[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—" A German Landowner
" completely fails to realise how impossible it is for us English to make a rigid distinction between the domestic and foreign policy of his country If we find that the German Government is behaving in a tyran- nical and overbearing way in domestic affairs we naturally conclude that it is likely to behave in a similar way towards other nations. There was already a great deal to cause us uneasiness—especially the expression of what seemed to us an arrogant nationalist spirit revealed in Mein Kampf and in the speeches of German statesmen ; and when we are faced with a practical illustration in the recent anti-Jewish measures of what this national self-assertion means in practice it is small con- solation to reflect that these were merely measures of domestic policy. If mere abstract justice is a secondary matter in deal- ing with the Jews, are we not justified in fearing that the power and prestige of Germany rather than considerations of justice will be the determining factor in German foreign policy? And can Herr Hitler and his supporters blame us if we take the precaution of preparing to meet the possible consequences of a type of German patriotism which is apparently ready to think anything justified which conduces to the power and greatness of Germany? Unhappily, the scales are weighted against us and we are unable, owing to the strict censorship exercised by the German Government, to explain to the German people that we are rearming not because of any aggressive designs, but because of the ruthless spirit displayed in German speech and action.—Yours faithfully,
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