorities, who are notorious in some towns for their corruption and swindling, are sending false reports to their leader on the sentiment of the people, and that the Vatican is over-timid in hesitating to press their point of view. The Church will not remain hesitant for long, however, and a new war between the Vatican and Mussolini may soon rend Italy.
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THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 18th 1934 "Priest surrounded by Greek Chorus" People’s Weakening Faith
By Gareth Jones MUNICH. Friday A CRUEL, fleshy fist, ever moving, ever threatening fascinates me and I can hardly take my eyes away from it. Sometimes clenched with the strength of a powerful man it shakes back and fro in a gesture of warning, sometimes it crashes down as if ascending ruthlessly upon a victim. It is a fist with personality, but a brutal, a nailed fist. It is the fist of Goering. He stands elevated on a stage a few yards away from me before a mass of Brownshirts, of Hitler youths, and of German middle-class citizens. He is the centre of the most magnificently staged drama I have seen. Behind him rise the lofty pillars of a classic temple, from which the red, black and white swastika banners are flowing. Illuminated so that the red brilliance of the Nazi colour may stand out against the blackness of the sky and crowned with a dazzling swastika electric sign, this temple looks over a grassy square now filled with National-Socialists, who read between the centre pillars the slogan, "With Adolf Hitler for Germany." Missing Faces Not long ago this crowd was waiting for Goering in the darkness. Then, with a suddenness which made one’s eyes blink, searchlights flashed, a military band blared out a Nazi march and hundreds upon hundreds of banners were seen approaching from the distance down the avenue towards the temple. The Storm Troopers, with their leaders, marched past. Thinking of the shootings of Roehm and his associates, I whispered to my neighbour: "There are some faces missing since your last Munich meeting." He replied: "They are unwept, unhonoured, and unsung." There was silence for a few minutes while the crowd waited. Then a faint cheer came, and rapidly down the avenue drove a car, with a fat man in a brown uniform standing up and giving the Fascist salute. Goering had arrived to speak in the campaign for Hitler’s election on Sunday. Grim Expression The crowd stood with outstretched arms—I must have been the only one in that vast multitude whose right arm remained obstinately unraised. Like a priest surrounded by the chorus in Greek play, Goering stood motionless beneath the Ionic columns of the temple, while the Storm Troop flag bearers carried their brilliant banners with the silver crests glittering beneath the searchlights. His features, rendered hard by his high cheekbones and by the grim expression of his mouth, were deepened by the light which shone down upon him. His musical voice boomed out a greeting to the German people. It had a touch of rich harmony about it, but soon I felt a note of hardness. He had not spoken long before there rang out in those clipped tones of the German officer a jarring sound of, cruelty, impatience, and intolerance, which contrasted with the studied harmony and pleasing volume of the opening sentences. Hitler’s Influence The influence of Hitler upon his manner of speaking was striking, and my thoughts went to those Welsh members of Parliament whose voice and gestures are modeled upon, Mr. Lloyd George. There was in some high points of Goering’s speech the same note of hysteria and unbridled passion which I had heard in Hitler’s speeches, a note which inspires one with fear that the speaker will suddenly break down or lose absolute control of his mental powers. But that Goering is a tragic actor of the first rank there can be no doubt. Beyond the studied acquirements of a crystal-clear enunciation he has an instinctive knowledge of the place of light and shade in oratory and of the need of irony to follow a tragic or emotional passage. "Ghosts of Vanished Leaders" Ironic scorn about the lies of the world press followed a crescendo movement, which culminated in the shrieking claim: The German people have become the freest people of the world. That freedom has come through Adolf Hitler. "Adolf Hitler" filled the speech, which was one long panegyric of the Leader, and one long demand that every man and woman should vote on August 19. But with all his gifts of oratory, with all the passion which had filled his purple patches, and with all his triumphs of stage management, Goering must have left the meeting a slightly saddened man. Where was the enthusiasm which filled the assembly 18 months ago? Where was the spirit of religious fervour which once sent a shiver through the limbs and hearts of Germans. And those dark shadows in the trees