20 JULY 1944, Page 1

Unconditional Surrender

Once again, last Tuesday, certain members of the House of Commons sought to wring from the Government a definition of the expression " unconditional surrender " as applied to Germany, maintaining that it left nothing for the Germans to hope for, and would tend to lengthen the war. There was a good deal of wooli- ness about the argument. Was the reference to armistice terms, or peace terms? If the former, they will presumably be presented by the leaders in the field to the conquered enemy ; Sir John Anderson said that a great deal of attention had been given to the working out of the details of the terms of surrender in conjunction with our Allies, and that at the proper time public statements would be made. But is the reference not to armistice but peace terms? Much has been said by Allied leaders in personal state- ments as well as in the Atlantic Charter about our war aims, and it is in accordance with these that peace terms will be framed. It is perfectly legitimate for anyone to ask for a clarification of war and peace aims so far as may be possible at this stage of the war, but nothing could be more mischievous than to require that the Allies should bind themselves by promises which the enemy would regard as conferring rights in the event of surrender. Since 1918 the Germans have construed the Fourteen Points of President Wilson as a charter under which they became-the recipients of rights. This war must end in the full and acknowledged defeat of Germany. Surrender with reservations will not 13:: good enough for us. Mr. Eden pointed out that we might win the war and lose the peace if we did not take every precaution to see that a Hitler never had a like chance again. Our reputation for clemency is such that our propagandists' hands are by no means tied. But we cannot think in terms of a negotiated peace. Germany's surrender must be absolute and therefore unconditional. a