Analytics Consent

We use analytics to understand better how people are using this site.

Permit Google Analytics?

Yes No
Skip to main content
Read page text
page 1
THE TABLET A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER AND REVIEW PRO ECCLESIA DEI, PRO REGE ET PATRIA VOL. 180 No. 5336 PUBLISHED AS A NEWSPAPER LONDON, AUGUST 15th, 1942 SIXPENCE THE MORAL OF INDIAN NATIONALISM What Britain has Neglected through the Decades THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CHINA I : The First Missionaries. By James Brodrick, S.J. THE CHURCH AND NATIONAL LOYALTY Cardinal Faulhaber on Anti-Papal Pressure in Germany THE WORLD WEEK BY WEEK Conference in Moscow The Allied conferences in Moscow have been held a t the height o f a German drive which may, among its other effects, make inter-communication more difficult than it has been hitherto, by interrupting the flow o f supplies through Persia. But there is nothing to suggest th a t the conferences have been conducted in a defensive spirit, although the Allies are still defending and the enemy is still attacking. The American invasion o f the Solomon Islands, an operation o f obviously great difficulty, and the simultaneous attack to dislodge the Japanese in the Aleutians, are doubly welcome, both in themselves and as symbols and harbingers. I f the German Armies still advance, the German propaganda and war mentality are increasingly imbued with a spirit o f the defensive. In Western Europe, with many other threats to the unhappy conquered peoples no t to dare to lift a finger to help their liberators, the Germans betray an increasing ill-ease. They little thought, two years ago, th a t the summer o f 1942 would find them still a t war, with the invaded populations totally unreconciled to their presence and increasingly restive, and with an American as well as a British Army training, in a secure Britain, to come against them on the mainland. They are a t present claiming—or perhaps it would be truer to say th a t for tactical reasons o f their own they are pretending to believe—that the end o f the Soviet regime is a t hand. They do not mean by this th a t there is serious disaffection among the rank and file o f the Red Armies. That is a pretence which they have long maintained, w ithout much conviction, in their Russian-language broadcasts which purpo r t to be conducted by a “ M ilitant Union o f Russian Nationalists” in territory still held by the Red Army. Their new assertion is th a t the Soviet regime is about to be displaced by a coup d 'é ta t th a t will be staged by the British and Americans, in favour o f a monarchy supported by a military dictatorship. modifications. Cossack regiments disbanded since the days o f the Tsars have been revived ; and the restoration o f the Imperial Knightly Order o f St. Alexander Nevski, founded by Peter the Great, is likewise significant. St. Alexander Nevski is the Russian counterpart o f St. Louis ; he was the G rand Duke who routed the Germans in 1242. The revived Order o f St. Alexander is to be reserved for officers o f the Red Army only, as i t was in the old days. The new Orders o f Suvorov and Kutusov are likewise for officers only, named after soldiers who were both monarchists and men o f religion. The institution o f these decorations by Stalin is in keeping with the policy, so clear in the writing o f the wellknown Soviet publicist Ilyha Ehrenburg, o f relating the war to the defence no t so much o f the Soviet regime as o f the historical Russia. The projected production o f Tolstoy’s War and Peace by the B.B.C. will bring home to British listeners this abiding reality o f Russian toughness in war and desperate patriotism in defence o f the Russian soil. The Axis and the Indian Problem I t was a sign o f how far from reality the Congress Party is that, on the eve o f its meeting, D r. Azad, the President, could talk o f asking the Russians and Chinese to support the Congress demands. The decision was actually taken to send letters not only to Mr. Roosevelt, but to General Chiang Kai-shek and M. Maisky also. Mr. Gandhi himself said in a speech to the Conference th a t he realized th a t Japanese possession o f India would mean “ the end o f China and perhaps o f Russia too. ” “ I d o no t want to be the instrum ent o f Russia’s defeat, nor o f China’s ,” he added. I t remains incomprehensible how it could have been thought likely that the Russians and Chinese would endorse the demand for the immediate withdrawal o f the British, leaving India in the uncertain hands o f men who may equivocate about their attitude to the Japanese, but whom both the Japanese and the Axis Powers in Europe are exultantly hailing not merely as passive, but as active allies. The propaganda purpose o f this is to give the impression o f crisis in Moscow. Stalin is represented as anxious to make a separate peace, and to prevent this he is to be unseated by Generals who will continue to resist. This story is being widely pu t out by the enemy. Listeners to Radio Paris have heard it. What is interesting is th a t the Germans should allege a crisis showing a weakening o f Communism, instead o f one showing a weakening o f the will to defeat the invader. This new story disturbs the whole foundation o f the stock Nazi appeal to Europe for support in a “ C rusade” against Russian Bolshevism. The Germans now imply th a t behind the Communists there are Russian patriots more militant, more resolved to go on with the war, than the Russian Communist Party. The Germans can hardly try to rally Europe to a Crusade against Russian patriotism . I t is true th a t there has lately been further evidence o f the growth o f Russian national and traditional feeling. I t is some time now since the military and naval ranks and uniforms o f the old Empire were restored, with a few slight The exultation is more marked in Italy than in Germany. I t is from Bari th a t Subhas Chandra Bose does most o f his b roadcasting; although it is true th a t he has also been much in Berlin. But among the Germans there is a detectable undercurrent o f apprehension lest the Japanese shall become too powerful. In the two volumes o f H itle r’s speeches which have lately been edited fo r the Royal Institute o f International Affairs, there is much evidence o f the value which Hitler attaches to the British rule in India. He said before he came to power : “ I t would be foolish for Germany to gloat over the prospect o f the loss o f India by the British Empire, which would be a misfortune fo r the rest o f the world, including Germany.” Responsible Germans still recognize this as a glimpse o f the tru th . A Swiss writer, M. A. Duguemy, writing o f the F a r Eastern War in La Liberté a t the time o f the Cripps mission, gave the judgment th a t “ the European partners o f the Axis, while striving for the defeat o f Britain in Europe, desire in petto th a t the Anglo-Saxon resistance in the Antipodes may not collapse. ’’