yonder. Were they, perhaps, the ghosts of vanished Storm Troop leaders who not long ago had stood on that same temple, side by side with Goering, but whose ashes are now in some nearby graveyard. Forced to Listen-in Yes, they were lacking the old keenness which had impressed me so deeply in the first fine careless raptures of Hitler’s revolution. They are lacking in this whole election campaign by which Hitler will on Sunday be elected Leader, of the German people. Indifference is the keynote of the week. Families are forced to listen in to the speeches which are pouring through the wireless like an unceasing flood. In many houses the caretaker visits each flat to inquire who listened in and who was out, and whether the person, who was out listened in or not! What the fate of the caretaker would be in a British house if he so dared to trespass upon the freedom of the citizen I hardly like to imagine. Damped Enthusiasm "Why waste the money on an election when there can be no other result than a victory for the one and only candidate?" critical men are asking, but in spite of their criticisms they will all go to the ballot-box on Sunday, for to vote is obligatory. Many millions will go with enthusiasm, it is true, but it is a damped enthusiasm. I myself will on Sunday and on many days in the future be thinking not so much of the ballot-box and of the vote to be counted by 100 per cent. National Socialists but of something far more powerful—that iron fist of Goering which I saw clenched and threatening as the lights shone down upon it in temple at Munich.
******* THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 21st 1934 **** WHO ARE THE "Yeses" and "No" IN THE GERMAN PLEBISCITE
By Gareth Jones Who were the 38,000,000 who voted for Hitler arid who were the 4.000,000 who had the courage to say "No"? Among those who placed their cross in the circle representing "Yes’s there were millions who sincerely believed that Hitler should be their leader, but who hated the methods which his dictatorship had introduced. They voted "Yes" because they saw no alternative to him except Communism and chaos. They voted "Yes" because they longed for an end to civil strife and some stable régime however objectionable they might find many of its features. They voted "Yes" above all because they felt that Hitler was a representative of that national unity towards which Germany had always striven. SERFDOM IN THE BLOOD Other millions voted for Hitler, the Man. They are the millions who crave for someone to lead them, who lack initiative and long for an order from above, who have in their blood the former serfdom of East Prussia or the traditions of those petty little States where, only a century-and-a-half ago, the princelings sold their subjects to foreign generals for gold. This type of man worships a strong hand. Many vigorously, shouted "Ja" for Hitler because they believed that he had rescued them from Bolshevism and from massacre. They looked upon him as the bulwark against Communism. Others-the Industrialists-voted for him because he had smashed the trade unions and put an end to strikes. Others voted out of fear that they should be discovered and lose their posts. That their manner of voting could be found out through the voting slips I do not believe, because I am convinced that the ballot was secret. I visited a polling booth in the most Communistic area of Berlin. There was no number or mark or my voting slip by which the voter could be identified. THE "NOES" What of those who said "No"? They comprise men of such scattered opinions that they could hardly organise to overthrow Hitler. Among them were Communists and Socialists, more bitter than ever against the régime. Numbers of Catholics considered their "No" as a protest against National Socialism’s claim to the souls of the children and to the belief of young Nazis that "we have a new religion and that religion is Germany"! Protestants must have been among those who voted against Hitler, and they must have thought of the simple but stirring protest of the philosopher and divine, Karl Barth, when he exclaimed "Ich sage Nein!" ("I say No!"). Intellectuals must have been amongst the dissidents. They grieve at the garrotting of the German press and the ruining of the stage and of the films. "No!" This must have been the reaction of some when they thought of the killings of June 30. HITLER’S CONFIDENCE It would be a mistake, however, to see in four million anti-Hitler votes the end of the Hitler régime. There was a look of quiet confidence on Hitler’s face when I saw him on Sunday saluting the enthusiastic crowd outside the Chancellery. That confidence will be shaken far more by the economic tasks of the winter than by the votes of four million men. What are votes, after all, to men of strong will who have energy, ruthlessness, the determination to stay in power - and machine-guns?
