THE TEMPER OF EUROPE
SIR,—In his article about " The Temper of Europe," " Viator " expresses great concern about young people in occupied countries because the resistance to the Germans has made them " bad citizens." During a little more than a year in the free world, partly in a neutral country, partly in this country, I have gone from surprise to consternation, from consternation to despair, about the widening gulf between people inside and outside the barrier, who, after all, are fighting for the same values and ought to understand a little about one another's development. What puzzles me is whether you in the free world have not got eyes to sec, ears to hear, or information or intuition to understand. I have often wondered whether this friction about the moral and psychological effect of resistance has been built up in order to give you a moral justification to exercise power over your former Allies, or whether it is a result of clever German propaganda. At any rate, it coincides with the German view of people under occupation. Our oppressors certainly look upon us as " bad citizens ": we disregard their laws, so from their point of view we are a lawless society. But we might certainly expect from our free Allies that you should see that there is more in this than meets the eye of Dr. Goebbels. Have you never thought over the fact that in an occupied country there is, beside the official society with its German orders that are diiregarded, an invisible society of patriots which is a living reality to all of us? This invisible society has unwritten laws, respected by all who belong to it. They are kindness, helpfulness, honesty, self-discipline, discretion, willingness to share, to sacrifice, to take risks for those things which we value higher than life and liberty.
Under occupation you may. see this citizenship of the invisible society of patriots demonstrated in many ways, often different for the different age-groups. You might have seen small children in a country where sweets do not exist any longer refuse to accept sweets from German soldiers. You might have seen under-nourished school-children on their way to school happy if they can manage to give their little luncheon parcel of sandwiches to Russian or Jugoslav prisoners whom they know are still more hungry. You might have experienced to see school-children in a country where almost all school buildings have been requisitioned by the enemy respond magnificently to an appeal like this: "One of the
most successful ways of keeping a people under oppression is to keep it in ignorance, therefore your most important contribution to the resistance
is to learn as much as possible." You might have seen a confidence and
co-operation between young people and their elders as never before ; you might have seen, young people willingly renounce upon the professional education leading to the career they wanted to take up ; and you might have seen them willingly risk life and liberty in the daily secret patriotic work—a work that mostly is not at,. i.11 thrilling, but just tiring and exacting routine work that has got to be done.
But if you from the free world approach us with the same idea as the Germans, namely, that we are " bad citizens," then our young people may automatically rea:t to you in the same way as they did to the Germans. It is a simple psychological experience that people often live up to expectations. If you can manage to see the positive growth, the enormous possibilities of good citizenship among young people in occupied countries, then you might approach your occupied Allies in this spirit: "You have even more than us realised what values we are fighting for. You have achieved great things, and we expect great things from you in future. We want to co-operate with you and pool experience with you. In the war we have had to use means we hate ; you have had to use irregular methods to defend what you look upon as sacred. Thank God both you and we can start using methods we approve of to rebuild our society as free citizens of free countries."
The crowning achievement of German propaganda would certainly be if, just at the moment of the military defeat of their war machine, the seed of dissension between Allies so cleverly sown by Dr. Goebbels should ripen into disunity. We who have lived under occupation have had to be keenly aware of " paratroopers behind the threshold of conscious- ness," among them those who were sent out to destroy our faith in our Allies. You may have less training in watching. for those paratroopers. When the attitude of resistance is considered to have developed " bad citizens," we are entitled to believe that the free world 'means that collaboration and acquiescence have developed better citizens. If that view prevails, the military defeat of Germany, which should mean libera- tion, renewal of democracy, co-operation, may lead to frustration, disunity and new wars: It is a good thing that " Viator " stresses the importance of informed analysis and constructive criticism. There I would like to stress the importance of bringing an open mind to these problems, even if material is presented in such a form that it does not immediately appeal to you or conform with your way of expression.-
" Vigor " ends by warning against a division into " we" and " they."
suddenly realise that my own use of pronouns has changed. While at home " we" in its widest sense meant the United Nations and " they " the Axis Powers, no a, I constantly find myself using " we" only about the occupied and "you" about the free Allies. I cannot sign my name
as the Gestapo is still in my country.—Yours, &c., A. B. C.
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