Krónika, 1956 (13. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1956-05-15 / 5. szám
VOLUME XIII. ÉVFOLYAM. NEW YORK, N. Y., 1956 MÁJUS. NO. 5. SZÁM. AMERIKAI MAGYAR HAVI-SZEMLE WESTERN STATESMEN CARRY A FRIGHTENING RESPONSIBILITY By GEORGE DE BARCZA (Former Hungarian Minister plenipotentiary in Great Britain.) The most important duty of statesmen and diplomats is to foresee developments in the international political situation, They have to anticipate changes and their possible consequences with regard to their own country. As the political and economical situation of any country can change considerably in consequence of international events — and not always for the better, statesmen and diplomats have to prepare for the worst. In politics, optimism, wishful thinking, hesitation and delay are — as Talleyrand wisely remarked — “faults, which are worse than crimes." Diplomacy is not merely a science; it is an art, too, which requires a special psychological aptitude, a sort of sixth sense and the know-how and know-when to use it. Amateurs lacking this ability and the experience gained by its use, represent a great danger to the profession. During my long diplomatic career I was posted in many European capitals: Athens, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Vienna, Budapest, Geneva, Rome, and finally London. I have met most of the European heads of States and leading Statesmen. I also had the opportunity to see "the petticoats” of political events. Most of my illusions were lost in the process, but plenty of experience was left in their stead. It is the knowledge gained in 35 years of experience in international politics, which encourages me now to comment on the international situation. LESSONS OF HISTORY Whenever politics of the present are concerned, facts of the past have to be considered. Due to technical progress and modern civilization, the world has become a small entity since the beginning of the present century. Three times during these last 50 years the destiny of the world has turned on the balance of fate. The first time was in 1919, when the victorious powers concluded the peace treaties after World War I. The representatives of the nations, which had won the war acted as victors, but unfortunately not as statesmen. They decided: 1. To dismember the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, a perfect Central European commonwealth; 2. to force Germany to sign a peace treaty which could not bring real peace and order, and 3. to tolerate Communism in Russia. Thus, three great empires in Europe were destroyed — empires which, had they survived as strong political and military powers — could and would have prevented both World War II and the present "cold war." The people of smaller European countries were promised the “right of self determination,” but this solemn promise was never kept. Artifical frontiers were drawn, separating regions which had been parts of the same political and economic unit for 1.000 years, and the seed of hatred was sown and fostered among people who had shared the griefs and glories of past centuries. All this was to be the base of good relations between the neighbors of Europe. Instead, those who devised the terms of the Paris treaties became the spiritual midwives of Hitler and Stalin. THE NAZI THREAT In the period between 1933 and 1936 the world was facing a grave political situation for the second time. The stage of international politics was set for extremism. Hitler rearmed Germany, and this was tolerated by England, France, and the U. S. though it bred fear and unrest in the countries of Europe and resulted inevitably in World War II. Had the threat of strong military counter-measures been held out to Germany, instead of mere sterile protest, the growing megalo-THE AUTHOR The author, George Barcza de Nagyalasony, is well qualified by experience to speak of the duties of diplomats. Taking his political science doctorate at the University of Budapest and Vienna in 1910, he entered the Austro-Hungarian diplomatic service the following year, and served in legations at Athens, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, and Helsinki before becoming First Councillor of the Hungarian Embassy in Vienna in 1922. In 1925 he became director of the Political Department of the Hungarian Foreign Office, and then in turn Delegate to the League of Nations, Minister Plenipotentiary at the Vatican, and, finally, at the Court of St. James, London. Returning to Hungary, he resigned from the diplomatic service as a gesture of protest against increasing German pressure on his country. In Switzerland in 1943, he acted as representative of anti- German Hungarians in liaison with the British and American Legations in Berne. As dean of the Hungarian diplomatic service, he organized resistance of free Hungarian diplomats abroad during the years of the German occupation of his country. After the war he became a political adviser to the International Refugee Organization. In 1947 he became a member of the Hungarian National Council in New York, and in 1948 undertook a mission for the Order o f Malt a in Paris at the invitation of the French Government. In 1951 he migrated to Australia, where his family was already established. He is the founder and first president of the United Council of Migrants in Australia. He lives in the Sydney suburb of Croydon. mania of Hitler could have been stopped and Nazi imperialism overthrown at a much cheaper price than that which was to cost the world so dear later. But too little was done, and too late. World War II was declared and fought. I had the privilege to witness the bearing of the British people during their struggle, and though it is beyond my pen to describe their heroic courage and magnificent endurance, even this short summary of past events would be incomplete had I not mentioned this fact. Indeed, awakened by Goering’s bombs and led by Churchill's genius, the British people wrote their epic on the pages of world history. DESTINIES DECIDED And, for the third time in our century, the destiny of nations and peoples was decided after World War II, in 1945. On that occasion a new man sat at the conference table at which the conditions of peace were discussed and determined — a man called Stalin —< commonly known as “Uncle Joe." Now “Uncle Joe” had his own ways and means of negotiation, and of furthering his interests. He captivated the minds of the Western peacemakers by serving them a cocktail of vodka and the stupendous bluff of “peaceful co-existence,” and succeeded in getting the lease of eleven independent, sovereign countries, which are nowadays referred to as the Soviet satellites behind the Iron Curtain. Having thus taken a tremendous stride forward on the road towards world domination, Uncle Joe decided against disarmament. He stuck to this dezicion, while the Western co-signatories stuck to the terms they had ratified. One of these was disarmament. COLD WAR Uncle Joe also decided to pay careful attention to countries all over the world. He sent his agents, fellowtravellers and stoolpigeons among the people, who still thought of him as "good old Joe." After all, they had to be enlightened about how bad their lot was in democratic countries, and had to be informed how wonderful life is under Communist rule. At the same time, his collaborators were to seek and gain information concerning political affairs and scientific research in the Western countries. When the Western powers realized Stalin’s aim they grew