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THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 22nd 1934
Hitler’s Trump Card - Fear That Germany May Fall to Pieces By GARETH JONES "Deutschland Uber Alles!" Germany above Everything! I watched thousands of bareheaded Germans last Sunday singing these words with passionate religious fervour, and repeating the last lines like the congregation at a Welsh chapel. Hitler stood at the window of the Chancellery saluting his worshippers who crowded the street before the Palace. The awe-filled eyes of the children were fixed upon their leader as upon some bright comet flashing through the sky. I saw their lips move as if they were chanting, not a national anthem, but a fervent prayer, an exhortation to Heaven - "Germany above Everything!" The British do not sing, "God Save the King" in that spirit. They sing their National Anthem with a confidence almost bordering on indifference, because Britain’s political foundations have endured for centuries, and there is belief in Britain’s unity which makes the people take their country for granted. NOT A REAL NATION But Germany is a child among nations. She was unborn when Britain had been mighty for almost a thousand years. She is a creation of the last century a hundred years ago "Germany" meant as little emotionally or politically to the world as the "Atlantic Ocean", she was a mere geographical expression. She has never been a real nation, but a collection of States loosely knit together and loathing each other. In fact, Bavarian hated Prussians and Prussians sniffed when they talked of Saxons. Such a hotch-potch of peoples could easily fall to pieces and Germany could disappear. That is the present fear of loyal Germans. Thus when the roar "Deutschland Uber Alles," while "God Save the King" on our lips is only mumbled, it is not arrogance, not boastfulness that urges them, but lack of confidence in their future, the ever-present fear that the congeries of States and peoples may not hold together. "Germany above all" means "Germany before Saxony, before Prussia, before Württemberg." It is an invocation: "Oh God, give us unity." THE BREATH OF LIFE Unity! That idea does not enter into England’s political thought because it already operates in her national life. The sea cuts Britain off from the world. Unity means more to the Welsh because the divisions between North and South Wales. It means something to the Frenchman, because France has been united only since the French Revolution of 1789. But to the Germans, who have only recently become a nation, unity means the very breath of life. It was as late as 1871 that Bismarck created the German Empire, but it was Empire in which there were many Kings and Princes with great power in their own dominions. Even in 1914 Bavaria and other States had their own stage stamps, railways, uniforms, and up to 1933 they had their own Parliaments. Even today Germany is not united. She is a discordant country in religion for two-thirds of the popu1ation are Protestant and one-third is Roman Catholic. She is discordant in politics. The Rhineland’s history is shot through with Roman influences, democratic experiments, and French justice while in Eastern Germany the acquiescence of the serf has never been exorcised from the soul of the people. She is discordant in race. The Prussians are half Slavs, while the Rhineland is peopled by a partly Celtic stock. She is discordant in her geography. In the north one travels hundreds of miles over a flat sandy plain. In the south the magnificent peaks of the Alps soar above flower-covered valleys where quick-witted musical people, charming and altogether in love with life and their fellows. And Germany has no natural frontiers except the sea to the north. She straddles out to the west beyond the Rhine. In the east she merges almost imperceptibly into Poland. STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY What a stupendous task it is to make a nation out of this medley of different races, lands, traditions, and creeds! Goethe’s Faust exclaims, "There dwell, alas! Two souls within this breast!" But within the breast of Germany there dwell thousands of souls struggling for supremacy. No wonder, therefore, that last week the Hitler election poster which drew most attention was this: "We Germans, placed in the centre of Europe, must hold together more than other nations. We must be united if we are not to perish - Bismarck. Hitler has fulfilled these prophetic words of Bismarck. Vote for him on August 19". This longing for unity is the subconscious cause of Hitler’s fanatical desire to mould the country into one single form. It explains his ruthlessness in stamping out differences of opinion, differences of uniforms, differences in political parties, and differences in religious beliefs. Hitler’s revolution is a violent swing of the pendulum away from the ramshackle discordant medley which was Germany to a super-regimented, forcefully cemented people who are to speak with one voice, think with one brain, and march at a single command. The fear that Germany might crumble to pieces is Hitler’s trump card, and he will use it skillfully. He will, when bread and potatoes and fats run short, paint a picture of the world threatening Germany. He will implore his fellow-countrymen to tighten their belts for the sake of German unity. He will depict himself as the keystone of the structure of a united nation. And men who hate his methods will rally to his side because they fear that if he falls chaos and conflict will rend the country and there will be farewell to the dream and prayer of "Deutschland Uber Alles!"
******* THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 23rd 1934 Fanning Flames of Nazi Revolt --- OPPRESSION IN SOUTH TYROL --- By GARETH JONES Imagine a land where you would not be allowed to carve a word of your native language upon the tombstones of your dead relatives where you might be fined £25 for teaching your tongue to schoolchildren; where you would be persecuted by the police if you formed a choir. To British people this would be a kind of Never-Never-Land visited in imagination by an eighteenth century satirist. But such a land does exist, and I have just visited it. It is the South Tyrol, which was taken away from Austria after the Great War and placed under the rule of Italy. The peaks of this region which in the setting sun g1ow a with a fairy orange red, look down on a grayish-white torrent, the Adige, which clatters down past vineyards and pine forests and through steep gorges topped by ancient castles and modern military fortresses. These mountains have bred a sturdy Germanic people who have not forgotten the traditions of the Tyrolese patriot Andreas Hofer. It is these people that the Italian Government is trying to convert into thorough Italians by the method which has failed almost everywhere - the forceful uprooting of the national language and customs. In this area there are no German schools, German societies are forbidden, and the German theatre has been abolished. Recently some children acted a German playlet, "Snow Witch," in a barn, and the governess who looked after them was summoned before a court of law for encouraging them to do so. TEACHING CHILDREN The stones which the Tyrolese collected to build a war memorial to the fallen Austrian soldiers have been used as steps upon which folk tread up to the Italian war memorial. It is the crushing of the mother tongue which hurts the Tyrolese most. As a man of religion told me: "It is only through the mother tongue that children can learn moral teachings, and only it he mother tongue can they truly understand the lessons of the Bible." Dollfuss insisted that Mussolini should treat the Tyrolese Austrians better; but the resulting Italian decree by which children are now allowed to learn German for four hours a week, has been worded in such a way that the Tyrolese have no faith in its efficiency. There is no doubt that the Austrian Chancellor, Herr Schuschnigg, raised the problem on Tuesday in his talk with Mussolini; but in spite of the Duce’s zeal for friendship with Austria there seems little hope that the Italians will introduce a régime of freedom into the South Tyrol. BECOMING NAZI Why is this question important for Europe? It plays a part because the South Tyrolese are growing violently Nazi and will be a source of internal weakness for Italy should Italian troops ever decide to cross the Brenner Pass into Austria. It has a profound influence on Mussolini’s relations with Austria. Austrians state: "If Mussolini is sincere in his friendship for us, why is he acting as a tyrant towards our fellow-countrymen in the South Tyrol who are under his sway?" These Austrians are growing to hate Italy more bitterly than ever and to despise Schuschnigg, their Chancellor, for being the minion of Mussolini. The feeling that fellow-Austrians are being enslaved by the Italians will fan the flames of another Nazi rebellion in Austria.
The South Tyrol is the dotted portion south of the Italian-Austrian frontier.
