THE NAZI PARTY

Evening Post, Volume CXXXII, Issue 43, 19 August 1941, Page 7

THE NAZI PARTY

PURGE BEING MADE

DISSENSION OVER RUSSIA

(By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright.)

LONDON, August 17

Reliable information from Germany leaves no doubt about the grave disunity in the Nazi Party and also among the party leaders and army leaders, but neither side dares give open expression to the disputed points, says the diplomatic correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph." A widespread purge is now occurring.

This, so far, the correspondent states, has chiefly affected men in the middle and lower grades of the Nazi hierarchy. The dissension cuts deeply into the fabric of the regime, and is more serious for Herr Hitler than-any clash with. ambitious individuals among the party leaders.

When information from a number of observers in widely-separated parts of Germany is pieced together, the correspondent says, it is clear that many members of the party have been arrested recently on vague accusations of disloyalty and lack of enthusiasm for the cause. Some have been shot, some sent to the front, and others merely degraded from party office.

Everything indicates that the present dissension originated from the decision to attack Russia, and that Hitler is having trouble with men who from the start opposed the war against /the Soviet Union. The Victims of the purge include a number of junior officers, and also n.c.o.s. They were condemned by the party as bad Nazis, but were defended by the army as good soldiers.

The German army accuses the Gestapo chief, Herr Himmler, who is directing the purge, of weakening the nation's military strength at a critical hour, while Himmler charges the army leaders with ignoring the equally critical factor of public morale.

Observers who bring in these reports declare that the attitude of the public to the war shows apathy and growing weariness, but that no spirit of revolt can be detected. The Nazis, nevertheless, are disturbed by the wilting of public morale, and "pep squads" are being formed in Berlin and other cities and given the task of whipping up the party spirit.