german's cause for anxiety

8/4/2019 German's Cause for Anxiety

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World Affairs Institute

Germany's Cause for AnxietySource: Advocate of Peace through Justice, Vol. 93, No. 3 (August, 1931), pp. 132-135Published by: World Affairs InstituteStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20681582 .Accessed: 11/04/2011 21:07

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132Advocate of Peace, August, 1931

giving to the newly created Poland an outlet to the sea. It was formerlyan integralpart of theGerman territoryknown asWestPrussia. The port forthat section has beenfor centuries the ancientWest Prussian cityofDanzig. Historically, the Corridor territory belonged to the Germans for over acentury, following the year 1300; then toPoland forover threehundred years; againtoGermany from 1771 to 1919,when itwasturned back to Poland. Since 1919, whentherewere over a million Germans in thatsection,many have left; until now there areapproximately only one hundred thousandGermans throughout the section known asthe Corridor. And yet, throughout the region, racial and religious antagonisms arebitter. Poland insists that she must retaintheCorridor as her own territorialapproachto the sea. Germany insists, on the otherhand, that she should have a territorialrightofway to her own East Prussia. Thus,as will appear from the accompanying map,the two countries are faced with what appears to be an irreconcilable conflict of interests. Danzig is thoroughly German. Itis at the mouth of theVistula. As has beenpointed out, it is to theVistula what NewOrleans is to theMississippi. The peopleofDanzig, a Free City under theAegis oftheLeague ofNations, wish to retain theirentity as a city ofGermans. Poland insiststhat her port on theBaltic must be Polish.Unable thus far towin the political allegiance of Danzig, Poland is building a portof her own on the site of the little fishingvillage a dozen miles west ofDanzig, a portnow known as Gdynia, and connecting it,furthermore, to the hinterland by a newrailroad. This new port has already developed within the last five years from apopulation of about 300 to 45,000. Danzigisnaturally greatly disturbed, for the question facingher is, "Shall we remainGermanand lose our trade, or lose our nationalityand keep our business?" Here is a situa

tion thought by many careful observers tobe more threatening than any other to thepeace of Europe; more threatening thantariffs,than armaments, than Russia, thandebts.

Yet, the attention of our people seems tobe wholly concentrated upon debts. Thosefor themoment seem to be our only international question, in spite of the fact thatthey are but factors in a much larger problem.

Germany's Cause for AnxietyBUT

there is a world issue destined to bemore bitterly fought over than tariffs,than armaments, than Russia, than debts,than theCorridor. It is not, the estrangement between France and the rest of theworld, the League of Nations, theWorldCourt, the differences between the Covenant of theLeague ofNations and the Pactof Paris, the Balkans, the economic depression. None need to belittle the importance of any of these. Indeed, they arenot entirely separate problems; for thereare interrelations that tie them more orless into one common world situation, complicated as it is disturbing.The real issue in Europe, however, ofwhich all these are but parts, is the treatysigned at Versailles on the twenty-eighthof June, 1919. Look at themap and seewhat Germany asks.The Treaty ofVersailles contains fifteenparts, the first of which is known as theCovenant of the League of Nations. Inspite of thatCovenant, framed to "promoteinternational cooperation and to achieve international peace and security," nearlyevery nation in Europe feels less securetoday than in 1913. Notwithstanding therecognition in Article 8 of the Covenantthat "the maintenance ofpeace requires thereduction of national armaments to the low


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Advocate of Peace, August, 1931 133

NORTH

'AUSTRIA j HUNGARY ?)Y U g 0 S LaWIA'x

New York TimesSome of Germany's Troubles

est point consistent with the nationalsafety/' there are more men under armsinEurope than ever before. True, the economic situation inall European lands, Franceincluded, is dire ; but that is only an expression of other and disquieting causes.The Paris Pact, for example, is quite outof step with the Covenant, for there aremany treaties now in force which provide,under given circumstances, for thewagingofwar, as in the case of theLittle Entente,themilitary alliances, the Treaties of Locarno, even the Covenant of the League ofNations itself. Such arrangements maymaintain an armistice; they cannot becounted as permanent contributions to thecause of peace between nations.Under one section of theTreaty of Versailles, Germany lost 13 per cent of her

former territory.Under Part 8, Section I,keystone of the treaty, all responsibility forthe World War is laid upon Germany.Under Part 5, Germany undertook to observe the treaty "in order to render possible the initiation of a general limitationof the armaments of all nations." Therehas been no such general limitation of armaments. Because of the treaty, Germanylost nearly 30,000 square miles of her territory, 5,606 square miles in Alsace-Lorraine, with a population of 1,700,000, toFrance; 16,378 square miles in the Corridor,with a population of 2,934,000, toPoland; 1,441 square miles inUpper Silesia, with a population of 1,124,000, to Poland, and 122 square miles, with a population of 48,000, to Czechoslovakia; 726square miles in the Saar Basin, with a


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134 Advocate of Peace, August, 1931

population of 793,000, to theLeague ofNations; 739 square miles ofWest Prussia,with a population of 330,000, to theDanzigFree State; 1,542 square miles of NorthSchleswig, with a population of 166,000, toDenmark; 1,026 square miles of theMemelDistrict, with a population of 145,000, toLithuania; 400 square miles of EupenMalm?dy, with a population of 60,000, toBelgium.

While Germany recognizes that she is adefeated nation, there is an outspoken demand throughout the land fora new deal.Germany may be expected to demand further revisions of the payments under theTreaty of Versailles as modified by theDawes Plan, later by theYoung Plan, andnow by theHoover proposal; but we mayexpect also an increasing demand for therearrangement of her eastern frontiersbothalong the Corridor and Upper Silesia; thereturn of the Saar; the recovery ofDanzig:union with Austria, and either the increaseof her military force or the decrease of themilitary strength of others, especiallyFrance and Poland.

