NEWS OF THE WEEK
THE tension over Danzig increases, and that for several reasons. In the first place, it is clear that Herr Hitler's intention is not merely to scamp Danzig, but to dominate Poland; already Danzig " and the Corridor " (which is about 90 per cent. Polish) are being linked together. In the second place, local incidents are multiplying, and a situation is being created in which the only alternatives are a marked relaxation, of which there is no sign, or an outbreak which there would be no hope of localising. Thirdly, there is good reason to believe that Herr Hitler has set his mind on a Danzig settlement before the Nuremberg Party Con- gress opens on September 2nd. We shall have for some time to live in the knowledge that peace cannot be counted on for more than a week ahead. The greatest danger of all lies in the fact that Herr Hitler and his immediate coterie are following precisely the tactics employed a year ago against Czecho-Slovakia, with no glimmer of appreciation of the difference between the spirit and strength of the democracies then and now. There are the same abuse of Poland, the same baseless allegations of atrocities, the same attempt to achieve results by intimidation and menace. In such circumstances, it is of particular value that a paper so free from suspicion of anti-Nazi bias as The Times should have declared categorically on Wednesday that " no words can add to the certainty, simple but immensely grave, that Britain, with her allies, will go to war without the smallest hesitation to frustrate a German assault on the inde- pendence of Poland."
