MORALE BROKEN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 63, Issue 271, 26 August 1943, Page 3

MORALE BROKEN

SCENES IN BERLIN DURING RAID.

DOCK AREA A MASS OF FLAME. DESERTING STOKER’S STORY. (Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 9.15 a.in.) LONDON, Aug. 25. The latest Royal Air Force raid on Berlin is Riven as much prominence as the Quebec conference or the victory at Kharkov, and has caused a deep impression. This is because, .as the “Daily Telegraph” states editorially, “Berlin is the most important single objective in Germany, not only as the seat of government and tlie centre of communications and industry, but as the holy of holies of German militarism and the will for war.” It is estimated that 700 bombers took part, and the raid is regarded as the opening phase of the battle ot Berlin, The loss of 58 bombers is stated to be the highest single price the Bomber Command has paid for its assault against the German war machine, but it is pointed out that it; is the price of victory, that the losses are small in proportion to the large forces sent over.

Some idea of the terrible havoc these raids have caused is reported by the Stockholm correspondent/ of the “Daily Telegraph,” who interviewed a stoker who had deserted from a German ship at Hamburg. The stoker said: “We lay far out in the River Elbe all that terrible week — July 24 to August 1. The dock area was simply a mass of flames from which grotesquely-twisted girders stuck up like white fingers. The submarine yards appear to a layman’s eye to be smashed beyond all hope of repair. “Ati Howaldswerke the bows of three wrecked U-boats stick up from the water, while at Blohmundvoss the damage is even worse. The oil fires wore probably the worst because the fire brigades lacked chemical equipment to extinguish them and were compelled to watch them spread and go on blazing until the oil stores wore burned out.

“The great refineries of Rhenaniaossag burned for a fortnight. At the petrol depot at Eumhafen the heat was so intense that it blistered a- building on the other side of the river. Fire brigades were called in from all Northern German/.

“Civilian morale completely broke down in many districts. People went mad in the shelters. They screamed and threw themselves, biting and clawing, against the doors, which were locked against them by wardens. Relief work did not begin properly for 24 hours. The flour in the mills and silos at Hamburg harbour burned for two days land nights. “It was not only fire and direct hits, but the terrific blast of the heavy typo of bombs that killed most civilians. There were many ugly scenes and anti-party demonstrations. People carried Hitler’s portrait from tlie shattered houses and burned it in the streets; but on the whole the civilians wore too stunned by shock to riot openly. If this is an example of what your Air Force intends to do to Berlin, then God help Berliners, for I doubt if they can take it in the same way as our Hamburgers did.”