Statement by the President on the Anniversary of the Founding of the Czechoslovak Republic.

ON THE anniversary of Czechoslovak independence I wish to extend my own personal greetings and the wholehearted congratulations of the American people to President Benes and the people of Czechoslovakia. This commemoration of the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic is of particular significance in marking the first time since the German occupation that the Czechoslovak people have been able to celebrate their independence in their own homeland as a free people.

The realization that the principles of democracy and freedom, out of which the Republic was born twenty-seven years ago, have been victorious in two world wars, will inspire the Czechoslovak people to make once more their contribution to world peace.

The American people watch with sympathetic interest the diligent efforts now being made by the Czechoslovak people to erase the effects of the Nazi rule and to restore their independent national life on the traditions which have always been identified with the Czechoslovak Republic. I am confident that the American people will aid the Czechoslovak people in every way possible to achieve this goal.