Comparing Czecho-Slovakia to a David before a German Goliath, ex-President Eduard Benes asked the support of world democracy in a fight “to the last man” for independence, in a message to a rally last night at the Hippodrome called by the Volunteer Christian Committee to Boycott Germany in protest against the Republic’s dismemberment.
The audience, kept by rain to less than 2,000, cheered the reading of Dr. Benes’s message — the most outspoken he has made since his arrival in this country. The rally also heard denunciations of Germany by speakers including Dr.William Jay Schieffelin, Dr. Stephen S. Wise and Clark M. Eichelberger. A resolution called on all Americans to join the anti-Nazi boycott.
The pre-Munich President of Czecho-Slovakia asserted in his message that the “dictatorial Nazi regime” was “battling against freedom” and waging a war against the democracies. He called on “free men everywhere” to rise and “give battle to the aggressor.” He said there were “methods short of actual bloodshed which should prove effective.”
“Temporarily the Republic of Czechoslovakia has been annexed,” Dr. Benes declared. “Temporarily, I say, because I know my people and I understand that the spirit of freedom is not dead. At the right moment you will see that this is true. In the meantime, the liberty-loving people of Czechoslovakia and of the world look to America for leadership. The support of world democracy will give us the possibility to rise again and to declare our independence — and we will fight for that to the last man, if necessary.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
