HAVOC IN GERMANY

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20625, 5 August 1941, Page 9

HAVOC IN GERMANY

NEW BRITISH BOMBS TOLL OF FACTORIES NEW YORK, July 24. How western Germany has suffered both materially and in morale through the devastating Royal Air Force raids of the last two months is described in remarkable detail in the Christian Science Monitor. If the process of dislocation and demoralisation in Germany is continued for any appreciable time the paper says, it is bound to make itseu felt eventually in Czechoslovakia and Poland. With the winter, the Royal Air Force’s assault will be intensified, and will spread destruction over the farthest points in Germany, into Czechoslovakia and Poland. Much of the effectiveness of the latest attacks is stated to be due to a new type of bomb, whose horizontal blast batters down whole rows of buildings. “It is known that the Focke-Wun aircraft factory at Bremen has been razed,” the article states. “Two dockyards at Hamburg, where five submarines were being built, have been destroyed, and all houses and shops around the docks are rubble. “In earlier raids on Berlin, the great Siemens electrical factory in the north-western suburbs was damaged. The Gleisdreieck underground station and army stores depot at Bellevue were destroyed, and in the Chorinnestrasse a bomb which hit the watermains caused the drowning of 50 persons in one shelter. Exodus from Rhineland

“Tourist resort towns in Austria and Bavaria have been crowded this summer as rarely before with those able to flee from the Rhineland. Many leadingiiNazi officials from Cologne, Hamburg, and elsewhere have forsaken their posts, causing places like Garmisch (Bavaria) and Badischl to overflow. Many of these visitors have come to stay for the duration of the war. “The German authorities themselves have-organised trips to Norway for the bomb-shattered peoples of the North Sea towns, but worker; are not allowed to go for fear that they may escape and not return to the factories. “Great numbers of persons in places like Kiel and Hamburg are taking to the countryside nightly, to get sleep. “Berlin is full of refugees from Hamburg, Hanover, Kiel, and Bremen, and to house them Jews have been forced to leave their homes and take shelter in the synagogues. Increased Demand for Drugs

“There are many reports of suicides. Sleepless nights and a scarcity of food through disruption of transportation services have had an effect on public health, and the hospitals arc crowded everywhere. “Severe mental and physical strain makes breakdowns frequent, and there has been a startling increase in the consumption of drugs, which has not only caused a shortage in Germany itself, but also has seriously affected drug exports to Spain and South America. . “The Great I. G. Farben Industrie organisation has begun the practice of adding attenuated drugs to the food served in its canteens. The German Government has also recognised the necessity for stimulants, and has made three special distributions of coffee and tea in the last three months. . “Many new stories go round in the shelters in which Rhinelanders spend four or five hours a night. People ask: ‘Where should we be to-night but for our beloved Fuehrer?’ The answer is: ‘ln bed and asleep.’ “Another question is: ‘I wonder what dear Hermann will do to-mor-row?’ The answer is: ‘Commit suicide, since Goering once foolishly declared that he would commit suicide if the British ever penetrated the aerial defences of Germany?]