Salt Lake Telegram | 1938-04-16 | Page 1 | Benes Declares His Army Will Battle for Freedom

Benes ne s Declares His Anny Army Will Battle for Freedom 17 ln In Peace With Neighbor Nations Set as Goal but Nazis Must Keep Hands Off Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak a 16 INS INS Declaring this PRAHA p Declaring country Y is prepared for tor the possibility of war but does not consider it inevitable inevitable inevitable table President Edouard Benes Bens warned Germany today to keep hands lands off Czechoslovakia Opening the peace celebrations in parliament Benes delivered his warning in stern but smooth diplomatic diplo matic matie language He said We honestly and sincerely seek the he best understanding possible I with all our neighbors Particularly Particular- Particular ly y we believe in good relations with Germany I But peace only can be preserved If f all aU regimes refrain scrupulously from rom Interfering directly or indi- indi indirectly in the affairs of a neighborIng neighbor neighbor- i Ing ng state Benes' Benes speech was perhaps the most striking official expression of I Czech apprehension lest Chancellor I Hitler Hiller spring his next Central European Eu- Eu I EU-I surprise In a move toward Czechoslovakia he he ed v any We shun continued any division of Europe into blo blocs and at th the same same time we I strongly and steadfastly refuse to allow ourselves s to be pushed into i any such bloc I We will do our utmost to contribute contribute contrib contrib- I ute to pacification of Europe by I tackling adding our minority problems with I foresight and courage Czechs s Slovaks Slovaks o- o Germans Hungarians Poles Athenians we must all under- under understand understand stand tan d that we VIe have to do cio our duty at this critical al hour After making his speech the president signed a decree announcing Ing ng the largest amnesty for political prisoners in the nations nation's history The decree releases 1000 imprisoned Imprisoned ned German members of the Sudeen Sude- Sude i ten en nazi party the group which has been een in the forefront of the struggle waged by Chancellor Hitler to obain obtain ob- ob I ain tain autonomy for Germans living Jiving II in n this country