“HITLER’S FAITH.”

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 64, Issue 33, 18 November 1943, Page 3

“HITLER’S FAITH.”

VICTORY FOR THE GERMANS. STATEMENT BY SPOKESMAN. LONDON, November 16. “The Fuhrer, in a speech last week, expressed his certain belief-that sooner or later our people’s way will certainly lead them upwards again to victory. It would be presumptuous to try to discover the reasons which led this unique personality to this conclusion since his ideas come from sources beyond the scrutiny of cold reason.” This- statement was made in a broadcast by General Dietmar (German High Command spokesmaji). “Such an attempt would be doomed to failhre,” he said, “because the vision which is an integral part of all outstanding greatness cannot be made the subject of reasoning and calculations. “On the other hand, it must not be overlooked that the Fuhrer’s confidence is based on a clear appreciation of the military situation by the responsible Supreme Commander.” In his two-hour “pep” talk Goebbels said: “In spite of definite obstacles, our faith is unshaken. Confidence is our slogan for the moment — confidence which is no blind optimism. We know the setbacks of the last months. The Russians are still able to mass superior numbers at all strategical points, but it becomes increasingly difficult for the Red Army to widen bridgeheads. This proves an improvement of our defence system.”

“It is possible that the British and Americans will want to shorten the Italian campaign by landings in other sectors of the Mediterranean front. It is well known that this possibility is the reason for the preoccupation of part of the German public. The Balkans and Aegean regions must be left for later discussion, the fighting fronts in the east and in Italy are the most important at present.” Death Penalty for Juveniles. A correspondent of “The Times” on the German frontier says that a new German decree permits the death penalty for children aged 12 years. The law for 1939 stipulated that the age should he 16, hut the decree says that children are now maturing earlier, therefore those aged 12 to 16 are subject to the same punishment as: adults, in exceptional cases or when foil.id incorrigible.

There will he no Christmas or New Year holiday in Germany, says the decree, but if workers want to spend either. holiday with their families they must make up the time lost by working overtime on Sundays without pay.

Another decree stipulates that air raids must not interrupt factory work. Foreign workers who have been allowed to visit their homes when raids closed down their works will no longer lie allowed to do this. German newspapers give prominence to these decrees under such headlines as “Not a Single Hour Must be Lost.”

Mr Harold Nicholson, broadcasting after a recent visit to Sweden, said: “Swedes who recently returned from Germany gave me the impression that the Germans: have lost all sense of destiny and acquired a sense of doom. A wave of disillusionment, distrust, and fear is passing over the land.” The London “Daily Mail ” says: “There can no longer be any doubt that alarm and despondency are Avritten large over the German Reich. German morade is slipping. One day it will break, as the German Army will break. Moreover, extreme nervousness is reported from Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria. All of these would gladly get out of the war if they could; hut they cannot. If the Russians win the great battle of Kri-

voi Rog it seems that nothing could halt their onrush to the former Rumanian province of Bessarabia. A recent Allied raid on Sofia is another portent which has shaken all the Balkan countries.

“If the great sidings, stations and yards in Bucharest, Budapest and Viehna are wrecked by continuous bombings, the entire German organisation in the Balkans would be paralysed. It is small wonder that ‘ extreme nervousness ’ is being felt.” Never has the German public shown such intense interest in the eastern front oy devoured the newspapers more hungrily in the hope of finding something to dispel their growing fears, report neutral observers in Berlin, according to “The Times.”