THE NEW AUSTRIA

Evening Star, Issue 23101, 29 October 1938, Page 13

THE NEW AUSTRIA

A NEW ZEALANCEB’S IMPRESSIONS NAZI VIENNA [Written by A. H M'Lintock, for the ‘ Evening Star.’] My first impressions -of the new Austria were far from pleasant. For hours we had been jolting in an overcrowded train towards Vienna on a blazing summer day in mid-August. The compartment in which I was squeezed was, like the rest of the train, packed with a varied assortment of perspiring humanity. Military manoeuvres were in full swing, and every station seemed crowded with hundreds of troops, many in air force uniform. In the train, soldiers and their baggage were everywhere, all available space in the corridors and on carriage platforms being occupied by tired and grumbling jrten, women', and, of course, fretful children. In my compartment were two peasant women and a little girl, two workmen, some soldiers, and an English tourist who spoke German fluently. Although travelling a long way, the peasant women had no coats or hats. They wore heavy blouses and full skirts and aprons of dark-coloured .art. silk. Their luggage was contained’ in bas,kets which they clutched tightly on their knees. 1 observed their kindly weather-beaten faces and gnarled hands with interest, for they were typical of an army of peasant women workers who toil in the fields of Central Europe. If half Europe’s men must carry rifles, half Europe’s women must carry hoes. On inquiry, 1 found that their wages were .about- three marks a day, almost what a good workman in New Zealand would earn in ah hour.

As we approached Linz, I looked with interest at the country. It was flat and uninteresting, but . well watered by slow and winding; streams, tree-fringed. Linz, tho birthplace of the great Fuhrer, seemed a pleasant enough little town, ringed by low hills thickly wooded with firs. It was only natural that our talk turned to Hitler and the new Austria. At the sound of Hitler’s name one of the workmen became surprisingly voluble. It appeared that he had been .out of work under

the old regime and had drifted north to Berlin in search of employment. With the Anschluss, , things had changed, and he was travelling on a free pass back to Vienna, where work was to be found for him. “That’s what Hitler does,’" he said proudly % To my mind, he was typical of the unthinking working class, who are loud in their praise of what Hitler has done for them, and, of course, for Germany.On the question of colonies, he -again spoke -with vehemence; ■ 1 found that he gathered all his 'ideas on such prob lems from Nazi propaganda and was firmly convinced, as are most Germans, that possession of colonies and economic prosperity are complementary. Vienna seemed-to me . still in the throes of celebrating the Anschluss. In Germany 'the swastika is prominent enough. Vienna, however, gives one the impression ot having lost all sense of proportion. Nazi banners are everywhere; Huge red Hags, with the black swastika on a white "; disc, hang in dozens from all Government buildings. It is hopeless trying to admire or study their facades when the eye is offended by such blatant evidences of patriotic fervour. But I could not help questioning that .impression. Was it not that the Government set the lead in such matters and everyone tactfully followed? For all shops, hotels, and cafes were resplendent with these party emblems. They confront the visitor from shop windows, where they are pasted on the glass; from cafes, where the drinking glasses are similarly ornamented; from hotels, where the entrance foyer, the lounge, and even the bedrooms still afford one no escape. Nov does it stop there. Trams, buses, and private cars are similarly marked. Even the casual

Viennese has succumbed to the vogue arid wears on the lapel of his jacket, Ms tie t or hat, the Nazi badge. Thus, to refuse to conform to the prevailing fashion would merely make one the more conspicuous. If, however, I found all this very much overdone, I must admit that the 1 Hitler portraits irritated me more. You simply could not get away from them—portraits of the Fuhrer whose _ face, angry, determined, exultant or ' benign, looked down on you in office, home, tram,-waiting room, or hotel. For a time, I amused myself by trying tai count the various types erf portraits. When I had discovered about 18 different postures or poses from amid hundreds of posters and the like, 1 gave it up from sheer boredom. Even on concrete walls and buildings yon could not escape that face, which enthusiasts had steucilled there. And, naturally, small mounted photographs and tiny portrait busts were on sale everywhere. In those shops, perhaps more ominous, were models of anti-air-craft guns, heavy howitzers, and field artillery, beautifully made of polished steel, but a rather terrifying comment on the German mind, 1 thought. Without doubtj the new, order has made a strong appeal to the youth of Austria, and to a great extent, credit for this .must be given to Hitler’s propaganda agents who flocked in after the Anschluss to sow the seed in virgin soil. On my first Sunday in Vienna I was awaketied at a very early hour by the sound of singing. *lt came from members of the Hitler Youth Movement, , both boys and girls of late adolescence, parading in uniform as a prelude to day’s activities. Throughout Vienna I constantly saw bands of-these young enthusiasts—the real strength of the new order—singing as they marched along. To them Hitler is the demigod, the symbol of Germany’s real greatness. On several occasions 1 spoke to some of them. They praised the Fuhrer because he had ended unemployment, had driven out the Jews, had increased Germany’s strength, and had developed her trade In politics they were firmly convinced that idealism counted for nothing, and openly outside interference in what they believed were Germany’s affairs. To me the older generation said little, merely shrugging their shoulders if the question involved a political answer. To these people Nazi theories convey nothing, and if a political cleavage occurs within the Reich, it will be between the aggressive and fiery tnembers of the widespread Youth Movement and the staid and unresponsive supporters of a more tolerant order where wild shibboleths and blatant political trappings mean little.