ANTI-NAZI JOKES

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 May 1941, Page 4

ANTI-NAZI JOKES

POWERS THAT BE CRITICISED. Mr Joseph C. Harsch writes in the “Christian Science Monitor,” of which he was recently Berlin correspondent: . . The fact remains that there is m Germany no unified opposition movement to the Nazi Party. There are obviously some “underground movements. One occasionally gets leaflets through the mails, and there have been opposition radio stations inside Germany. But they have no wide influence or general following. By and large the average German goes along, partly because he doesn’t know anything else to do and partly because he has no faith in any alternative. And partly also because there is some phase of Nazism which appeals to almost every German. The average German indulges in his abstract anti-Nazism constantly. Jests at the expense of the regime are a favourite pastime—even in Government circles. Last Autumn the favourite riddle in Berlin started this way: “Hitler, Goering, and Goebbels were in an aeroplane and it crashed. Who was saved?” This was put to me by dozens of Germans, including three Government officials. The answer, of course, was “The German people.” Scepticism about official propaganda shows itself in current German humour. After official communiques and the Press had used the adjective “reprisal” with every report of a bombing raid on England or the sinking of an English ship “ad nauseam” for several months, a woman was heard asking a news vendor for a paper. Instead of asking for a particular one by name she just said: “Give me three cents’ worth of reprisal, please.” Not long aftei' that the word was dropped from the army communiques and the headlines.

Another favourite little story with Berliners during the past Winter was of 12 German aviators who knocked at St. Peter’s gate and demanded admission. On being asked to identify themselves they said they were German flyers who had been shot down that day over England. St. Peter, so the story goes, told them to wait a moment until he could consult his lists. On returning to the gate he said: “Eight of you will have to go back. The High Command report to-day says that only four of

you are shot down.” The favourite story of all dealt with the air raid shelters. People had been advised to. go to bed early to get some sleep before the raids. If on arrival in the shelter they said

“Good morning,” it meant that they had been dutifully in bed. If they said “Good evening,” it meant that they had not been in bed. And if they said “Heil Hitler,” it meant that they were still asleep.