German People Are Tired Of War, Says Neutral Observer

Northern Advocate, 26 December 1940, Page 7

German People Are Tired Of War, Says Neutral Observer

A special correspondent of the “News Chronicle,” writing from a point on the German frontier, on September 30, said: Hitler must force a decision at once if he hopes to win the war. This is the view of a neutral journalist who has been living in Bei’lin for some months past. He was present at the recent signing of the Three-Power Pact in the German capital, and “Never did I see sc many gloomy faces as then,” he comments. He shares the opinion that the pact is essentially a diversion, intended to give the impression that Hitler has gained a diplomatic success and to keep the German people quiet for some time longer. Bluff. “It is a piece of bluff, and the Germans know it,” the writer says. Speaking of popular sentiment in Germany, he says: “The people are thoroughly sick of war and want peace. Few people I met, whether officials or folk in the street, suppose that Germany can win the war in the sense of beating Britain, though they don't see how Britain can win by invading Germany.”

Of British air raids in Berlin, ' the journalist says: “These raids have greatly upset Berliners and disorganised their daily life, besides being a nasty surprise, for constantly they have been told that while Goering’s men could bomb London with impunity, there was no possibility, because of the distance and the efficiency of flak, of Berlin itself being bombed. Reduced to Powder. “As neutral newspapermen, are no longer allowed to inspect damage done by these raids, it is impossible t,o say what they cause. “On the other hand, the damage done to military objectives in the Ruhr and Rhineland is so immense that concealment is no longer possible. “Factories, railway stations and aerodi’ome buildings in Western Germany have been reduced to powder.”