HITLER AT A BANQUET

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 November 1939, Page 12

HITLER AT A BANQUET

. A TORRENT OF WORDS. Since the war began biographers of Hitler have been unearthing new anecdotes which shed light on the curious personality of the Nazi dictator. One, told by Bernard Lansing, it interesting inasmuch as it also concerns Lord Rothermere, proprietor of the London “Daily Mail” and other newspapers. Lord Rothermere before the war was an earnest admirer of Hitler. He wrote a number of articles and a book, “Warnings and Predictions” (published early this year)’ with the object of convincing the British public that the Nazi leaders were neither mounte banks nor fools, but determined men with a set policy. In 1935 Lord Rothermere visited Berlin, and gave a dinner. Hitler agreed to attend it —a rare thing for him to do, for as a rule he avoids entertainment by foreigners and private citizens. Bernard Lansing tells the story of the dinner in these words: — “The dinner took place at the Hotel Adlon. Hitler, dressed in a brown coat, arrived late and. brushing aside the customary few minutes 'of getting together and chatting, immediately placed himself at the. table. Rothermere had commanded that the largess of Germany and Europe be spread before his guest. Hitler refused everything except water to drink and refused to eat anything at all. “Lord Rothermere spoke no German; the table had been so arranged that it was only with difficulty that an interpreter could operate. The courses were hurried through while the guest of honour indifferently sipped at his glass of water. “Then Hitler suddenly began io speak. The words poured forth like a torrent, engulfing his hapless host, who could not understand a word and did not dare interrupt by appealing to the interpreter. At the end of 15 minutes the whole company was obviously uncomfortable. After 30 minutes the Fuehrer was still going strong while those in the room sat petrified in miserable silence.

“Not till he had spoken in his loudest, harshest platform voice for threequarters of an hour did Hitler get his message out of his system, and then he made abrupt signs of wanting to depart. In their haste to get up from the table the victims of the ordeal pushed chairs helter-skelter, and one of them inadvertently tipped over a large china case, which fell with a crash. At that moment all of the doors leading into the dining-room burst open and uniformed S.S. guards sprang into the room with drawn pistols.”