REACTION IN GERMANY

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 23848, 18 January 1943, Page 6

REACTION IN GERMANY

ANXIETY ABOUT R.A.F. RAIDS PEOPLE WORN OUT AND NERVOLfS LONDON, Jan. 18. “The Germans realise that the Royal Air Force has become a terrible weapon,” said a Swedish journalist, M. Erik Lindquist, who was Berlin correspondent of the “Social Demokraten from November, 1940, to June, 1942. Interviewed in London, he said that a real news service from Germany was impossible. The facts were concealed from journalists, who were working under a continuous threat of expulsion. There were constant complaints about the contents of their dispatches. “The German people are worn out by war work and insufficient food,” he continued. "The country is completely isolated, The Germans no longer bother to read the newspapers or listen to the radio. Their private life is controlled to an extent which people in democratic countries cannot envisage. Every house is watched. What really happens in the war becomes known to the Germans only slowly and partially. “Nevertheless, it is impossible for the German leaders to prevent three things gradually and fundamentally influencing opinion. “The first is the British air raids. The big losses on the eastern front have made themselves felt everywhere. Train load after train load of wounded soldiers arrives. There is hardly a family without a member killed or wounded. Raids in Spring “The Germans became anxious about the British raids last spring when the Royal Air Force started the thousand bomber raids. The material effect on Kiel, \ Rostock, Bremen, Cologne, and the Ruhr district was devastating. For instance, only one quarter of Rostock remains. Those who are evacuated from the bombed centres carry their fears with them and infect other districts. Berlin expects her share at any moment. Constant alerts, day and night, have a definitely bad effect on morale. The Germans are not too well equipped to resist the air raids. Their nerves are strained to the utmost by years of hardship and nervous pressure.” Emphasising Hitler’s personal power, M. Lindquist said that the idea still prevailed that the Fuehrer could not make mistakes. Others were blamed when things went wrong. When Hitler dismissed his generals, his action was applauded. “The Germans have come more and more to doubt the final outcome,” he declared. “There is not the slightest enthusiasm left for the war, but the Germans are still determined to carry on as best they can. This gives Dr. Gqebbels a very strong propaganda point. He daily tells the public what horrors can be expected should Germany lose. The public therefqjre carry on and the German war machine is undoubtedly still very powerful.” Summing up M. Lindquist said: “I would describe the Germans as gloomy, strained, and disappointed but still determined to fight.”