1939: Internationalism

Internationalism was hard-hit during 1939 through acts of violence and aggression, declared and undeclared wars, treaties broken, a network of bilateral pacts disregarding collective security and safeguarding individual aggression and assistance in wrong-doing, ideologies confused into power politics, the international community and its methods for the most part neglected. In short, political nationalism was in full swing and the practices of economic nationalism predominated. Yet some glimmers of internationalism shone through: peoples were in closer touch than ever before — the radio broadcast information and peace messages, transport by air and sea cut down distances. On an international scale, distress received sympathy and aid. Religions appeals appeared to offer a unifying basis for ideals and conduct. The conviction spread that, after the war, must come, from the welter of dissident sovereign states, some international union, federation, or league better than the League of Nations of 1919.

Alignment of the Nations of the War.

The year saw the beginning of a European War and of the undeclared war between the Soviet Union and Finland, the continuance of 'hostilities' by Japan against China, and the end of the civil war in Spain. It left Europe divided into the two main camps of Great Britain and France as opposed to Germany, with Turkey an ally of the former, in case of Italian intervention on the German side in the Balkan or Black Sea area, and as in the case of Poland, an Allied guarantee against aggression in Rumania and Greece the German Reich, now including Austria, Danzig and the Polish Corridor, Memel, and the greater part of Czechoslovakia, with the so-called republic of Slovakia, had a mutual assistance pact and an economic alliance with Russia and economic agreements with Rumania, and the remnant of the anti-comintern pact with Italy and Japan; Italy had absorbed Albania and to the best of its ability had bettered its commercial arrangements with the Balkans and improved its relations somewhat with France and England and the Papacy. Of the regional ententes, the Little Entente had lost one member and must be adjudged dead, the Balkan and Near East Ententes existed but seemed swallowed in larger problems involving Europe, and the states of the Baltic Entente had become Russian protectorates. The Oslo Powers were endeavoring to preserve their neutrality and freedom of trade in spite of Russian war upon Finland and Denmark's agreement to a non-aggression treaty with Germany. Belgium and Holland existed in imminent danger of invasion. Spain and Hungary, signatories of the anti-comintern pact along with Germany, Italy and Japan, were patently lukewarm to the pact and hoped to preserve their neutrality, as did all other states in Europe. In the Western Hemisphere the twenty-one republics meeting at Panama on Sept. 24 to consult upon measures for preserving neutrality throughout the American continent and territorial waters, gave evidence of regional unanimity.

Territorial changes by violent means occurred in the seizure of Albania by Italy, of Danzig and the Corridor by Germany, the breaking up of Czechoslovakia, and the destruction of Poland by Germany and Russia. Formal recognition of the new status was in general accorded only by states sympathetic to aggressive methods. The United States formally stated in connection with Albania its maintenance of the Stimson Doctrine opposing forcible and violent invasions, and steadily refused to recognize the results of aggression. Reconstruction of Czechoslovakia and Poland, and even of Austria, became a war aim of the Allies, and official relations were continued with the Czech and Polish Governments in exile. By April 1 most states, including the United States, had recognized the Franco Government in Spain.

The Refugee Problem.

The year was marked by migrations of peoples on a wide scale. The refugee problem grew steadily by additional numbers of refugees from Czechoslovakia, Spain, Poland, Germany and Austria. For the most part Czechs, as well as Germans and Austrians, were the care of the League of Nations High Commission and the Inter-Governmental (Evian) Committee for Refugees; of the five hundred thousand Spaniards who crossed into France during the civil war, the majority had been repatriated by the end of 1939, but many not daring to return, went elsewhere; after war broke out, the centers for Polish and Czech fighting units attracted some of their countrymen. Funds were raised, and offers received for permanent settlement from British Guiana, Northern Rhodesia, the Dominican Republic and the Philippine Islands. By August the Evian Committee had been concerned with the 150,000 Jews and non-Aryans who had left Germany in one year, investigation of possibilities for permanent settlement as well as removing refugees from temporary shelters, and the arrangement of a fund inside Germany enabling them to leave that country and Czechoslovakia and providing maintenance elsewhere. Cession by France to Turkey of the little republic of Hatay on June 21 created another problem of refugees, chiefly Armenians, and of the transfer of populations who preferred Syrian or Lebanon control to Turkish.

Transfer of Populations.

