Prophets Confounded

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 23, 28 January 1939, Page 2 (Supplement)

Prophets Confounded

BERLIN. WHEN the late President von Hindenburg asked Adolf 1 Hitler to form a Government, in January, 1933, few people be- } lieved that the new Chancellor , would hold office for longer than I his predecessors had done, and six months was given as the outside limit. The prophets., as so often before, proved wrong. Six months later, the party system was a thing of the past, and the National Socialists ruled supreme. In order to make all these changes possible the German Constitution had to be altered, and this was accomplished when the Centre Party voted with the Government. I well remember the day of the meeting of Parliament at Potsdam. The old Reichstag building had been burned, and the members had to assemble in the Potsdam Garrison Church. But they voted for the Government, apparently not realising that their own party would also be dissolved as an almost direct result. Hitler's election promises, which included 'breaking the chains of Versailles," were not taken seriously at the time. No one thought he would really attempt to keep them. The rapid growth of the National Socialist party was a direct result of the unquestionably harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles. If Britain had been able to persuade the French to adopt a more moderate attitude, even 10 years after the war, I am of the firm opinion that Germany would still be ruled by a Parliament. But it is well known desperate diseases need desperate remedies, and the German people voted to power the one party which seemed likely to offer resistance to the Allies. In 1933 Britain could have obtained excellent terms for Hitler. He would in those early days have accepted us as a friend and ally on any reasonable terms. He would have been willing to keep armaments down to a low level, and would never have thought of conscription at all. 'Ihe trouble was, perhaps, that no one took him seriously outside Germany. Early Years From the first, the influenced of the .Tews was systematically reduced by the National Socialists, and measures were 1 introduced which eventually eliminated them from the professions and from business life altogether. The Versailles conditions were gradually repudiated, the political life wa« changed, the educational method* altered. New organisations sprang into being. On May 22, 1933, the old trade unions were dissolved and replaced by the German Workers' Front, which includes ; both employers and employed. The contributions to this organisation rise with one's income, so that the richer one is ' the more one pays. Strikes ceased, but the working conditions improved in most respects. Holidays with pay. cheap amusements, better dressing and washing accommodation were introduced. The German miners in some areas now leave the pit to change, bath, and enjoy some < minutes of ray treatment to make up for being in the bowels of the earth so i long. I have sailed-to Madeira on one i of the ships built by the German 1 Workers' Front. t Changes in ecclesiastical matters also 5 took place. Difficulties followed, but ' they were between the State on the one 1 hand and a comparatively small number of the clergy on the other. What the r State demanded was that politics should e not be preached from the pulpit. But a some clergymen attracted big congrega- t

Adolf Hitler's Six Years

ByBertram de Colonna

tions with their topical sermons, and were loth to "keep to purely religious topics. Tliig. led to some discord which, however, has lieen limited to a small section of the community. There were other trifling matters, but this was the main one. I have discovered no case in which the State interfered in religious matters. Religion has not become unpopular under National Socialism. But eome figures will show this better than any words of mine. In the year 1934 there v. ere 40,479,789 members of the Evangelical Church, corresponding, more or less, to the Church of England. This figure rose to 40,790,512 in 193 G. During the past three years there have been 175 new churches or parish halls built, apart from the Roman Catholic ones. Of the 42!.',.">.'10 marriages in 1936, 340,010 were solemnised in church. Registry office ceremonies are compulsory, church solemnisation is optional, but this regulation existed before Hitler came to power. 80,000,000 People Now Perhaps the biggest factor is the growth of the country under Hfcler. First came the Saar Basin, then Austria, finally the Sudetenland. The country now has a population of almost 80,000,000. The Saar Basin would probably have become German in any ease,' but Austria would not. Of course, the idea of an Austro-German union is not new. Bismarck tried it, but gave it up. Austria did not, with her wide areas, including present-day Hungary, part of Poland, Czechoslovakia, and some of Yugoslavia and a strip of land now Italian, feel the need of being assimilated. Post-war Vienna was a big city, which, together with the outskirts, had a population of 1,000.000, with very little land surrounding it. A Customs union was advocated by the Parliamentary parties some 10 1 years ago, but was soon afterwards 1 rejected by France and Britain. * A most important factor is that Ger- 1 many is now the contiguous neighbour of Yugoslavia, Italy and Hungary, so * that direct relations are possible. This 1 has altered the whole position on the 1 European Continent. And the possibil- 1 it.V of further growth has disturbed many « statesmen. Hitler told Chamberlain, how- * ever, that he had no further territorial ' aspirations in Europe. The words "in 1 Europe'' show that the colonies are not included, of course. Germany's ideas 1 are to regain her lost colonies, especially c in Africa. It is improbable that she ] would, in any case, think of further i expansion, although the Polish Corridor 1 is mainly populated by Germans, and t Danzig and the Memel-land are predom- e inantly German. } Notional and Socialist i National Socialism aims at a national ® entity with as much uniformity as possible. The national part demands a united nation, capable of defending ® itself, ami jealous of the national * honour. The Socialist part requires t that all members of the community t should co-operate, and that the richer f ones should make sacrifices for the c poorer. The former part !s mirrored in the c new German Army, one of the best i equipped forces in the world, the big C air force, which is at least equal to e that of any other Power, and a modern i