Page Text

View plaintext

THE TABLET A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER AND REVIEW

PRO ECCLESIA DEI, PRO REGE ET PATRIA

VOL. 180 No. 5336

PUBLISHED AS A NEWSPAPER

LONDON, AUGUST 15th, 1942

SIXPENCE

THE MORAL OF INDIAN NATIONALISM

What Britain has Neglected through the Decades THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN CHINA I : The First Missionaries. By James Brodrick, S.J. THE CHURCH AND NATIONAL LOYALTY

Cardinal Faulhaber on Anti-Papal Pressure in Germany

THE WORLD WEEK BY WEEK Conference in Moscow

The Allied conferences in Moscow have been held a t the height o f a German drive which may, among its other effects, make inter-communication more difficult than it has been hitherto, by interrupting the flow o f supplies through Persia. But there is nothing to suggest th a t the conferences have been conducted in a defensive spirit, although the Allies are still defending and the enemy is still attacking. The American invasion o f the Solomon Islands, an operation o f obviously great difficulty, and the simultaneous attack to dislodge the Japanese in the Aleutians, are doubly welcome, both in themselves and as symbols and harbingers. I f the German Armies still advance, the German propaganda and war mentality are increasingly imbued with a spirit o f the defensive. In Western Europe, with many other threats to the unhappy conquered peoples no t to dare to lift a finger to help their liberators, the Germans betray an increasing ill-ease. They little thought, two years ago, th a t the summer o f 1942 would find them still a t war, with the invaded populations totally unreconciled to their presence and increasingly restive, and with an American as well as a British Army training, in a secure Britain, to come against them on the mainland.