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THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, August 1934 10,000 PLANES ON GERMAN FRONTIERS Air-Minded Nation in the Making By GARETH JONES
Germany Must Become a Nation of Aviators! As I stepped out of Berlin’s main station some days ago I saw stretched high across the street a brilliantly blue banner with these words written large upon it. It was a declaration of Germany’s greatest ambition of the moment - to lead the world in civil and military aviation. The Germans are air-mad; their passion for flying is being fostered by the leaders of the National Socialist Party. Hitler, when he visits a town, swoops down upon it from the air. The first glimpse I ever had of the Chancellor was as he approached his vast aeroplane, the Baron von Richthofen, standing the snow-covered Berlin aerodrome on a February day in 1933. THE POWER BEHIND The real force behind the German air plans is not Hitler, however, but Goering, who probably cares nought about the economic visions of the National Socialist Party as long as he has power to blacken the European sky with a host of German squadrons. Goering was the inspirer of the air display which I visited in Berlin, and which not only impressed but startled me. Through the Berlin aerodrome ground marched thousands upon thousands of strapping young men clad in the new grey-blue uniform of the German aviators. As I watched their keen, determined faces, their fine physique, and the perfection of their marching, I thought that Germany had in them the germ of a magnificent air force. And there were young women, too, clad in that grey-blue uniform which is becoming as much the darling of the Prussian crowd as was the most resplendent of Guards’ uniforms in 1914. Will it be as ominous for Europe? I wonder. AMBITION AND FEAR It is not only ambition but fear which is leading to the training of these thousands of young men. "More than 10,000 aeroplanes are now standing on the German frontiers ready to start." This is one of the slogans driven into the minds of the German people by pamphlet, cinema, and radio. "In one hour every German city can be attacked by foreign bombers." Here is another statement which strikes millions of Germans in the eye as they look at the posters. Thus Goering is driving his lesson daily, hourly into the consciousness of the German people. Goering has spoken, and as a result of his commands air defence is taught in every school, gas-mask demonstrations are carried out in the most remote parts of the country, and every house of size appoints a special "air guardian" in case of attack. It was more than a coincidence that when I sailed from Cuxhaven the last words I saw as the liner slowly heaved away from the quay were: Germany Must Become a Nation of Aviators!
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THE WESTERN MAIL & SOUTH WALES NEWS, October 26th 1934 Will France Withhold Lorraine Iron Ore from the Saar? By GARETH JONES Hermann Röchling is the iron and steel king of the Saar. He rules over a vast works employing over 4,000 workers, and is the outstanding figure in the campaign to secure the return of the Saar to Germany. In this he has the support of the large majority of his fellow-Saarlanders. I went to see him in Völklingen, the Llanelly of the Saar territory, and talked to him in his plainly furnished office beneath the shadow of his blast furnaces. "What will be the economic consequences of the return of the Saar to Germany?" I asked this ironmaster, who had once been sentenced to imprisonment by the French. He replied that if the French made difficulties and refused to send iron ore from Lorraine into the Saar Germany would be able to obtain ore from Donau-Eschlngen, where scientists were making investigations. "They will not get me on my knees," he declared. Economic Link He thought, however, it was most unlikely that an economic war would break out between France and Germany when the Saar returned to the homeland. Lorraine had 1,250,000,000 tons of iron ore lying in the earth and they would certainly deliver the ore to the Saar. The Saar and Lorraine were economically bound together. Lorraine needed Saar coal and the Saar needed Lorraine ore. The French would be practically obliged to import coal from the Saar, because that was the most suitable coal for their coke-ovens. The Saar would have many economic advantages when it returned to Germany. Germany already bought over half the steel, half the glass, and half the pottery produced in the Saar. A gas conduit was to be built to South Germany. The increase of the electricity supply would be very great indeed. The Saar would benefit from the improving business conditions so marked in the Germany of Hitler. I brought up the question of German payment for the mines now held by the French. Security For Mines Herr Röchling stated that Germany could give security for the mines. The mines had declined enormously In value, he stated. According to the report of M.Guillaume (Director of the Saar Mines) there had been a loss of 19,075,728 gold marks (£950,000 at par) in 1931 and of 21,813.043 marks (nearly £1,100,000) in 1932. M. Guillmehad stated: "If the financial results of the working of the mines do not show a marked improvement in the years 1933 and 1934, one can imagine how the conversations which may begin in 1935 on the question of the re-purchase of the Saar mines will be influenced to the detriment of the interests of the French State." In conclusion, Herr Röchling stated that Germany would have to spend £5,000,000 to repair and improve the mines after the French departure.
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