navy, limited to 35 per cent of the tin of Britain's own fleet, a« well u jj, national organisation of variou* kinds. The Socialist side is seen in the winter aid, for which even Ministers collect coins at street corners one day even year, and for which the whole nation consumes a one-course meal one Sundav a month in winter, as well as in the Workers' Front, with better condition# for workers, and in excellent social legislation. The latter is continuing and the head of this organisation, Dr Ley, recently told me that he was coins to obtain a further half-holiday for every shop assistant, for example. An A 1 race is another aim. Persona who are suffering from hereditary dig. eases are sterilised. This idea is not new, and voluntary sterilisation in sock cases is legally provided for in a num. ber of lands. The question was brought up before the New Zealand Parliament on one occasion. But Germany hag compulsion, although the person in onestion may appear to defend his or her claims in Court. Parents of healthy stock receive on application a monthly sum for each child up to a certain ae& ai:,l other assistance. Marriages t» made easier, the State granting a Wfroe of interest for the furniture, and thi,s can under certain circumstance* be cancelled. Training future leaders is another task which is included in the National Socialist aims, for an authoritarian system would otherwise leave future leadership to chance. Long years of training are undergone by specially selected candidates, ability and health being the — : n demands made on candidates. Summing Up The conclusion of the sixth year of Hitler's rule shows Germany as the most powerful State on the European Continent. Many of her aims have been attained. She has been made larcely independent of other countries for her raw materials, produced synthetically on a large scale. Her industry has been extended, unemployment abolished, and the workers raised to a higher standard. On the other hand, in order to achieve all this, many imported luxuries had to be given up. The mark, while the sob means of payment in the Reich, does not circulate to any extent beyond borders, and is not accepted at value in other lands. Germans h«T#to buy with the foreign, money obtained for the sales of their goods. Those wishing to go for holidays, abroad are restricted, to countries with a mutual' mgnentitf" (such as Italy, Switzerland and Yte* * slavia). But to counter this, the inaas of ' the people, including factory haadi, miners, etc., now spend a couple ofweeka' at the seaside, in the or oif \ sea trips every year, while the shipping 4 companies have organised a system of r holidays afloat, with one or two days on land at beauty spots. Women lead a secure life. no longer have to manage with the "dole" or fear that their husbands will he mum, ployed, or their children left to beg, as was often enough the case before U33. But they have had to alter the menu to suit the available variety of foods, and to take part in A.R.P. practice. Hey : have lost their chance of political activities. but German women never took r kindly to politics. They are probaUj all the happier for this. Young men have to serve tax months I with the Labour Service, being remuner-. ated with board, lodging?, and money, and two years in the army. Bvt «• they have assured positions waiting for them when this time has elapsed, whereaaVformerly most of them did odd job*— or walked the streets. . Taking things, all ronnd, the tjtka of National Socialism, however etiisge it may appear to the British, suits the. German people, who have no wish wist* ever to return to the free-and-easy, bat uncertain, days of pftrliunentariaßiim.