Of course Germany is not the only interested party. Under the general terms ofthe Treaty of Versailles and of the supplementary Treaty of St. Germain of 1919,Austrian territory, known as the SouthTyrol with its 250,230 Germans, Trieste,Istria, Zara, and certain islands of the sea,have all been turned over to Italy; Galiciahas been given to Poland; Bohemia, Moravia and part of Silesia, with over threemillion Germans, have been given toCzechoslovakia; Carniola, Dalmatia, Bosnia, Harzevonia have been handed over toYugoslavia, and Bukowina to Rumania.Under the terms of this treaty, also, andof the supplementary Treaty of Neuilly,of 1919, Bulgaria lost 8 per cent of herterritory.

Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and the later treaty known as theTreaty of Trianon of 1920, Hungary is

today less than one-third her former size.Hungary has lost over three million Hungarians; one-half million to Yugoslavia;three-quarters of a million to Czechoslovakia; 1,700,000 through Transylvania toRumania, and 65,000 to Austria. Of herformer total population, three and one-halfmillion have gone to Czechoslovakia andover fourmillion to Yugoslavia and Rumania. Of the twentymillion in erstwhileGreater Hungary, thirteen and one-halfmillion are gone. It is not without interest,furthermore, to note that the Hungarianarmy is now 35,000; the Czechoslavakianarmy, 160,000; the Rumanian, 232,000,and the Yugoslavian, 150,000 men. Theproud Magyars of a thousand years areexisting under the regency of AdmiralHorthy, the control of Count Bethlen, andcomplaining the while that they are deniedthe right of self-determination. They resent their lot, especially because, as theyclaim, Hungary was in no sense guilty ofstarting the war; indeed, as they insist,Count Tisza?their only representative atthe conferencewhich broughtHungary intothe conflict?flatly objected to the war.

Thus itwill be seen, theTreaty ofVersailles bristles with difficulties. Shall Prussia be allowed to take over Polish Pomerania in her efforts to get a territorial linkwith East Prussia? Is Alsace-Lorraine tobe left alone! Shall Austria regain theAdige from Italy! Shall Hungary be allowed to take back Transylvania? MustEngland be made to get out of Palestineand of the valleys of theEuphrates and theTigris? Has the time come for France,Belgium and Italy to be denied furtherfunds for reparations throughout the areasdevastated by German armies?

Thus the basic issue inEurope is, Shallthe Treaty of Versailles and the supplementary treaties of St. Germain, ofNeully,and of Trianon, be revised?There is a powerful group of states, each

pleading for revision. These states are


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Advocate of Peace, August, 1931 135

Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria, allseemingly supported by Italy. The statesopposed to revision are France, Belgium,Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Rumania, the last three ofwhich compose therather formidable Little Entente. The revisionists not only complain of the injustices of the treaties; they point out that,following 1815, peace was maintainedthroughout Europe by the gradual modification of theTreaty of Vienna, and that,therefore, fromnow on, peace will have tobe maintained by the gradual modificationof theTreaty ofVersailles. The anti-revisionists, on the other hand, take the groundthat the treaty cannot be revised becausehistory has shown that whenever "Germany is given an inch shewill take an ell."All the beneficiaries of theTreaty of Versailles realize that if Germany is foundguiltless of thewar, her guilt being firmlyestablished in theTreaty of Versailles, thewhole fabric of the treaties will break down.That would spell forEurope nothing butanarchy.

So there it remains, the issue of issues inEurope. Over it hover all the angers andbitternesses associated with the lost Germancolonies, theAlto Adige, the Polish Corridor, Gdynia and Danzig, war guilt, debts,and the rest. Is the Treaty of Versaillesto be changed? That is the issue.When it is charged that the treaty ishumiliating to Germany, to Austria, toHungary, it is replied that the Treaty of1815 and theTreaty of 1871 were humiliating to France; the Treaty of 1866 washumiliating to regalAustria; theTreaty ofBrest-Litovsk, of 1917, was humiliating toPoland. To the agitating minorities callingforrevision of the treaties, it ispointed outthat while there were twentymillion discontented minorities inEurope before theTreaty of Versailles, there are now lessthan one hundred million of these disturbingportions of thepopulations.

Shall the treaty be changed? It hasbeen changed. Those portions relating tothe trial of theKaiser, to the assessmentof reparations, the evacuation of theRhineland, have been changed. It will be impossible to stopmodifications forthe future.Change is the law of life. As Emersonpoints out in his essay on "Compensation":"The changes which break up at short intervals the prosperity ofmen are advertisements of a nature whose law is growth." Sothe question is not, after all, Shall theTreaty of Versailles be changed? Thequestion is,How much further shall it bechanged! That, in our judgment, is themost serious political question facing theworld. Germany may be counted on to seethat the question is not forgotten.

An Estimate of the FrenchPosition

THEwriter of these lines has been in

France since thewar many times. Hehas many highly valued acquaintancesamong the French people. He dares to setforth, therefore,what he believes to be aconsiderable public opinion in that land,about the Hoover moratorium and the present financial crisis in Europe.

There is a sizeable belief inFrance thatwe are trying to play horse with her, ourtranslation of "L'Am?rique se fiche denous." French people understand thatPresident Hoover's activities may well workto the advantage of Germany; but manyFrenchmen fail to see how theywill be ofhelp to France. The French see themselvesas more heavily taxed than any otherpeople. They live only by the strictesteconomy, giving up almost all luxuries andeven comforts. Therefore, why, they ask,should they pay for Germany's follies?Why shouldn't other nations help Germanyin proportion to their actual resources?When they are charged that theFrench arecourting bankruptcy for their enemies, they

german's cause for anxiety

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