THE ALLIES' WAR AIMS
SIR,—In commenting on British war aims you say " They involve no break-up of Germany, no dictation of her form of government."
Perhaps, because I am a mere novice in political matters, I find this a provoking statement.
Hitlerism is a form of government, and our avowed aim is to smash this form of government permanently. Therefore, should an attempt ever be made in the future to resurrect it, I imagine we should combat it just as vigorously as at present. This would necessarily involve dictating to the German people a form of government they may not have.
Moreover, there is another aspect to this issue, viz.,. the idea that the internal policy of a country can be entirely separated from its foreign policy. The latter is bound to reflect to some extent the internal political and economic aims of a people.
If the League of Nations, or any form of federalism, is ever to become something more than " Power " politics, the peoples of the world cannot merely stand by while a country with a considerable population like Germany pursues a policy of suppression and tyranny towards many of its subjects ; because 'sooner or later that same spirit will manifest itself in the foreign policy of that country. This has been abundantly exemplified not merely by Germany in the past few years, but also by other instances known to historians.
The central government of the United States of America does not adopt a policy of indifference or " neutrality " to- wards the internal affairs of any of the States that make up the Union. Surely, in a federated Europe the same policy must be pursued.—Yours faithfully, C. E. POCICNEE. Tavetham Rectory, Norwich, Norfolk.
[Hitlerism is an attitude of mind and a method of be- haviour, not a form of government—En. The Spectator.]
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