Show YAR 1938 12 MONTHS L OF AND TURMOIL dictatorships cause widespread destruction and conster nation with map changes uncle sam wakes up but ras has hands full with domestic problems from pathfinder twenty years ago this week the world rejoiced A new year was at hand and for the first time since 1914 it was to be a year of peace instead of war in En england giand church bells once again yang rang out peace on earth good will to men from rome pope r brodict XV hailed this solemn nt when a new era in the history ap 0 ry of the world is to begin last week as the second decade since the dawn of that new era wore to an end the hopes of 1918 lay buried under the dark realities of 1938 where men had looked for unbroken peace war raged on two sides aides of the world reason and good will once en shrines as the gods of a better future lay shattered before the power of armed might individual freedom the soul of democratic civilization had vanished from the largest part of the earths surface surf f ace the story of the year abroad was a story of conflict conquest and the rise of tyranny in the west while guns still ravaged spain triumphant Naz idom preaching its doctrines of race hatred and brute force blotted out the independence of austria and the democracy of czechoslovakia in the east japan hardening her fascist shell at home swept onward through china defying more and more boldly the protests of of the badgered democracies on both sides of the world it seemed the proud citadels of century freedom were tottering EUROPE on the european stage 1938 unrolled like a well constructed play from an ominous prologue it evolved into a series of acts each with its own smashing climax only to end with an epilogue filled with rumblings gs of danger yet to come prologue the curtain rose on a troubled scene before the years first month had passed france was struggling with a cab vas crisis central europe was i show ng the signs of advancing fascism and two armies were bleeding spain busily courted by most of middle europe germanys germanas Germ anys rulers were ignoring the pleas of harassed jews through all the continent brea breathe theil the awful promise of what was to come act 1 early february brought the first real portent in a sweeping military shake up the german generals who had formerly stayed adolph hillers Hit lers impetuous hand were cast aside and the fuehrer himself became chief of the high command with the powerful german army as hi his tool stool within a week chancellor kurt von of austria was s caned to berchtesgaden to hear hillers Hit lers half hysterical commands in and to return home to appoint a pro nazi cabinet by march Aus hour had struck defiantly calling a plebiscite on his nations independence found himself alone england led by prime minister neville chamberla ahad cast her lot with appeasement of the dictatorships france with the chautemps cabinet crashing was a ship without a rudder soviet russia was absorbed in another great treason trial mussolini once the chief champion of austrian independence was blithely skiing in the alps seizing this perfect opportunity hitler massed his army at the border and fired ultimatums ultima tums at vienna when the troops began to march despairing surrendered and the swastika rose above austria the first act was over but the play had just begun act 2 by april the fasci at tide was in full flood and european democracy was backtrack back track ing like a hunted animal frances popular front fell to pieces as socialist leon blum handed over the cruel honor of the premiership to conservative edouard dal adier britain pursuing chamberlains realism signed with italy a peace pact whose terms still remain unfulfilled in spain rebel general francisco franco encouraged by the successes of his fascist brothers knifed his way to the mediterranean and split loyalist territory into two As mussolini honored hitler with a 20 million dollar fete in rome and as deladier Da ladier visited london to cement a democratic axis with chamberlain the next crisis budded czechoslovakia surrounded on three sides by the new germany stubbornly refused to grant virtual independence to german blooded citizen citizens ns of land As riots plots marked general elections naj nai troops rolled toward the czech border and europe shuddered again in the grip of a war psychosis then czechoslovakia thrilled the world and confounded hitler by fearlessly massing crack troops while europe held its breath the nazi war machine backed off like a puzzled bear before a growling terrier and the crisis passed for a time act 3 spring wore into summer and fright ridden europe rose steadily toward the ultimate in war hysteria temporarily stalled abroad germany turned her wrath once more upon the jew the reich found a new partner in anti semitism as italy increasingly crea singly willing to follow the german lead turned suddenly on her jews in spain the ap continued on page 13 the year 1938 continued from first page parent ly doo i ed loyalist amazingly at the eiro river and kept on fighting toward the end of july sude slide ten nazis returned to the charge wah ath new demands on the czech government filled with ings j england sent wealthy conservative serva tive lord walter runciman to prague for mediation butlre concessions he gained for the su dans 0 only made matters worse rs r t germany ordered maneuvers ma neu vers in bavaria in september most of europe began mobilization and by october the map of the world was different the story of the great crisis is too recent to need repeating czechoslovakia goaded by france and britain agreed to hillers Hit lers demand or dismemberment only to have that unpredictable dictator grab for more and get it while the world still sang his praises as a peacemaker peace maker chamberlain flew back from his second pilgrimage to germany with war on his coattails for three nightmarish days europe quivered in an agony of dread heedless of the war preparation of potential foes hitler a halted ial ted the day he had named for strophe to begin then when vry dry hope seemed dead came the call to munich the meeting there most momentous since the armistice of 20 years before reshaped europe hitler got everything he asked at desberg Go and more with mussolini as his aide de camp he became the most important man in the world though chamberlain emerged as the prophet of peace he and frances deladier Da ladier unquestionably tion ably knuckled under wit biti soviet russia left deft out of the settlement entirely the franco cie acieh h russian alliance became nothing but paper men said the balance of power in europe had shifted which meant simply that the work of dividing the in 0 o democratic and fascist campb had been completed with the baschta Fascist 3 on lop act 4 the last act of E Eu ropes drama was the story of hs aftermath it too ended with a crisis En glands mighty empire creating new problems for itself thru its policy of appeasement ran into further trouble in palestine where fascist encouraged arabs intensified their revolt against israel bringing death to thousand 5 and civil war to the holy land france seemingly reduced to the status of a second dass class power struggled against serious internal d eunity under deladier Da ladier in spain the bloody war went on with the rebels inching nearer victory germany new master of europe let no foreign office rest under berlins dictation bleeding bleed ng czechoslovakia yielded yet more territory to poland and hungary in aurania au nazis fought openly with catholicism n ng no words the reich launched a campaign for return of all her former colonies for jewry there was no mercy anti semitism was the seed of Eu ropes last 1938 crisis when the reich dumped polish jews back into their homeland a maddened youth in paris shot ind and killed a minor german official instantly pogroms flamed in germany with official encouragement nazis followed healthy instincts in staging nationwide nation wide de st ruction of jewish property and in in rev reviling ailing jews of all age sexes and conditions As a penalty for the crime of a jewish boy in paris the german government levied a billion mark fine on her J jewish e wish wards a and n d be began gan a systematic program for extinction of the race appalled the rest of the world protested loudly but in vain with grave misgivings 31 nations tackled the stupendous problem of providing havens for the of refugees from the new tyranny epilogue As it began so eu ropes year ended with trouble in the air france putting down popular protest against Dala diers policies signed a dubious peace pact with germany even as italians shouted for french territory once again military experts said spain was preparing for a last struggle still middle europe I 1 seethed with the german question in a continent gone crisis mad new crises seem eem inevitable to be continued next week |