They are a t present claiming—or perhaps it would be truer to say th a t for tactical reasons o f their own they are pretending to believe—that the end o f the Soviet regime is a t hand. They do not mean by this th a t there is serious disaffection among the rank and file o f the Red Armies. That is a pretence which they have long maintained, w ithout much conviction, in their Russian-language broadcasts which purpo r t to be conducted by a “ M ilitant Union o f Russian Nationalists” in territory still held by the Red Army. Their new assertion is th a t the Soviet regime is about to be displaced by a coup d 'é ta t th a t will be staged by the British and Americans, in favour o f a monarchy supported by a military dictatorship.

modifications. Cossack regiments disbanded since the days o f the Tsars have been revived ; and the restoration o f the Imperial Knightly Order o f St. Alexander Nevski, founded by Peter the Great, is likewise significant. St. Alexander Nevski is the Russian counterpart o f St. Louis ; he was the G rand Duke who routed the Germans in 1242. The revived Order o f St. Alexander is to be reserved for officers o f the Red Army only, as i t was in the old days. The new Orders o f Suvorov and Kutusov are likewise for officers only, named after soldiers who were both monarchists and men o f religion. The institution o f these decorations by Stalin is in keeping with the policy, so clear in the writing o f the wellknown Soviet publicist Ilyha Ehrenburg, o f relating the war to the defence no t so much o f the Soviet regime as o f the historical Russia. The projected production o f Tolstoy’s War and Peace by the B.B.C. will bring home to British listeners this abiding reality o f Russian toughness in war and desperate patriotism in defence o f the Russian soil. The Axis and the Indian Problem

I t was a sign o f how far from reality the Congress Party is that, on the eve o f its meeting, D r. Azad, the President, could talk o f asking the Russians and Chinese to support the Congress demands. The decision was actually taken to send letters not only to Mr. Roosevelt, but to General Chiang Kai-shek and M. Maisky also. Mr. Gandhi himself said in a speech to the Conference th a t he realized th a t Japanese possession o f India would mean “ the end o f China and perhaps o f Russia too. ” “ I d o no t want to be the instrum ent o f Russia’s defeat, nor o f China’s ,” he added. I t remains incomprehensible how it could have been thought likely that the Russians and Chinese would endorse the demand for the immediate withdrawal o f the British, leaving India in the uncertain hands o f men who may equivocate about their attitude to the Japanese, but whom both the Japanese and the Axis Powers in Europe are exultantly hailing not merely as passive, but as active allies.

The propaganda purpose o f this is to give the impression o f crisis in Moscow. Stalin is represented as anxious to make a separate peace, and to prevent this he is to be unseated by Generals who will continue to resist. This story is being widely pu t out by the enemy. Listeners to Radio Paris have heard it. What is interesting is th a t the Germans should allege a crisis showing a weakening o f Communism, instead o f one showing a weakening o f the will to defeat the invader. This new story disturbs the whole foundation o f the stock Nazi appeal to Europe for support in a “ C rusade” against Russian Bolshevism. The Germans now imply th a t behind the Communists there are Russian patriots more militant, more resolved to go on with the war, than the Russian Communist Party. The Germans can hardly try to rally Europe to a Crusade against Russian patriotism .

I t is true th a t there has lately been further evidence o f the growth o f Russian national and traditional feeling. I t is some time now since the military and naval ranks and uniforms o f the old Empire were restored, with a few slight

The exultation is more marked in Italy than in Germany. I t is from Bari th a t Subhas Chandra Bose does most o f his b roadcasting; although it is true th a t he has also been much in Berlin. But among the Germans there is a detectable undercurrent o f apprehension lest the Japanese shall become too powerful. In the two volumes o f H itle r’s speeches which have lately been edited fo r the Royal Institute o f International Affairs, there is much evidence o f the value which Hitler attaches to the British rule in India. He said before he came to power : “ I t would be foolish for Germany to gloat over the prospect o f the loss o f India by the British Empire, which would be a misfortune fo r the rest o f the world, including Germany.” Responsible Germans still recognize this as a glimpse o f the tru th . A Swiss writer, M. A. Duguemy, writing o f the F a r Eastern War in La Liberté a t the time o f the Cripps mission, gave the judgment th a t “ the European partners o f the Axis, while striving for the defeat o f Britain in Europe, desire in petto th a t the Anglo-Saxon resistance in the Antipodes may not collapse. ’’

Read next page

My Bookmarks

Buy this Book
Skip to main content