AERIAL DEFENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 95, 23 April 1935, Page 4

AERIAL DEFENCE

GEKMAN PREPAREDNESS

A DISCIPLINED PUBLIC

BERLIN'S DEMONSTRATION

(From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, March 23.

It is reported that the civilian defence practice carried out in the Berlin district of Kreuzberg" was a complete success. The darkening measures, too; are reported to have been effective. Berlin was invisible from the air and, except for the moonlight ■reflected on the River Spree, the citycould hot have been located at all. Not a single serious traffic accident was reported in consequence of the darkening measures.^ It is now learned also that seventy military aeroplanes did their evolutions over Berlin. ' After describing the "air raid," the Berlin correspondent of "The. Times" s&yi: " '■'■■ :■".•'■ ■■■"'. ■''"The work and behaviour of • the population showed the result of the detailed .training; pf the Air Defence league. This-organisation has some 5,000,000 members and has trained 1,500,000 in special schools, of whom 280,000 have definite official duties allotted to them, and 800,000 were appointed Hauswarte, or house guardians. Up to three months iigo about 50 per cent, of the attics ih houses had been cleared of inflammable material and 7000 air raid cellars had been constructed and equipped. Kreuzberg is divided into groups, sectors, and districts corresponding to ■ police station wards. Each ward has squads of technical workers and the sector commander has reserves at his disposal. The gas de-contamination squads are composed of ordinary street cleaners with dust carts as their 'transport,' and water works, gas, and electricity men are at hand "to deal with burst'mains and power wires destroyed by ex-.| plosions. A FRANK DISPLAY. "The defence exercise and last night's darkening experiment throughout the city have provided a fairly comprehensive survey of the remarkable success with which-the German.i authorities have already taught the population the elementary principles, and more, of organisation against air raids. The discipline displayed .made a .deep, impression on observers, some; 'of whom were sent specially from; Bel- ". gium, Holland, Spain, and... Swit?«H land, in addition to-the Military'and Air Attaches.; All',were treated .by the authorities with a frankness and helpfulness which are felt to be of good augury for the coming international negotiations." "The.Times," in a leading article; allows itself to be facetious over the German air force.!,".'. "Until three weeks ago," says the "writer of the article, "most Germans asserted, and some believed, that their country was helpless against attack from.the air. On March 1, however, they learnt indirectly through the foreign Press that a German air, force of unknown size officially existed! On that day, too, thousands —if > not millions—of maps of Europe with the in:, scription 'Arms of the Others,' and showing Germany without an aeroplane in a Europe bristling with bombers, became out of date and were presumably torn down from the walls of offices, stations, tenement houses, schools, swimming baths, and the entrance hall of the Berlin Opera House. Then a slight breathing space and the citizens heard once again the comforting sound pf bombers overhead and watched the \ carefree manoeuvres of three-weeks-old fighters. Out of thin air emerged the machines whose existence had been so vigorously denied." The writer suggests that now that the fiction of a "defenceless Germany" built up by an .officially inspired Press need no longer be accepted, it is to be hoped that the advantages of a system of collective security may command more attention from the German Press and public. It may be that a weight has been lifted from the minds of apprehensive Berliners, .that the martial realities of the last few days may bring a calmer mood in a people that has had to listen to much "heroic" talk in the last two years. ■'~■•

Concussion and a scalp wound were suffered by R. Thomas, a gardener, of Day's Bay, when he was knocked down by a tram at the corner of Willis and Mercer Streets at about 5.55 p.m. yesterday. The Free Ambulance took him to hospital.