The Portrait Gallery: A. A. Milne on Germany

Northern Advocate, 1 February 1940, Page 10

The Portrait Gallery: A. A. Milne on Germany

Few can write such tripping • and stinging jingles as A. A. Milne does. In a recent issue of “Punch” he describes, in the following verses, the portrait gallery of Nazi Germany: Ernst is a farmer, six foot four, With enormous feet and a mild' blue eye, And a Hitler plaque on the stable-door (And one of Ribbentrop in the sty). Fraulein Truda is plain of face, With a turned-up nose and an empty head, And busts of Hitler all over the place (And two of Goering under the bed). Hausfrau Hilda’s a woman of weight, With a face that varies from mauve to pink, And a portrait of Hitler on every plate (And a study of Hess behind the sink). Hans is a sailor, sailing west, Tattooed with an artist’s tender care; There’s an excellent Hitler on his chest (And a speaking Goebbels I won’t say where). Herr Professor is pinched and small, He dines with Ann at half-past six; His Fuehrer’s figure adorns the wall (And the ersatz-sausage is wrapped in Frick’s). All these well-established faces Fritz has learned to love and know; Each its choseh corner graces . . . But where does Little Red Father go?