SECRET OF HITLER’S POWER

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 94, 14 January 1939, Page 6 (Supplement)

SECRET OF HITLER’S POWER

Adolf Hitler, who served in the Great War as a lance-corporal and is now supreme head of a nation comprising 07,000,000, is one of the simplest statesmen In the world, declares Bertram de Colonna, a German journalist. Coming to power has not changed him. He is a teetotaller, non-smoker and vegetarian. Apart from operas, he seldom visits entertainments, and goes late to bed only because business keeps him up. He is extremely fond of music, for which: he has a gift, and in the evening he often invites the best singers and pianists in Germany to sing and play for him in his home. He has a large room equipped w’ith musical instruments, and also likes' to listen to the wireless, taking interest both in musical performances and news reports. Model's of all big new buildings are brought to his house, and he often makes suggestions for improvements, showing considerable ability in this direction. One such: building is the new hall whose foundations I recently inspected at Nuremberg, which will hold more than 60,000 persons. Hitler’s other interests include old masters, of which he has purchased a number for his private rooms, while he has also a private cinematograph equipment, enabling him to see and hear the best of the new films in his own home. The Chancellor loves the mountains, and. is happiest in his country house at Berchtesgaden, which stands in its own grounds. Here he takes long walks, breathing in the country air deeply. He has two fine Alsatian dogs, which are greatly attached to him. His dress, when not giving official receptions to foreign ambassadors and other diplomats, is very plain. He is generally to be seen in a simple brown shirt, his only decoration being the Iron Cross, which he won during the war His home is decorated with profuse and select flowers, of which he is extremely fond. His favourite flower is the edelweiss. He has also had a fine garden laid out adjoining his Berlin home, and may often be seen there in summer, sitting under the shade of its trees, and reading the newspapers or drinking a cup of tea. But it is hard to separate his private life from his State activities. His short stay at Berchtesgaden is punctuated by the arrival of ministers, while he has frequent visits from the village children, in whom he takes special interest. He loves all children, and this feeling is- heartily reciprocated., • •. . When Hitler is in Berlin, a Secretary . of State reads him reports on the news and extracts from German, English and other papers—a Press Chief accompanies him on his travels to perform this service. These reports are often repeated toward evening and again at night. There is no truth in the statements that Adolf Hitler goes in fear of his life.. .His bodyguard, when he travels in semi-privacy, is much smaller than that of many European Prime Ministers.

4 Great Worker, Abstemious, Deeply Religious

• Occasionally, when in Berlin, lie par i lakes of light refreshment in an hole at Wilhelm Platz, nearly opposite tin Chancellery, where he sits at an ordin ary table just like any other guest, have seen him there looking througl papers, with only a couple of black-uni formed “S.S.” as the picked store troopers are called, on guard, while an? member of the public was al liberty t< I sit at the other tables. But the tables directly adjoining hi; are generally left empty, unless occu pied by members of his stall’, as thougl by common consent. He was a regular guest at this hotel long before hi became Chancellor. The only luxury Hitler indulges in if it. may be called such, is that he generally travel by aeroplane. A fast car brings him to the aerodrome at Tempelhof, where his private plane is kept, adjoining that of General Goering, the Prussian Premier. The Fubrer is a- keen motorist and airman, and takes special interest in Hie technical progress in these industries. All phases of his private life bear a public stamp, so to speak. . He often spends his eveniiig poring over map: of the new automobile highways, or perusing reports on the growth of the Hitler Youth, the National Socialist organization for boys, named aftei him. At least half his time is spent travelling about to inspect new institutions, to attend harvest festival ceremonies, to be present at the Party Congress, to see a ship launched, and to do hundreds of other similar things. When one sees him exchanging a handshake here, greeting a former acquaintance (for whom he has a wonderful memory) there, then standing erect in his car while it passes through the thronged streets, and finally addressing a mass meeting, one concludes that he is one of the most energetic men in Europe, if not in the world. Hitler has no hobbies in the accepted sense of the word. He might be said to regard his work as a hobby, however, while his interests are extremely varied. For example, after the official visit, he once appeared at a motor-car exhibition in the middle of the night, so as to be able to examine the cars at his leisure. He is deeply religious, having been brought up as a Catholic, like most of his South German fellow-countrymen. He seldom attends banquets, doing so only when State business makes it unavoidable. There is nothing exaggerated about his simplicity. Hitler is a modest man who describes himself as a worker. Unmarried, and bereft of personal ambition, he has devoted the . whole of his time and attention to one theme: the unity of his country. And whether one is a friend of National .Socialism or not, one is compelled to admit that he is one of the most commanding personalities in modern times. It is typical of him that, despite the cares that must rest on the shoulders of every statesman, he has a ready smile for everyone. And that, perhaps, is one of the qualities which has made him so undoubtedly popular among the people of the Third Reich.