Emphasis upon racial considerations caused other migrations like the official transfer of populations in the South Tyrol, where a formal agreement on Oct. 21, 1939, between Germany and Italy provided for the moving of German citizens from the Alto Adige within three months without option. Persons possessing German blood but Italian citizenship might choose to remain; those who elected to go were allowed until the end of 1942 for completing arrangements, but all decisions must be definite and binding. It was estimated that some 10,000 persons would thus be compulsorily removed and that possibly 200,000 German-born inhabitants would by election be transferred. Little application of the principle of self-determination appeared in this exchange; the strategic location of the district immediately south of the Brenner Pass has made Italianization important to Italy; the German need for agricultural stock to supplement its labor force and for strengthening Italian support of the Axis furnished the motive for German acquiescence; the South Tyrolese people themselves and their interests received scanty consideration. During the summer other alien residents of the Italian Tyrol were ordered to leave immediately. Following Russia's encroachments on the Baltic states, large numbers of persons of German blood were hurriedly transferred by the German Government from Estonia and Latvia into the annexed Polish provinces. On Oct. 26 official statements in Berlin reported that German minorities in all countries were to be brought back to Germany and that the western part of Poland would be made available for settlement of some million and a half Germans from the Baltic states and elsewhere, chiefly in southeastern Europe. A general interchange of Germans, Ukrainians and White Russians was agreed to for the respective German and Russian parts of Poland, as well as the removal of Jews into the Jewish area around Lublin.

Jewish Problem.

The difficult lot of the Jews persisted. Hungary in May adopted rigid restrictions regarding Jewish participation in business, and in cultural and state institutions. On July 6 Germany established a Reich Jewish Association, requiring the membership of all German Jews to promote emigration and to be solely responsible for Jewish education and welfare work. The aim of National Socialism remained that of removing every single Jew from the Reich. To this end, German acquisition of part of Poland furnished a means for on Oct. 19 the decree constituting its future government provided for concentrating at least 3,000,000 Jews on the territory around Lublin with the intention of dispatching all Jews in Vienna, Germany, Bohemia and Moravia as soon as possible to this new Jewish state. This was proceeding during November at the rate of 200 a day. In the meantime conditions in Palestine had led the British Government to suspend immigration temporarily and to propose a limitation of immigrants in the next five years to approximately 75,000 in order to bring the Jews to one third of the total population, with later immigration only if the Arabs acquiesced. Jews widely condemned the proposal as denying them their right to return to Palestine as the Jewish national home. (See also JEWS.)

Appeasement Policies.

On the positive side of internationalism was the concern of the western world for avoidance of war and fidelity to pacific means of settling interstate disputes. It was a year of messages, broadcasts and exchanges of notes. Almost universal use of radio for spreading information and explanations, as well as for the widest possible dissemination of news, has laid the foundation for common sentiment, opinion and aspiration among peoples. The various appeals of President Roosevelt and of Pope Pius XII were notable. The peace moves of the sovereigns of Belgium and Holland and of the heads of the Scandinavian states, although fruitless temporarily, furnish evidence of international activity. The British Labor Party appealed to the German people for cooperation in establishing a friendly world. It published during November the basic principles for a lasting peace and its more concrete objectives in the war. At the second Inter-American Labor Conference, held in Havana at the end of November, the need was emphasized for labor's participation in a peace settlement based upon justice for all peoples. Of especial interest were the Christmas messages and broadcasts by leaders and spokesmen in different countries which disclosed a still unbridged gap in aims. Dissenting elements such as Hitlerism, bolshevism, anti-Christianism, democracy, imperialist capitalism, Lebensraum, cut across political alignments. The greatest hope appeared to rest upon the encouragement of 'a closer association between those in every part of the world — those in religion and those in government — who have a common purpose.' In general, peace aims look toward creating an international body with real authority over 'sovereign' states in political and economic affairs, recognition of the rights of all states to their own development, abolition of trade in armaments, unrestricted world trade and the reign of peace without revenge.

Aerial Bombings Protested.

Throughout the hostilities — in China, Spain, Poland, Finland — came frequent protests against aerial bombardment of civilian populations, especially from the United States and the League of Nations. Both the Allies and Germany declared, in answer to President Roosevelt's appeal, their intention of attacking only military objectives, and not women and children. The United States on Dec. 2 reiterated the American policy of wholeheartedly condemning unprovoked bombing and machine-gunning of civilian populations from the air and urged American manufacturers and exporters of airplane materials and aeronautical equipment not to sell such articles to obviously guilty nations.

Trade Treaties.

The United States continued its policy of economic internationalism to remove the economic causes of war. It made two new reciprocal trade agreements, with Turkey and Venezuela, and had three others under way, with Argentina, Chile and Uruguay. Proclaiming the pact with Czechoslovakia as impossible of fulfillment, President Roosevelt added to that area the countervailing duties of 25 per cent on German subsidized exports. The trade agreement with the United Kingdom came into force definitely on Dec. 24. Obviously the effect of the war has limited the benefits of the trade agreements in curtailing many exports and in increasing government trade controls in belligerent countries. Furthermore the renewal of the Trade Agreements Act has become a party and regional question. On July 26 the United States gave notice of its denunciation, as of Jan. 1940, of the 1911 treaty of commerce and navigation with Japan. This unprecedented action in American policy, based on political rather than economic considerations, left the country free to take action against Japan in protecting American interests in China with out danger of treaty violation. Towards both Japan and Russia, with which the trade agreement was prolonged August 5 for one year, there exists at the request of the State Department a moral embargo upon exports of particular use in war.