Meanwhile the forcible conversion of Germany into a one-party State
continues. The Nationalists have largely ceased to count, particularly since the absorption of the Stahlhelm in the Brown Army, though Herr von Papen still has his .uses in the Cabinet, and may quite possibly remain there. But by far the most important develop- ment was the seizure of the Trade Unions on Tuesday. Though the" Free " Unions concerned (the less important Christian Unions have not so far been interfered with) number between three and four millions, no resistance can be expected from them. The Nazis have the organi- zation, the initiative and the arms, and there is nothing in Germany at present to obstruct their will. The Trade Unions in Germany, as in this country, are the mainstay of the Socialist Party, and that no doubt mainly accounts for their suppression. In future only an official Trade Union movement with a government nominee at its head wine allowed th exist, as in Italy. Germany is thus being metamorphosed with astonishing rapidity. How long the new order will exist it is idle to conjecture. Oppo- sition driven underground can be ultimately more dangerous than opposition in the open. But so far effective opposition hardly exists even underground in Germany. Its day no doubt will come, but no man can say when or. in what conditions.
