OVERSEAS VISIT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 8, 7 December 1937, Page 11

OVERSEAS VISIT

TALK BY DR WHITEHEAD. IMPRESSIONS IN GERMANY. Dealing with many subjects in a bright manner, Dr H. R. Whitehead, of the Dairy Research Institute, Palmerston North, related to members of the Palmerston North Rotary Club yesterday a number of the impressions ire had formed in his recent tour abroad. Dr Whitelwad emphasised at the outset that he did not wish to imply that he was speaking with any measure of authority, because an authoritative opinion on the condition of a country could not be formed in a brief visit. The club’s president (Mr A. A. Langley) was in the chair.

Touching 'on a visit to Kiel, the speaker told of a war memorial at the German Naval Base in which buildings were constructed in a circle, with a tower reaching to a considerable height, allowing a person at the top to look toward Denmark. In one room the speaker had seen maps of two of the battles in which the German Fleet had been engaged, on them being shown the positions of the various ships. On the walls were two German ships had been sunk in various parts of the world, and the other where German ships and submarines had been sunk in the European zone. The memorial, the speaker had felt, was rather to the German ships lost rather than to the men.

One was immediately impressed on entering Germany with the brightness of the railwavmen’s uniforms—unnecessarily bright, the speaker had thought. Bright blues and bright greens had, however, been very impressive. Dr Whitehead recounted the universal use of the greeting “Heil, Hitler,” with tiie upraised ann, and spoke of how universal the greeting was. ■ Students, members of the dairy research institute at Kiel (about eight times as large as the institute at Palmerston North), girls packing food on a chain system, had all halted to give the salute and the greeting. The crowning effort, however, had occurred when a stoker had paused in shovelling coal into a furnace for just a moment to give the salute. _ The greeting and the salute at all times, and in all places, had almost hypnotised the -visitor ■ into giving it himself. One had the impression, said Dr Whitehead, that if such a salute were instituted in New Zealand, someone would make a joke about it and “the whole thing would be dead in a fortnight.” In Germany, though, the suoiect was very serious. There was no laughing about it there. Personally, the speaker did not believe that the German people were as unanimous about National Socialism as it lyould appear. There must be a few who w«*re rather doubtful about it, bur it had been explained to him that when the Nazis had come into power it had been a choice between Nazism and Communism.

THE FRIENDLY DUTCH. Of the peoples the speaker had met in Europe, he had liked the Dutch the best. They spoke more colloquial English than those of other nationalities, and appeared to be extremely friendly. In references to England, Dr Whitehead mentioned what he termed “the dirtiness of the industrial towns,” although he understood that condition was being improved. Others could not imagine that such dirt existed. He expressed surprise that so few tourists paid a visit to Hadrian’s Wall, running from Newcastle to Carlisle. The trip of 60 miles was somewhat off the beaten track, but was really worth while if the traveller had his own car. The speaker did not think there was anything more fascinating than the -remains of the wall, to be seen here and there just as the Romans had built it some 2000 years ago. Parts were being excavated, 'showing the camps, some door sills at the entrances having marks made by chariot wheels in the time of the Roman occupation. 'On the day the speaker had seen the wall the weather had been wet and there were moors on either side. The feelings of the Romans could well be imagined after they had come from Italy to a place like that.

In conclusion, Dr Whitehead said that he had come from England 10 years ago but he was not sorry to come back to New Zealand. There were a lot of worse countries than this, and a lot worse towns than Palmerston North.

The thanks of the club were expressed to the speaker by Mr M. H. Oram. Three new members wer admitted, Messrs H. J. Falkner, H. H. Johnson and H.F. Vaughan, and the visitors were Dr G. Hucker (New York), Messrs F. Greenfield (Rotorua) I). L. Patterson and F. S. Milnes (Oamaru) and W. M. Webster, Hugh Kissling, and A. D. Campbell (Palmerston North).