Now that the immediate crisis is over in Europe, people in every country - including Germany - are beginning to realise the extent of the danger that has been averted. For a few days even the most thoughtful were inclined to speak airily of war, as if it were something objective, like the war in China, or even in Spain, which would remain outside the average European's experience; and it was only when the several Governments began to take practical steps to prepare for an outbreak that the average man and woman came to close grips with realities. The shock was terrific, particularly in Great Britain, where life is freer and more leisured than it is in any other country in the world - with the possible exception of our own.
The Irish Times,
October 5th, 1938.