* * Poland's Hard Choice The visit of the German
Foreign Minister, Herr von Ribbentrop, to Warsaw on Wednesday may have a profound effect on the future of Europe. It follows on the recent visit of the Polish Foreign Minister, Col. Beck, to Herr Hitler, which in its turn followed on a visit by Col. Beck to France, which rather conspicuously failed to provide oppor- tunity for contact with any member of the French Cabinet. What passed between Col. Beck and Herr Hitler is unknown, and speculations on the subject may be disregarded. But there is little reason to doubt that Herr Hitler is still un- decided whether to strike his next blow (if he strikes any blow) in the East or the West. His talk with Col. Beck, followed by the impending talk between Col. Beck and Herr von Ribbentrop, may go far to determine that. Poland has long remained poised non-committally (and intelligibly enough) between Germany and Russia, with some inclination to the latter since Munich. Herr Hitler, however, is in a position to employ both threats and inducements, though the ultimate fact is that Poland has no reason to fear aggression of any kind from Russia, while her inevitable fate, if she decides to enter the German orbit—and consequently to break with Russia—must be the same as Hungary's.
